The word is equivalent to the Greek Didymus, twin.
The Apostle Thomas (;;; ) has been considered a native of Galilee, like most of the other apostles (); but according to tradition he was a native of Antiochia, and had a twin-sister called Lysia.
In the character of Thomas was combined great readiness to act upon his convictions, to be faithful to his faith even unto death, so that he even exhorted his fellow-disciples, on his last journey to Jerusalem, 'Let us also go, that we may die with him' (), together with that careful examination of evidence which will be found in all persons who are resolved really to obey the dictates of their faith. Whosoever is minded, like most religionists who complain of the skepticism of Thomas, to follow in the common transactions of life the dictates of vulgar prudence, may easily abstain from putting his hands into the marks of the nails and into the side of the Lord (); but whosoever is ready to die with the Lord will be inclined to avail himself of extraordinary evidence for extraordinary facts, since nobody likes to suffer martyrdom by mistake. These remarks are directed against Winer and others, who find in the character of Thomas what they consider contradictory traits, viz., inconsiderate faith, and a turn for exacting the most rigorous evidence. We find that a resolute and lively faith is always necessarily combined with a sense of its importance, and with a desire to keep its objects unalloyed and free from error and superstition. Christ himself did not blame Thomas for availing himself of all possible evidence, but only pronounced those blessed who would be open to conviction even if some external form of evidence should not be within their reach.
Thomas preached the Gospel in Parthia (Origen), and, according to Jerome, in Persia; and was buried at Edessa. According to a later tradition Thomas went to India, and suffered martyrdom there.
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John Kitto was an English biblical scholar of Cornish descent.Born in Plymouth, John Kitto was a sickly child, son of a Cornish stonemason. The drunkenness of his father and the poverty of his family meant that much of his childhood was spent in the workhouse. He had no more than three years of erratic and interrupted education. At the age of twelve John Kitto fell on his head from a rooftop, and became totally and permanently deaf. As a young man he suffered further tragedies, disappointments and much loneliness. His height was 4 ft 8 in, and his accident left him with an impaired sense of balance. He found consolation in browsing at bookstalls and reading any books that came his way.
From these hardships he was rescued by friends who became aware of his mental abilities and encouraged him to write topical articles for local newspapers, arranging eventually for him to work as an assistant in a local library. Here he continued to educate himself.
One of his benefactors was the Exeter dentist Anthony Norris Groves, who in 1824 offered him employment as a dental assistant. Living with the Groves family, Kitto was profoundly influenced by the practical Christian faith of his employer. In 1829 he accompanied Groves on his pioneering mission to Baghdad and served as tutor to Groves's two sons. In 1833 Kitto returned to England via Constantinople, accompanied by another member of the Groves mission, Francis William Newman. Shortly afterwards he married, and in due course had several children.
A London publisher asked Kitto to write up his travel journals for a series of articles in the Penny Magazine, a publication read at that time by a million people in Britain, reprinted in America and translated into French, German and Dutch. Other writing projects followed as readers enquired about his experiences in the East amidst people living in circumstances closely resembling those of Bible times.
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