Reading: John 20:19-31 I am doing a unit at Murdoch this semester focussing on science and theology. It has been extremely interesting, particularly to see how the relationship between the two has developed over time, and in response to modern science. I have been encouraged by the number of scientists and theologians who over the centuries have tried to incorporate the new scientific findings into an overarching view of God, without, as they say, throwing out the baby with the bath water. They have faced these new findings, from people like Newton, Darwin and Einstein and developed a theology of substance, while all the time fighting that nagging doubt in the back of their minds that God may not exist. Many have lost the battle, but at least they have tried.

Because doubt is difficult to live with, it lingers in the back ground and can undermine all that we believe. It is often the product of a lack of synthesis between our experiences of God, our understanding and interpretation of the bible, and the findings of science of how the world works. It is often the latter which causes the most problems, particularly in our technologically driven society, when every day something new and exciting is discovered or invented. But when we fail to acknowledge the world as it really is, or choose to ignore it, we are ignoring the reality of the life we live and are part of. Scientists use observation and experimentation to explore this life, and to not incorporate their findings into our understanding of God is to retreat back to a fundamentalism that diminishes God and ourselves. Science may produce doubts and we may lose sight of our God for a while, but if we come back we come back to something that is real, earthy and capable of giving us purpose and direction.

The reading today from John is the classic post Easter reading where the disciples are behind closed doors and Jesus greets and commissions them. Jesus sends the disciples just as he was sent, with the breath of God as their helper. But we have Thomas, the doubter, who needs an earthly Jesus, with the signs of the crucifixion, for him to believe. We know John`s gospel is poetic, imaginative and metaphoric and Thomas is being used to give a message. But what is the message? That Jesus was real, a human who bled and died, and that the disciples` call is a call to this world and this life? Maybe. This is probably a later interpretation. I think the reason for Thomas` presence in the story is for his doubt. We all doubt, but it is what we do with that doubt that counts. We can ignore the contradictions with science and become closed to the world, or we can ignore the spiritual side of life and see and believe only what we can measure and observe. Or we can use all our experience, knowledge and wisdom to hear God`s call and respond with an authentic life giving faith. Doubt can lead to inaction, but if we explore rather than ignore it, it can also lead to new insights and a deeper faith. I know which one I want to choose.