Friday night bible study:
>The doubting Thomas and the rock on which the church was built.
Thomas is famous for his doubt, though one was greater in his doubt in scripture. Thomas sought tangible evidence to alleviate his doubts, while Peter sought authority to calm his nerves.
To be a doubting Thomas is in no way a negative, to be called such is teasing rather than pejorative; it is the teasing of a teacher who knows more than you and hopes to engage your psyche in a defensive/reflexive pose so that when adequate information is provided you are all the more receptive to it.
Not so for the doubting Peter, the rock on which faith is built. Peter required authority for his faith, and faltered nonetheless when walking on water.
Have you not trusted an authority only to be let down, crashing beneath the water you thought you could transverse?
Are you atheist? Thou art Peter. You yearn for the authority which only God can provide but doubt it even in the face of the miraculous. You seek supplementation of God’s divine authority with that which is not based on faith. Indeed, you even come to hate God, whose authority you deem capricious.
And on you, dear atheist, God will build his church; one way or another. It may take much time, But your constant doubt of authority will wear thin on your sanity in this modern world once you abandon God, while you still seek truth. You will realize first agnosticism, as your authorities have no validation for their atheistic claims. Then inevitably deism. From there, the elect among you will seek God relentlessly, desireing to know what this authority desired in the manifestation of your reality. What was his goal? His purpose? His will?
Why are we here?
You will become a doubting Thomas out of your self-made cocoon of Peter. You may not recognize your desire for authority, but you will transcend it to require evidence, to seek experiences which confirm or deny your beliefs given to you by a perceived authority.
