“Doubting Thomas.”  There is no doubt about it, most Christians regard him as something of a failure. The apostle who said he would not believe in Christ’s resurrection until he had seen him with his own eyes and touched him with his own hand has become synonymous with those who do not believe.
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Even those of us  who believe faith should involve the head as well as the heart have not embraced Thomas as the poster-disciple of reasonable faith, but why is this – why do we doubt Thomas?  Looking at the story – which is found in chapter 20 of the Gospel of John – is instructive:  

“Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), 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.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:24-29).

Although the account is often repeated as an example of unbelief, there is really nothing in it to say that Christ chastised Thomas in any way. We should remember that doubt had marked the response of all the disciples from the very first reports of the resurrection.  Although Mary Magdalene, who had gone to the tomb and found it empty, reported this to Peter and John (John 20:2), apparently even John himself did not believe the resurrection had occurred till he saw evidence with his own eyes: “Finally the other disciple [John], who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed” (John 20:8).

More importantly, John tells us that all of the disciples – except Thomas who was not present – were given the opportunity to see Christ, and at that time “he showed them his hands and side” (20:19).  Luke adds further details, and tells us that when Christ appeared to them at that time:
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“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 minds? 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.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet” (Luke 24:37-39).

So every one of the disciples had opportunity not only to see the resurrected Christ, but also to see the marks of his wounds.  This helps us to understand Thomas’ specific mention of wanting to see the same things, but we can hardly judge Thomas as a doubter of the resurrection any more than the other disciples who thought they saw a ghost and had to be given the opportunity of visible evidence before accepting the resurrection as fact.  

​When Jesus did appear to Thomas and the others later, he did not chide Thomas as “you of little faith” in the way he had so often rebuked the disciples when they beheld the miracles of his ministry; he simply gave Thomas the same opportunity to see him that the other apostles had already been given. We should realize that Jesus’ words: “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29) were given for us, not for Thomas.

We should also remember the importance of belief based on seeing for all of the apostles.  In his great sermon of Acts 2, Peter himself stressed that the proof of the resurrection was that all the apostles were witnesses – they had seen Christ with their own eyes (Acts 2:32) – and there is no indication any of them would have believed if they had not seen him.
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Tradition tells us that after seeing the resurrected Christ, Thomas’ firm belief led him to do extensive and powerful works in preaching the Gospel until his faithful martyrdom as far to the east as India. He was never called “Doubting Thomas” in the early Church,  and the Scriptures clearly indicate that, along with the other original apostles, he will have an honored position in the Kingdom of God (Revelation 21:14). Thomas’ belief, once he established it, was a full and powerful faith – and there is no reason to doubt that.

​This Saturday, March 26, an appeals court in Pakistan will review the case of Aasiya Noreen, or Asia Bibi as she is better known, an illiterate young Pakistani Christian who was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death by hanging in November 2010.

Local women became angry with Asia when she drank from the same water source they were using.  After subsequent arguments, she was charged under Pakistan’s strict blasphemy law for insulting the prophet Muhammad – a charge she categorically denies.  For the past five years Asia has been imprisoned and separated from her husband and children (who have had to go into hiding) while she awaits execution. Threats against her life have continued in prison, and she was moved to solitary confinement in a small windowless cell where she cooks her own food in order to protect her from other inmates and from attempts to poison her. She has reportedly been abused by the guards in the prison where she is being held and her health is now very frail.

The Pakistani Christian minorities minister, Shahbaz Bhatti, and another politician, Salmaan Taseer, who argued for Noreen’s release, were both assassinated for advocating on her behalf.  In October 2014 the Pakistani court system dismissed Asia's appeal and upheld her death sentence. The following month, her lawyer appealed to the Supreme Court of Pakistan which suspended Bibi's death sentence for the duration of the appeals process.  After several postponements the Lahore High Court will hear her appeal this week – on March 26.

We should join Christians around the world in praying for the release of Asia Bibi. Pope Benedict XVI and other leaders have publicly called for the charges against her to be dismissed, and many Christian organizations are trying to mobilize believers to help her.  The Voice of the Martyrs organization has organized a petition that can be signed online and hopes to gather one million signatures on behalf of our sister Asia.  At the time of writing, 697,586 people have signed the petition and you can sign it here. 

