Haase_UZ_x007E_DTh (2).pdf - South African Theological Seminary

in particular would, or could not, believe: “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails,
and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not
believe” (Joh. 20:24-25). Then Jesus provided tangible evidence to confirm this
seemingly impossible truth:
After eight days His disciples were again inside,
and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors
being shut, and stood in the midst, and said,
“Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas,
“Reach your finger here, and look at My hands;
and reach your hand here, and put it into My
side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My
Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him,
“Thomas, because you have seen Me, you
have believed. Blessed are those who have
not seen and yet have believed.” And truly
Jesus did many other signs in the presence of
His disciples, which are not written in this
book; but these are written that you may
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God, and that believing you may have life in
His name (Joh. 20:26-31).
Jesus knew the doubting hearts of people and responded with perceptible proofs.
Jesus did not rise from the dead and immediately return to heaven, leaving no without
eyewitness accounts of His resurrection. He instead purposely stayed many days to
tangibly prove Himself to many (cf., Joh. 20:30-31). His own disciples were then so fully
convinced of His resurrection, that all would go on to boldly preach His life, death and
resurrection wherever they went, facing persecution and death for these beliefs.
It is quite natural to believe only what we can ‘know’ sensually, or tangibly. If we
can ‘touch’ something, like Thomas, we too are more inclined to believe. Doubting is
part of the life of faith, and a challenge for all faith adherents. Doubting reveals
humanity’s natural inclination toward, and need for, the correspondence theory of truth --
that the intangible must correspond to the tangible -- the human essential postmoderns
and other relativists attempt to deny.
The Christian witness to the postmodernist must rest in reality -- even if the
postmodernists [falsely] claim that reality is un-real and truth socially constructed and
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University of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa