I wonder, if Google had been around in Biblical times, would Thomas had said, “Unless I can Google it, I will not believe.” That might be a crazy statement but think about it. We live in a culture that loves facts and we are accustomed to satisfying our curiosities with ease. Information is quick to find. We Google everything. Just the other day I wondered did that guy really eat 76 hotdogs in ten minutes on the Fourth of July. To satisfy my doubting curiosity, I Googled it. Yep, he did. And now I believe it.
I am not sure Thomas would have been satisfied to simply read an internet headline like I did. I wasn’t really invested in the truth of the hotdog record. But Thomas was invested in the truth of the Resurrection. I think one of the reasons Thomas was so set on seeing Jesus for himself, rather than taking the Apostles’ word, was that he had a personal relationship with him. Jesus, to Thomas, was not just some guy he sort-of knew. Thomas wasn’t just looking to satisfy his curiosity. His longing to believe was deeper than fact gathering. It was bigger than curiosity.
Believing as a Christian, according to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, “is not found in an intellectual system, a collection of dogmas or a moralism. Christianity is an encounter, a love story; it is an event.” Thomas knew that. Does Google?
