Skeptical Faith?

I like to think of myself as a skeptic who believes. I'm a doubting Thomas if you will. That's not necessarily a good place to be -- challenging the God of the universe to demonstrate that He is real enough to touch -- but if Thomas hadn't doubted, would we have the proof recorded in the Bible that Jesus did come back in bodily form that was real enough to be touched? My nephew sent a link to this video:



and I decided to share it here rather than on Facebook because I have "deep thoughts" to share with my faithful reader(s) about it. It may mean I'm just taking myself too seriously, but here goes:

1. I have trouble believing that this video is true, or that it happened exactly as it is described in the video.
2. I agree with the general principles in this video -- that Christians should stand up for Christ, especially in hostile environments.
3. Ergo, I believe this is an illustration, rather than a true story. It shows us how things ought to be, rather than how they are. In this way, it's a good story.
4. We need more good stories like this one.
5. Questions for discussion:
Does the fact that this story may not be true as in it actually happened mean that stories about Jesus generally aren't true? Do people make up stories about Jesus because they need Him to be true? I don't think so. I think people genuinely experience Jesus in their lives, and it changes their lives to such a point that they know His truth. The stories about Jesus in the Bible are testified to by many witnesses. The Gospels can be trusted as historical truth. Even in moments where they seem to contradict each other, the Gospels do not contradict each other. There are reasonable explanations for some of the apparent contradictions; others may have to be taken on faith. The Bible also expresses a larger truth about who God is -- that He is a loving God -- he loves us fiercely -- He wants to bring about His kingdom on Earth through people who believe in Him.
6. Now that I've gone off the shallow end of the pool, what is the role of doubt in faith? If we didn't have doubt, could we have faith? The answer is no.
7. Now that I've proven the necessity of being a doubting Thomas, please help me become less like him and more like Jesus.