The Apostle Thomas got a bum rap with the name "Doubting" Thomas

Thanks for accepting! So... Thomas got a "bum rap" with the title "Doubting" Thomas, and while I do agree that he did doubt the resurrection of Jesus, he by no means the only Disciple to doubt the resurrection. All four of the Gospels tell of the disciples reaction to the news that Jesus had resurrected as not being immediate belief. In John 19, Mary Magdalene thinks that Jesus' tomb is empty because his body has been taken, not because he has returned from the dead. And Luke 24:11 says that when Mary tells the disciples about Jesus' resurrection they think it's "nonsense and did not believe", which is exactly what Mark 16:11 says happened. And Matthew 28:17 says that when the 11 disciples, minus Judas, saw him "they worshiped, but they doubted". Mark 16:14 even has a resurrected Jesus rebuking the disciples for their unbelief. John 20:9 says that Peter didn't understand when he say the empty tomb. So Thomas was not the only one of Jesus' followers and disciples to express doubt about the resurrection. It was prevalent in all four of the Gospels. If we say that Thomas gets the label "Doubting" Thomas because he was the one who didn't believe in the resurrection, then that would be inaccurate. While his story is among the more dramatic moments of doubt in the Gospel, I don't feel that the author intended to convey a negative attitude toward Thomas' doubt, which the name "Doubting" Thomas and history seems to convey. Instead I think the author was intending to illustrate that Jesus meets people at their level of belief or disbelief and helps them find belief and faith. He met Thomas at his level of disbelief, just like he did the others. Plus, the negative title misses the fact that it is natural for Thomas or any follower of Jesus to express some form of doubt. Doubt isn't a bad thing. And Thomas and the others just lost the dearest loved one they ever had. It is natural as humans under those conditions to have a moment of pause. History should cut Thomas and any figure who expressed a momentary doubt some slack. This only scratches the surface of looking deeper at the passages involving Thomas. Therefore, whether one agrees with some of my interpretations of the author's intentions with the passage that describes Thomas' doubt or not, based upon the numerous Gospel accounts of "doubt" from various figures, I think it is unfair that history has singled out Thomas as the universal symbol of doubt in such a derogatory way. Another reason that I offer for Thomas getting a "bum rap" with the term "doubting" Thomas is that it fails to see the full picture of Thomas as he is depicted in the Gospels. With the name "Doubting" Thomas, history has focused on this one moment and ignored the other things that we know about Thomas, from the Gospels and from tradition. For now I will just look at the other Gospel references to Thomas to show that history has missed the full picture on Thomas. Thomas is only mentioned 8 times in the Bible, and 4 of those times are in a brief list of Jesus' disciples. The moment of doubt is obviously one of those times. But two other moments get ignored, and they help shed light on his character, and it goes beyond his moment of doubt. In John, chapter 11, Jesus gets word that a dear friend of theirs, Lazarus, has fallen ill. When Jesus indicates that he should go see him, the disciples are hesitant and remind him that the religious officials in that area want to kill him. They express fear. But it is Thomas who says, "Let us also go to die with him" (John 11:16). No disciple conveyed such a willingness or such courage in that moment, and no other disciple voiced such support of Jesus (and their friend Lazarus). So why is this story showing the courage of Thomas not at the forefront when referring to this Apostle? Why is he not known as "Courageous" Thomas? Thomas also displays a bit of courage later in John's account of the Last Supper. In chapter 14 when Jesus says to his disciples, "where I am going you know the way", it is Thomas who is not too proud to humble himself by asking Jesus, "Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" (John 11:5). It takes a person of strong character to admit their ignorance and say "hey, I don't know…", and then ask for guidance. And we can infer that Thomas' question was appropriate and acceptable because Jesus doesn't chastise him for asking, but rather he answers him by revealing a deeper truth about who he is when he states "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 11:6). So looking at the full Scripture picture, without too much interpretation or commentary, we see that Thomas had a moment of doubt, as did pretty much everyone, and he dealt with it and quickly believed; we see that he was the only disciple who expressed courage and willingness to go with Jesus to see their friend even if it meant they had to die with him; and we see a moment where he openly expresses a level of ignorance over something, and properly ask Jesus, his teacher, the answer, and thus have Jesus teach him and those with them a deeper truth. Based upon this Scriptural analysis, and without going into deeper interpretations of the passages involving Thomas, or the traditions about his missionary service after Jesus, I say that Thomas got a bum rap with the name "doubting" Thomas, and history missed the mark on him.