If you think about it, the opposite of belief is not having doubt but being sure. I don’t believe that two plus two is four, I’m sure of it. On the other hand, I believe that the airplane is going to fly but I’m not completely sure. Doubt is not the enemy of faith. In fact, having doubt is what reinforces faith by causing us to ask, to probe, to question. Doubting Thomas gets a bad rap. It is those who are sure, who have all the answers that can cause great problems. Think of the missionaries from Europe who went to India and found that Christianity had been planted by St. Thomas and was thriving, thank you very much, for the past 1500 years. The missionaries were sure that the way they prayed, the catechism as they learned it was the only appropriate one. Being sure they were right, they inhibited the growth of the faith in its own soil. A little doubt in their righteousness would have worked marvels.
JULY32025
By Church Staff
