It will be no surprise that I am not a regular reader of the "Billy Graham - My Answer" column of our local newspaper. Nevertheless, while flipping through today, it happened to catch my eye and I was sucked in by a strange and remarkable response. This particular question was from someone who is a Christian but is worried because sometimes they have doubts. Graham's answer is, until the final paragraph, essentially the opposite of what I expected. He tells the reader to recall the story of Thomas, who, referring to the resurrection, says
"Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it"
Already, to my shock, I'm enjoying the column, and I'm really liking Thomas - he sounds like a good skeptic to me - but I'm prepping myself for Graham to tell the reader that he needs to have faith. However, instead, we get the following
How did Jesus respond? He didn't rebuke Thomas or tell him just to have more faith. Instead, Jesus came to him and showed him that He was alive. The response was immediate: "Thomas said to him, 'My Lord and my God!'" (John 20:28).
Awesome! When faced with doubts about a far-fetched story that seems to contradict common sense and established knowledge about biology and medicine, the correct answer seems to be that God needs to provide incontrovertible proof of the claim in order that the sensible skeptic believe. This is science! From Billy Graham! And it's so matter-of-fact; Thomas doubts - of course Jesus isn't mad, the doubt is understandable and so easily fixed - Jesus shows up, proving the resurrection - and Thomas' doubt is gone. At this point I'm excited at the possibility of a real attitude shift, with Christians being told by their leaders that they should look for definite proof of the things they have until now been asked to accept blindly, no matter how much they seem to contradict reality. Unfortunately, this eminently sensible paragraph is interpreted further as
When doubts come, don't let them take root in your soul. Instead, turn them over to Christ.
Sneaky! There I was, giddy with the thought that I was present at the moment of triumph of reason over superstition, only to have Graham pull a 180 on me at the last minute! Who would have thought it? Oh well, close but no cigar. Damn.
