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

To be clear, Jesus did NOT call Thomas, "Doubting" Thomas. He did say to stop doubting. But that is not the same thing as actually giving him the moniker that has stuck in history. He simply descrived his action and told him to stop. Others in examining this moment to the next step in giving Thomas the historical nickname that I have argued is unfair. I agree that Jesus pointing out that he was doubting, and told him to stop. But he is not the one that gave him that actual nickname. But more important I think in qualifying the name "Doubting" Thomas as a bum rap is that it makes having doubt a negative thing. I will concede that Thomas' doubt is deep and he requires proof. But I do no see that as a negative thing, at least not in the context that the phrase "Doubting" Thomas makes it seem. Jesus stated that the greatest commandment was to "love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind..." (Luke 10:27, http://www.usccb.org...). Clearly stated within that is our "mind". We are cerebral beings. Sometimes it takes our brains a little more time or proof to catch up to the reality of a situation. This is not a terrible thing. And in a situation like Thomas', where he was likely still in shock and mourning over the death of his beloved friend and leader, his mind needed more proof. In short, I cut Thomas' doubt slack because of the circumstances. And I trust that God recognizes that doubt in and of itself is not a bad thing. Doubt is natural and part of our spiritual engine, and this doesn't change in Thomas' circumstance. So I do not see doubt as a bad thing, and I do not deride him for is, and therefore do not think it should be his defining trait, especially in a negative context. I think the Bible scholar William Barclay best put Thomas' doubt into a clear, reasonable perspective when he states, "There was no halfway house about Thomas. He was not airing his doubts just for the sake of mental acrobatics; he doubted in order to become sure; and when he did, his surrender to certainty was complete. And when a man fights his way through his doubts to the conviction that Jesus Christ is Lord, he has attained to a certainty that the man who unthinkingly accepts things can never reach." And in that vein, the claim that "Thomas was the first person in recorded history to stubbornly deny something until he had fundamental proof" is unsubstantiated. Just a couple of examples, reading the Greek philosophers or numerous instances in Hebrew Scriptures, would call that assertion into question. I've made no argument that Thomas did doubt in dramatic fashion, but this statement is without basis. And in looking at Con's closing point about Thomas being a hypocrite... This is the last word that I would call Thomas. It would be hypocritical if he told somebody, "don't doubt!! just believe!!". There is nothing hypocritical about a person who has a full spiritual journey that includes the ups and downs of belief and doubt. What better person to preach the Gospel? That is a massive witness, a person who can say, "I understand your doubts... I've been there... and I have overcome them and found a true, concrete, personal belief." If we call a person who has entertained doubts and overcome them to find belief, and then gone on to preach and spread the word of God a "hypocrite" for having once doubted, then we would likely indict every follower and preacher who has loved God with their "mind". Doubt comes with the game, and Thomas overcame his. This does not make him a hypocrite. He doubted, he believed, he traveled, he preached and converted. How is that hypocritical? As I've stated, we all have our moments of doubt. It is how we face them that matters. Thomas faced his, and spent the rest of his life as a champion of Christ. I don't think that even Jesus would categorize the lifetime of work and service that Thomas gave as "good deeds in the name of Jesus". This very much minimizes the massive work of Thomas. I think in examining Thomas the fuller picture of his life paints a deeper and more profound picture than his moment of doubt.