Belief and touching

April 3 2003: "While we may admit with many scholars that these comments were meant to subvert Thomas' leadership in the early church, they also point to the struggles experienced by a faithful follower of Jesus in his quest to embrace the resurrection."

I want to trust John. I like to think of him as a mystic and lover of Christ-my kind of guy. If this is the case, how can he criticize Thomas' desire to touch Christ. What does it mean to believe if not to experience?

Roger Hahn suggests, "John expresses almost no criticism of Thomas' doubt. In fact, Thomas' desire to put his hand and fingers into Jesus' wounds actually will strengthen John's case against the Docetists."