At my old Church of Scotland Sunday School in a little village by the Firth of the Tay I always loved the bible stories which were read to us. But even in those days I always felt Thomas got a rough deal. All he had done was to ask for evidence, he never said anyone wasn't being truthful, he just asked for proof and he's been reviled by history for the past 2,000 years or so.
Recently I looked up the actual story in my old bible and reminded myself of the rhythm and beauty of the words of the King James version.
St. John chpt 20, vs 24-29
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side I will not believe.
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, my Lord and my God. And Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
The names Thomas and Didymus both mean ‘twin’ by the way.
Apparently theologists see this as an example of Jesus, not castigating Thomas but being prepared willingly to present proof when it was requested. I like this idea. It sounds like Thomas was giving Jesus a chance to shine and to demonstrate how not to take offence when questioned about a claim.
And I thought how refreshing that attitude to evidence was and I began to imagine how the scene might have gone if Jesus had been a homeopath; a group notoriously reluctant to provide anything approaching reasonable quality proof:
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side I will not believe.
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold, my garment is rent where the spear has passed through and behold, my hands are pretty sore, I can tell you. And Thomas answered and said unto him, But I would behold thine wounds with mine own eyes. And Jesus spake unto Thomas saying, Art thou calling me a liar?
Thomas's heart was heavy and he was sorely grieved. He spake saying, No Rabbi, yet I wouldst see the marks, how about I reach thither my hand and thrust it into thy side? And Jesus was angered and said unto Thomas, No way, that's gross. Look Sonny-Jim I've got a sheaf of parchments here from people who swear they have seen the marks, what other proof dost thou need?
And Thomas read the words which were given him and afterwards he reached out to move the garments of Jesus to one side that he might better see the mark. And, he beheld there was no mark and neither were there the prints of the nails in his hands. This Thomas told unto Jesus and asked why it was so.
And the anger of Jesus increased and he said unto Thomas, It's quantum, mate. Obviously you can't actually see them; if you look at them they disappear; it's quantum. Hast thou been reading that apostate Newton again? Stick to Einstein, he was a good Jewish boy, he knew a thing or two about quantum; quantum's great, what would you know – have you even studied medicine? Anyway, why dost thou touch my person? And, turning to the disciples Jesus said unto them, You lot saw that, that's technically assault, why doest these sceptics get so aggressive?
And yea at his command the sky darkened and the heavens opened and the wrath of God descended upon them with fire and hail and a great clashing of cymbals, verily the room wherein the disciples were was filled with the Holy Spirit burning like bright flame unto the very walls and timbers and the sound of His rage was heard throughout the land and the mountains shook and the ground trembled.
At this the disciples were sore afraid and cast themselves to the ground in their misery. And Thomas was among their number and thought unto himself, I wonder if it's too late to be a Zoroastrian instead?
Doesn’t have quite the same ring really, does it!
