Disciples believe they have seen Jesus and tell Thomas about it. Ordinarily, not a big deal. Except for the fact the disciples watched Jesus die just a few days earlier. How can they reconcile the two? How can people know facts and believe something else entirely?
Setting aside a supernatural experience such as the Resurrection, for a moment, how can people know verifiable facts yet believe things contrary to them? For example; How can millions of people know the facts of a 6x bankrupt Trump needing repeated bail-outs by his father and the government and yet believe he is a smart businessman capable of leadership, especially during a crisis? How can millions know the facts of him fabricating his own myth and spending his life hawking that myth for money, while he cheated workers and lied to consumers, yet believe he will give time and energy to being of service to others? How can millions of people know the facts of his organizing a crime swamp of corrupt real estate lobbyists, corporate and government bankers and lawyers hired for money laundering and tax and mortgage fraud and yet believe he will ‘drain the swamp’ in D.C. or anywhere else? Rather than just scratching our heads at the absurdities, we can get our heads around recent studies on the brain. In particular, are the studies done by Sam Harris et al in The Neural Correlates of Religious and Nonreligious Belief. The studies offer a reason for such un-reason-ed belief; “it’s easier to believe than to not.” It is easier to believe because it requires less work by the brain. Thinking, real cognitive labor around facts, their comprehension and analysis requires the brain to work, to use more of its energy and more of its matter. Thinking takes effort; not so belief. Thus, some people, such as fundamentalist Trump supporters, diminish real thinking in favor of magical thinking, “The coronavirus is going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.” Supporters just repeat what they hear and do what they are told. They are good minions, good soldiers. They are well-trained toward dutiful obedience to external dictators of prejudice and propaganda. They are strenuously drilled in literal belief in external dictates of ancient texts. Rarely do fundamentalists work at the challenging labor of questioning premises and considering complexities. They diminish the rigor of thinking and exaggerate the laxity of belief – often very far-fetched belief, like in Trump’s competence or morality. You would thus think that as far-fetched as Jesus’ Resurrection is for the average thinker, fundamentalists would believe in it – but they actually do not. They do not believe Jesus came back and “stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” Instead, fundamentalists believe in something even more far-fetched. They believe an inadequate peacemaker needs to come back yet again, as an Armageddon warmaker, to wipe out all sinners. Fundamentalist believers praying for the death of all sinners include officials coordinating Trump’s deadly coronavirus disaster; Mike Pence, Ben Carson, Surgeon General Jerome Adams, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield, Task Force Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, and Task Force members such as white supremacist Joe Grogan.
Trump supporting religious fundamentalists share similarities with Thomas in Sunday’s Gospel. Neither believe in Jesus’ Resurrection and are fixated on death. However, Thomas is a thinker. He puts more of his brain and more of its energy to work for facts, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” The Gospel records Thomas having that experience of his hands in the nailmarks. Unlike religious fundamentalists, Thomas sees and touches facts about death but he does so as a believer in life. Given the facts of this deadly culture, do we have the courage to believe in life?
Prayer: Holy Spirit, mission us for living.
Question: What is my response to the death cults that have taken over Christianity, this culture, and the GOP?
April 19, 2020 Gospel John 20:19-31 Second Sunday of Easter