INTRO
Have you ever watched Star Trek? Mr. Spock, “the pointy-earned Vulcan” who served as Captain Kirk’s first officer said, “Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
This quote is an offshoot from a scientific principle known as Occam’s razor: an axiom developed by William of Ockham — a fourteenth-century scientist and Franciscan monk. Today, that maxim posits, “The simplest explanation for some phenomenon is more likely to be accurate than those more complicated.” Ockham proposed this heuristic to justify his theses, including his statement that "God’s existence cannot be deduced by reason alone."
So, was Ockham right? Does believing in God (and his Risen Son Jesus) require a leap of faith that goes beyond all reason? Or, can we come to a belief in God through deduction alone? Or maybe —just maybe —is it a bit of both? I think it’s a bit of both.
For you, and me, and all of humanity, God gives us the power of reason to aid in our discovery of him, but he doesn’t want us to stay stuck in discovery alone. God wants us to move beyond discovery towards belief, and from there to living our lives for him with faith-filled belief in action, which I believe is the true anatomy of belief. Still, let’s not take the preacher’s word for it, let’s investigate what the Bible has to say. Turn please in your bibles to the Gospel according to John 20:19-31.
IT’S ONLY HUMAN TO DOUBT
Let’s do something different and start our time in the middle of text — where we’re really going to concentrate most of our time this morning. John 20:24–25 says:
Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “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.”
I think it’s safe to say Thomas was trying rationalize away his brothers claims that Jesus has in fact risen from the tomb. See, Thomas’ perception of reality —that reality being that people just don’t rise from the grave — allowed his doubts about what he had heard to linger. And while it’s easy for us to look upon Thomas as a doubter —or maybe one who was weak in faith — I don’t think that was the case, and I don’t think he was alone. Let’s look back to verses 19-20 to see what I mean.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side.
What’s more interesting than the awesome message that Jesus appeared before his disciples, is the message we often miss. V.20 tells us Jesus showed the disciples the wounds in his hands and side. Let look at look to the Gospel according to Luke to see why. Quickly flip to Luke 24:37–39.
They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your mind? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
Like Thomas, his brothers-in-solace also doubted the reports that Jesus had risen from the grave. The disciples believed Jesus was an apparition — and Jesus knew this. Seeing their doubts, Jesus gave them proof of his resurrection. And upon seeing, they believed and spread the good news — as fabulous and far-fetched as it probably sounded. Like them, Thomas wanted tangible proof Jesus had truly risen from the grave.
But why is that we believe without seeing, and yet they didn’t? Are we more enlightened today and spiritual than them; or, are we maybe more similar to them than we might realize?
If I told you I had quarter in my hand, would you believe me? Some of you might believe for no other reason than I made that claim. However, some of you might be more skeptical and want proof to help you believe —something I’m going to call the anatomy of proof. Some of you may want to see with your eyes and touch with your hand that which I claim to have.
Okay…. here’s the proof. Still, that was easy. Okay, now try this one on for size. Let’s say someone just ran into back of the sanctuary and said that John Doe — who’d recently been buried in the Kellogg Cemetery — arose from the grave and appeared at the Silver Spoon. Would you believe this testimony?
We’re more apt to believe the claim of the coin because it doesn’t require a leap of faith. My asking you to believe I had a coin in my hand doesn’t take us outside our comfort zones of belief. Most people don’t need to see or touch the coin to believe, because the claim isn’t outlandish. The only exception to this might come from the truly skeptical — those who won’t believe anything anyone ever tells them, despite the evidence validating the claim.
However, to believe a claim that a person who once died and was buried in the Kellogg cemetery, but now is alive and hanging out at the Spoon — well, that claim would seem far-fetched and would probably raise a whole lot doubts. Upon hearing this, some of us might dash out the door and over to the Spoon to see if the claim is true. Some might even want to touch his body. Still, most people would simply scoff at the news, and not do anything but remain firmly planted in our pews. When claims are as outlandish as this, many of us intuitively refuse to believe — it’s just not within the norm of our reality.
When we think about the abstract (such as one coming back from the grave) in terms of our concrete realty, the reasons for Thomas’ doubts hit home and become our own. Like Thomas and his brothers, our human tendency is to doubt the improbable, even after we’ve eliminated what is seemingly the impossible, in order to believe.