Given the Pakistani Supreme Court hearings scheduled for this weekend, we should pray earnestly for Asia Bibi this week.  Pray not only for Asia as an individual (who was condemned not for taking a cup of water but for her Christian beliefs), but also for all who are similarly afflicted by Pakistan’s harsh Islamic blasphemy laws.  Because this is a high profile case, if the court rules in her favor, it could be an important precedent for other Christians unjustly threatened by the same blasphemy laws now and in the future.

There are other things we can do. In the United States we can contact our Congressional representatives to protest America's eight billion dollar yearly aid to Pakistan and to argue that that aid should be stopped as long as persecution of minorities is allowed in that country.
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But most of all, Asia Bibi needs our prayers – and she needs them now.

Eagles are impressive creatures with regal looks, formidable talons, and massively powerful wings. It’s not surprising that Bible references to eagles are popular verses frequently tweeted and used as the subject of social media posts with pictures of the great birds soaring in seemingly effortless  freedom.

Sparrows not so much.  The most remarkable thing about sparrows is probably how unimpressive they are.  Although you may have seen thirty of them today, you may not have noticed a single one.  Sparrows are  particularly unphotogenic birds with their  dull brown coloring and unexceptional characteristics. If you want a good twitter image, we’d recommend you look at the eagle again.

Bible references to eagles are suitably impressive.  Some two dozen verses speak of eagles, and the raptors are used as symbols of soaring, swooping and strength (Isaiah 40:31, etc.) – and by extension, of the strong nations used by God in punishing Israel (Deuteronomy 28:49, etc.).   

Sparrows are only mentioned in the Bible a few times, and when they are mentioned in Scripture it is usually as symbols of insignificance. Sparrows were the smallest birds that were used in offerings (Leviticus 14:4) and in the time of Christ two sparrows were sold for an assarius (Greek assarion), which was the lowest valued coin regularly issued in the Roman Empire.  The small birds were considered so insignificant that if you bought four sparrows, the seller would often throw in one more for free (Luke 12:4-7)!  That is why Jesus was able to use the humble sparrow to teach a great lesson regarding God’s view of those of no significance:

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care” (Matthew 10:29).

If we turn back to the Old Testament, one of the names of God in the Hebrew Scriptures is el roi (pronounced el raw-EE) which means the God who sees.  The name was used by Hagar, the servant girl who fled from the anger of Abraham’s wife Sarah.  The story in Genesis 16 tells us that Hagar found herself alone and as good as lost in the desert, and that she sank down exhausted in her lonely helplessness.  The young servant’s situation was, in fact, similar to one that the psalmist compared to a sparrow:  “I lie awake, and am like a sparrow alone on the housetop” (Psalm 102:7).

But Hagar was not as alone as she thought – she was seen and helped by the “Angel of the Lord.” Many scriptures indicate that this “Angel” was in fact a theophany, an appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ (John 8:58, etc.), and it was then that Hagar pronounced the name of God as el roi – the God who sees.

The words of Jesus recorded in the New Testament make the same point courtesy of the humble sparrow.  No matter how insignificant we may think we are compared to the universe in which we live, and no matter how alone we may feel, the God who sees the sparrow sees us and is not unmoved by our situation.
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It’s a simple thought yet a profound one. The God of the whole universe sees the insignificant just as much as he sees the significant: the great, the powerful, the impressive – the eagles of the world.  The God who sees the eagle soar also sees the sparrow fall – and while his inspired word confirms God’s awareness of the eagle’s strength, it speaks even more clearly of his care for the sparrow.   

​Scriptures in Question: Leviticus 7:23 and  Deuteronomy 32:14
 
“Say to the Israelites: ‘Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats’”  (Leviticus 7:23).
“The Lord … nourished him with … curds from the herd, and milk from the flock, with fat of lambs, rams of Bashan and goats”  (Deuteronomy 32: 12-14).      
 
Those who think they see contradictions in the Bible sometimes point to the many verses such as Leviticus 7:23 in which God expressly forbade ancient Israel to eat the fat of the animals, along with other verses, such as Deuteronomy 32:14, in which God is said to feed his people with the fat of animals, or encourages them to feed on the fat.

