Editorial: “Truth-Seeking Thomas”

We often describe Thomas as a doubter. That characterization, it seems to me, is terribly unfair. Thomas wanted to see Jesus alive again as much as anyone. But he wasn’t going to believe it just because someone said so. Even face to face with the risen Christ, he insisted on the ultimate proof: to touch the wounds he’d seen inflicted on his Savior.

Some have criticized Thomas for that. I don’t. I admire him.

Religion has a truth problem, it seems to me. So many voices, wanting to make their religious organizations work, or boost their own importance, spin “cunningly devised fables” and ask us to believe them. I don’t think they mean to lie, but they certainly understand that a powerful story brings people to them, and gets their financial support. Just this week I was reading some rather preposterous prophetic speculations about the eclipse that is crossing the United States and Canada on Monday. They were proclaimed as biblical truth, but they weren’t based on the Bible, and they weren’t true; they were merely speculation, and not even good speculation.

We at Adventist Today are advocates for truth. Whether the question is creation, Ellen White, biblical interpretation, health, church politics, or any related topics, we need to demand truthfulness from our faith community.

Like Thomas, let us follow the truth where it leads. Let us ask for evidence, as Thomas did. And let us hold accountable those who would divert us from it. Thank you for helping us do so by supporting our Spring Fundraiser with a generous donation.

Loren Seibold
Executive Editor, Adventist Today
5 April 2024