JESUS SAYS, “INVESTIGATE ME”
But, for those of us who follow Christ, we’re beyond disbelief. I’ve wondered if God blocks out from our minds the ways in which we use to not believe. However, for the vast majority of people, choosing to believe that God came down to earth, lived a mortal life, died, and then arose from the grave is — in the words of Star Trek — undiscovered country.
Yet, even for those of us on this side of eternity where it’s easier to believe, there’s still times when we too have lingering doubts; and that’s okay. Lynn Anderson, and former pastor of 30 years is quoted as saying, “A faith that’s challenged by adversity or tough questions or contemplation is often a stronger faith in the end.”
Whether we believe, or have yet to come to a belief in God and his Son the Risen Christ, sometimes we need a nudge and a bit of encouragement to get us over the hump from disbelief, to belief. To us all, Jesus says, “If you don’t believe, investigate me.” He’s giving us permission to investigate that which we don’t believe. This brings us to John 20: 26-27.
Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your fingers here… Reach out your hand and put it into my side.” Jesus was saying to Thomas, “Investigate me, for I am the anatomy of proof that you seek.” Let’s ponder all this for just a bit.
Jesus knew that for Thomas it wasn’t enough to hear a first-hand account of his resurrection; and it wasn’t enough that Jesus was standing before him. Maybe, like his brothers, Thomas thought Jesus was a ghost or a figment of his imagination. Still, no matter what Thomas believed or didn’t believe, Jesus knew Thomas had doubts. Because of that, Jesus encouraged Thomas to investigate his disbelief.
More than this, Jesus expected Thomas to use the power of reason given to him to aid in his discovery for the proof he needed.” Our God-given ability to reason is usually our first step, or point number one, in our journey of discovery and investigation. However, investigation cannot be merely an intellectual exercise.
As Ockham stated, we cannot merely reason ourselves to belief. Discovery may begin with thoughtful contemplation and meditation; however, at some point we need to move beyond thinking only and to discovering the truth with action. And that’s brings us to point number two. Thomas took action upon that which he was contemplating could be true, and physically moved his hand into Jesus flesh, to validate that which was claimed to be true.
Jesus is giving us permission to look around the world in which we live and to discover God; and with that which we discover, to reach out with a speck of faith and make the choice to believe. Yet, some really have a hard time believing, even amidst their discovery. But why, might we think? Listen to this story from Lee Strobel’s, The Case for Faith.”
WE ALL HAVE TO MAKE A CHOICE
Believing in God, at the root of it all, is a simply a choice. We can choose to believe, or choose not to believe. At the end of the day, we all have to make a choice — even those who like to remain lukewarm and say, I don’t want to choose. See, not wanting to choose is still making a choice, to not choose.
In the most simplistic of terms, Jesus said to Thomas “believe.” With more complexity however, it was like Jesus was saying, “Thomas, you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Thomas, based upon the truth standing before your eyes, make a choice. Believe or don’t believe” Jesus was telling him to stop his doubting, to make a choice, and believe. As he did with Thomas, Jesus also is encouraging us to investigate his claims that he’s the way, the truth and the life, to make a choice, and then believe.
MOVING FROM BELIEF TO FAITH
But here’s the kicker. If we’ve already made the choice to believe, then we need to listen to God’s command to move beyond simple believing, and towards a faith-filled belief.
Some of you might be thinking, but belief and faith are one in the same. I disagree. One can believe in God, yet still not be faithful to that belief. The reasons many people often chose to not believe is because they do not want the responsibility of acting upon that belief in faith. Still, God is not concerned with only the ways in which we think and believe; he’s concerned about the ways in which we act upon our beliefs.
To live in our belief requires a leap of faith that moves beyond a reasonable belief in the mind, down to the heart, and from there to our feet. Allow me to close with this:
When Thomas put aside his disbelief, he moved beyond a reasonable belief, to a faith-filled belief. To Jesus he said, “My Lord and my God!” which we might not find too significant. Yet of all the disciples, he was the first who claimed the risen Christ was one with God. And when Jesus sent them out, Thomas ventured the furthest from home, to a place called India, to tell all he could of who and what Jesus had done for them all. And that my friends, is the truest essence of the anatomy of a faith-filled belief. Amen, and let us pray.
