Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, April 20, 2019

DOUBTING THOMAS

(continued from page 1)

It’s speculation…text doesn’t 
tell us. They are speculative, 
but helpful b/c we may deal 
with them. 

1. Intellectual Problem: 
Miracles don’t happen (dead 
people don’t rise). This is 
exactly what I would say. We 
are all Thomas now. All people 
die and dead people stay dead. 

2. Maybe it was Tempermant. 
If he took the myers briggs he 
is probably a sensing person 
(verses intuitive). Do you pay 
more attention to information 
that comes in through your five 
senses (Sensing), or do you pay 
more attention to the patterns 
and possibilities that you see 
in the information you receive 
(Intuition)? Paying attention 
to physical reality, what I see, 
hear, touch, taste, and smell. 
I’m concerned with what is 
actual, present, current, and 
real. We are not just brains on 
a stick. Some think: Im not a 
good Christian, but many say 
more about how we are wired 
than anything else. 

3. Emotional/ deeply personal: 
Maybe he felt so deeply 
saddened, let down, he couldn’t 
allow himself. Maybe it’s not an 
intellectual problem at all. You 
were wounded by someone 
in the church. Marriage falls 
apart, the dog dies, you get 
sick, your body is racked with 
pain and you are depressed. 
And someone gives you some 
apologetics book full of a 
bunch of cold arguments. 
That’s not helpful! I’m hungry, 
and someone gives you a book 
about the physiology of hunger. 
I need a warm meal, not a book 
with an explaination. I need a 
friend, a community, I need to 
feel the warmth of God. You 
feel distant. 

Notice how Jesus responds 
to him—it moves him from 
unbelief to confident trust… 

How? 

1. Recognize the nature of 
faith. It is not believing is 
impossible things before 
breakfast. Nor is it absolute 
certitude. Both are incredibly 
naïve understandings of faith. 

People have said, “I wish I had 
your faith.” This can mean: “I 
wish I could believe a bunch 
of staff that runs counter to 
the evidence.” Christianity 
makes sense of the world we 
live in. We all have faith…we 
all entrust ourselves to people, 
to airplanes, to freeways, to 
new jobs, to scientific theories, 
medical advice—that we do not 
know with absolute certitude. 
But it is rational and reasonable 
to do so. 

When we doubt we tend to 
think in polarities between 
faith and no faith. People say, 
“I don’t have your faith” or 
I’m not a person of faith. If 
what you mean by faith is the 
ability to believe impossible 
things…Biblical faith is not 
really about having a unique 
ability to believe the impossible 
(Alice and Wonderland: Six 
impossible things before 
breakfast)…

It is really about trust and 
commitment. Illustration 
(Show pic of my wedding 
day). Image on that day: She 
entrusted her self to me—she 
listened to these words: Will 
you—promise to have and to 
hold for better or for worse: 
I trusted those words and 
entered into a covenant and we 
began walking together. If they 
said: Do you believe that Alicia 
has special superpowers that 
allow her to fly to the move? 

2. Feed your faith: This is what 
Jesus does—he feeds his faith. 
In this dace Investigate: Touch 
and see—do investigation. He 
gives him what he needs. 

See the works of Jesus / put 
your finger in my hands 

Read, study 

Be with the people of God/ 
practice the faith 

“Put your finger here” = get 
your body involved – practice 
Christianity. Taste the bread 
and the cup, sing the songs. 

3. Doubt your doubts: Our 
culture says: Doubt our beliefs 
and believe our doubts. But 
learn to doubt your doubts/ 
and embrace your beliefs. Two 
sides: I don’t know if I believe. 
And the other “I believe” why 
go with the doubt side? 

Be skeptical of your skepticism. 
IT may just be a way of getting 
control over God and over 
people. IF you insist that all 
truth claims all the time are 
power plays, they always 
destroy truth, you are wrong. 

There are two different kinds of 
doubt. 

There is active doubt (it is open 
to new answers, new truths. If 
you begin with doubt you will 
end in great certainty. If you 
begin with certainty you will 
end in doubt. He was talking 
about the scientific method. 

There is passive doubt: Bad—
closed mind—I just don’t want 
to think about it. Mark Twain 
was seen reading the bible 
and was asked what he was 
doing. He replied, “Looking 
for loopholes.” You are simply 
looking for problems, poking 
holes in everything. 

CS Lewis: Abolition of Man, 
great book, and in it he has 
this little section: “you cannot 
go on explaining away forever 
or you will find that you 
have explained your own 
explanations away. You cannot 
go on seeing through things 
forever. The whole point of 
seeing through something is to 
see something else through it. 
For example, it is good that you 
can see through a window, but 
that is only because the garden 
behind is opaque. But if you 
could see through everything, 
if everything was transparent, 
a wholly transparent world is 
invisible. And to see through 
everything is the same as not to 
see.” It is good to ask questions. 
To raise doubts. But on-going 
questioning can also just be 
a power play. You question 
everything to put yourself in a 
superior position. But you may 
just be a coward. 

If you say: All truth claims 
are power plays. Or all 
statements about religion and 
God are psych projections. 
You’ve explained away your 
explaination. Or ev bio- 
everything is really just hard 
wired brain chemistry then 
everything their brain tells 
them 

To see through everything is 
not to see. And to say no one 
should make truth claims 
because that’s just a power 
play is the biggest power play 
of them all. That is a great big 
needle to puncture everyone’s 
balloon, but you better 
puncture your own and when 
you do, you are back to square 
one. 

(continued on page 4) Everyone 

3

AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY

Mountain Views-News Saturday, April 20, 2019 

Get out and enjoy all the beauty & tranquilitySierra Madre has to offer!
In the last two years, I personally experienced the myriad of emotions and steps 
that clients face throughout all sides of real estate transactions. Since 2017, we 
leased out our Sierra Madre home of 18 years, purchased and sold a house 
in Eagle, Idaho, and returned to our Sierra Madre home. 
I understand the realities of selling your family home. I’m committed to providing 
my clients a seamless transition from preparing your listing for market all the 
way to closing and helping my clients find their next home whether they’re 
downsizing, upsizing or moving out of state.
THINKING ABOUT SELLING?
Call Eileen626.278.0187Eileen BensonCall me for a FREE consultation on your home’s market value!
Eileen BensonCOLDWELL BANKER RESIDENTIAL BROKERAGE626.278.0187BensonEileen@gmail.comREALTOR | CALRE# 0188065015 E. Foothill Blvd., Arcadia, CA 91006The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include 
approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Real estate agents 
affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2019 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. All 
Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Owned by a subsidiary of 
NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.
Spring is here!
*Proceeds will help fund the Creative Arts Group “Imagine Art Program”
benefitting the students of Sierra Madre Elementary School 
and other youth activities.
May 11, 2019 
6 p.m. to 10 p.m. No Host Bar –Silent AuctionBe a Kiwanis Member for a Day! $30.00The Sierra Madre Room611 E. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CAJudging done by Food Critic: Peter DillsFor more information please call 626.355.3222 
or Visit sierramadrekiwanis.comHenry Duenas DJ60s-70s Music 
& Line DancingCook Off Chefs & 1 Assistant FREEDANCE THE NIGHT AWAYandCHILI COOK OFF