The author Bill Bryson, tells of going to Hannibal, Missouri, to visit the boyhood home of Mark Twain. Mark Twain was one of his heroes. As he visited the home, he was disappointed. The home was supposed to be a faithful reproduction of the original, but it was easy to see that it was not. Far too many items from the 20th century were included in the home. In a sense it was false advertising. Mr. Bryson was further disappointed that he was not able to actually go inside the house. "You look through the windows," he says. "At each window there is a recorded message telling about each room." As he proceeded from window to window he asked another tourist, "What do you think of it?" The friendly stranger replied, "Oh, I think it's great. I come here whenever I'm in Hannibal two, three times a year. Sometimes I go out of my way to come here." Dumbfounded, Bryson replied, "Really?" "Yes," answered the tourist. "I must have been here twenty, thirty times by now. This is a real shrine, you know!"

As the two of them continued walking, Bryson asked his last question of the man. "Would you say the house is just like Twain described it in his books?" "I don't know," said the tourist. "I've never read one of his books."

Not really a true disciple was he?

Thomas did not want to be a casual follower, uncommitted to following Jesus. And Jesus wanted to reassure Thomas that his teachings were not false tokens of heaven.