Our history is filled with stories that define who we are, where we come from, our desires, our fears, what we are fond of or even what we loathe. They can be stories written by one individual that the world regards as works of art and insists they be engrained in the minds of students, or they can be orally passed traditions that are carried on from generation to the next. There are stories that are made into motion pictures, while there are those that are adapted into plays to entertain the elite of society. Yet, how many stories today, and those behind them, can boast of their everlasting effect on our culture, history or civilization. Only few come to mind, and among the most prominent of these is the story of the miraculous birth of Jesus, his ministry, crucifixion and resurrection. After all, this is a story that has resulted in the growth, development and spread of the most widely practiced religion in the world today, Christianity.
Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Ch...
The Resurrection of Christ (Kinnaird Resurrection)
English: Resurrection of ChristAnd like any other story, there are those who believe it and those who deny it, those who assert its certainty and those who doubt every aspect of it, be it the miraculous conception of Jesus, his numerous miracles or his triumphant resurrection. And perhaps one of the most prominent examples of doubt regarding the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the account of Thomas the disciple (in the Gospel of John) and his disbelief when the rest of the disciples tell him that Jesus had appeared in their midst when the doors were closed.
But why did John the Evangelist use Thomas as the disciple to bear this immensely important role. After all, he is not a major character in the synoptic gospels and the only mention he receives in them is...