For many it is mounted in the mood of disillusionment, when things we trusted gave out. Any of us can be unnerved by the ever-present absurdities of life. I may doubt my ability to stand up in front of a congregation and say what I want to say in a way that is convincing and appropriate and faithful. I may visit a nursing home and as I walk down the hallway, look away from the contorted shape in the wheelchair at my side, and in my mind doubt the goodness of God, or the capacity of God to change things that are cruel or unfair or hurtful. I sometimes think that those who rail most vigorously against the Christian faith take it more seriously than many who so casually embrace it.
Consent always lies at the heart of dissent.
It is an inverted form of faith. But that is not what is important. What is important is what you and I do with our doubts. The story of Thomas officially ends in the twentieth chapter of John's gospel. But there is something more which emerges out of the dim reaches of history.