The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1910-07-07
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DoUBTING THOMAS.

DOUBTING THOMAS.
By Rev. C. A. S. Dwight, Phi. D.
Then said 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 I'M
to Him: My Lord and My God. =
John 2O:27, rs.
There has always been a spirit OF
doubt in the world, ever since the SER
pent raised his querulous, unsettl1ng
question, with it's circumtiex accent
Of disingenous equivocation, Yea,
hath God said?' Every sinner has
! been, to an extent, a doubter ever
since he has not given credence to the
message and call of such light, Wheth-
er of natural or of revealed religion,
as he has had The natural heart is
prone to doubt, and on the road to
despair.
1t need not surprise us to find the
temper of doubt manifesting itself
even among converted people. In the
apostolic college there was at least
one doubter-Thomas, called Didy-
mus. Slight as are the references to
Thomas in the Gospel of ST. John, the
traits enumerated, agreeing exactly to-
gether, place his character before us
with a precision which belongs to no
other of the twelve Apostles save Pc
ter, John and Judas Iscariot. The pic
ture which is given us Of Thomas is
that of man slow to believe, seeing
all the difficulties of a case, subject
to dependency, viewing things on the
darker side, and yet full Of ardent love
for his Master, and who finally came
! out into the light of a fully reasoned,
secure faith. What Thomas did any
man can debut he must do 1t in
Thomas way.
Doubling Thomas, if an unconvert-
ed man, must, in order to find the
truth, in the first place be willing
to find 1t. In every section of the
country there are some who protest
must that they are after the truth"
Such men often exhibit the deepest
prejudice and the greatest aversion to
any such view of moral truth as will
purify their lips and their lives. The
term "truth-seeker" Is a very holy
term, and must not be slightly as
sumed or applied. The true truth
seeker will be willing to make any sac
riG RI nv fn
according to the revelation when it is
given If the truth, when discovered,
tells the man to humble himself he
will put on sackcloth and ashes; If 1t
bids him to mount cross he will not
hesitate to obey. The reason why so
many doubters abide in the thick
night of unbelief or in the twilight
of agnosticism is that they are not
really seeking the truth as it actually
exists, but are trying to find argu-,
ments which will bolster up the opin-
ions about what the truth ought to
be which they, in their unwisdsm,
have adopted. 1t is only the genuine
man who will want to find the truth,
and who can find It.
Doubling Thomas must be willing
In his search for Christ to look all
around the horizon. If men say with
good reason, "Lo, here is Christi"
Thomas will look that way to see if
they speak truly; if Jesus is working
at Capernaum Thomas will be there
to watch the wonders; if the Rabbi of
Nazareth be found in publican's
house Thomas will not disdain for the
time being to eat with Sinners" If
Jesus strides onward toward a Cal
vary Thomas will not leave Him in
disgust, as many did, and If Jesus
holds forth His nail-scarred hands for
inspection Thomas will not hesitate
even to thrust his hand into His side.
In short, the genuine doubter will
take into view all possible factors that
bear upon the questions at issue, and
will not PREJUDICE the case against
Jesus by hasty congratulations from
an insufficient number of particulars.
He will, in dealing with the religious
problems, see all that needs to be seen,
and welcome light from any quarter
that yields if not a sunrise at least
tallOw-dfp.
Doubling Thomas, if he Is wise, will
pray his doubts away as much as he
thinks them away. Prayer is great
solvent of difficulties, intellectual and
spiritual. Even the gloomiest and
most respondent atheist can, if he
will, pray as much as this, 20, God,
if there be a God, guide me to Thy
self" and If he prays that prayer in
earnest and in the right spirit it will
serve to bring him eventually to the,
God whose being and attributes have
for time been obscured from him by
the fogs Of doubt The reason Why
so many men who know not God, do
not find Him is, that they never pray.
God reveals Himself only to heart
hunger, spiritual appetency and prayer.
Doubling Thomas must count the
cost of faith. Doubt in certain re-
/ spects at least, is cheaper than faith.
1t is not so safe, it is not as COM
fortfng, 1t is not as rewarding, and,
in the end, it leads to despair, but
meanwhile it seems to demand little,
and is thought, mistakenly enough, to
excuse it's subjects from various re-
sponsfbilities as moral beings. But
faith, while it promises much, de-
mands much, and He who said, Have
faith in God!" babe His would-be fol-
lowers count the cost of Christian
conservation.
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