The answer to this seeming anomaly is a very simple one.  The Hebrew word cheleb often translated “fat” in English Bibles does indeed mean the fat of animals, but it also has other meanings such as “fatness,” “richness,” “finest,” “best.”  This is somewhat analogous to the English word “sweet,” which can mean sweet” as in “sugary” or “sweet” as in “pleasant” (for example, “sweet music” or a “sweet disposition”).

When we understand this broader meaning of the word cheleb, the meaning of Deuteronomy 32:12-14 becomes clear when we look at the verse in context:

“The Lord … nourished him with …curds from the herd, and milk from the flock, with fat [or “the best”] of lambs, rams of Bashan and goats, with the very finest of the wheat — and you drank foaming wine made from the blood of the grape.” 

Notice three things.  First, when we understand the “fat” of the lambs, rams and goats to mean the “best” or “finest” of these animals, there is no contradiction with Leviticus 7:23 or similar verses. Second, note the expression “the very finest of the wheat” that appears in this verse. The word “finest” is actually the same Hebrew worb cheleb – “fat” –  but the text obviously doesn’t make sense if it is translated “fat,” so translators opt for the word “finest” or something similar.  But the context shows clearly that cheleb should be translated “finest” in both cases – the finest of the lambs and the finest of the wheat.

Finally, notice the end of the verse speaks of the Israelites drinking wine made from the “blood” of the grape.  Leviticus 3:17 clearly forbids the drinking or eating of blood: “This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood.”  So in actuality, consumption of both fat and blood was forbidden in the laws given Israel, and the words found in Deuteronomy 32, that God gave Israel the “fat” of the animals and crops and the “blood” of the grape, are clearly symbolic and not literal.

​This is the case in scriptures such as Genesis 45:18, Isaiah 55:2 and others which talk of eating the “fat of the land.” Those who claim contradiction between such verses and the clear prohibition of actual fat and blood are simply not understanding the language or the context of the verses in question. 

Our latest free e-book – Lessons from the Life of Jesus – is now ready for publication and will be available for download from our websites in just a few days – beginning on Sunday, March 12.

Our latest book gives a new view of the life of Jesus.  Rather than simply retelling the story, Lessons from the Life of Jesus looks instead at some of the details in the four Gospels that are easy to miss, but which can give us fascinating and helpful insights into the life and work of Christ – with lessons you can take away and utilize immediately.

As with all our books,  Lessons from the Life of Jesus  will be available in three formats and can be read on any computer or e-book reader.  And, as always,  this book will be completely free, free from advertising, and available without any registration.  Look for it soon!   

“Oh, I’m not religious!” the young checkout clerk in the grocery told me, “I’m spiritual.”  We hear it all the time these days. Religion has become a less than liked word for many. 

Religion is something that all too often seems to involve wars, denominational disagreements, wealthy televangelists and scandals ranging from pastoral infidelity to church-related child abuse. ​Spirituality seems more neutral, somehow more rational, and often more politically correct.

On the other hand, when we look around the world in which we live, it is often religion that is making a difference.  It is religion that is working in the slums, helping to feed the hungry, and carrying hope to millions who do not have it – while spirituality is often home alone, meditating or praying for insight and self-improvement.

None of what is said above is meant to offend anyone, but rather to suggest that each approach may have something that is needed and by itself lack something that is equally necessary.   It helps us see that when we consider a few things the Bible says.

First, it comes as a surprise to many that the Bible disparages both religion and spirituality under some circumstances.  If that seems hard to believe, consider the following scriptures which show that when they are not done right, either can be problematic:

“Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless” (James 1:26).

“…do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1).

On the other hand, the Bible shows that both religion and spirituality have their place:
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“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27).

“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words” (1 Corinthians 2:13).

Both religion and spirituality have to be done right if they are going to be real and meaningful.  Religion must be done with true spirituality and spirituality must be done with true religion. The apostle Peter summarized this situation nicely when he wrote:

“you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).

It is only as we are built into a spiritual house (read church – read religion) that we can fulfill our true role in life, but it is only as we offer spiritual sacrifices (read spiritual behavior – read spirituality) that our lives are meaningful and acceptable to God.  True religion and true spirituality go hand in hand. They are the outward and inner manifestations respectively of what God calls us to be, of what we were meant to be. 

So next time you hear someone say “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual,” consider telling them you think that's too bad – because being only one or the other misses so much of what life is all about.