In Concessions of Trinitarians, Michaelis, a Trinitarian, writes:
I do not affirm that Thomas passed all at once from the extreme of doubt to the highest degree of faith, and acknowledged Christ to be the true God. This appears to me too much for the then existing knowledge of the disciples; and we have no intimation that they recognized the divine nature of Christ before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. I am therefore inclined to understand this expression, which broke out in the height of his astonishment, in a figurative sense, denoting only “whom I shall ever reverence in the highest degree”…Or a person raised from the dead might be regarded as a divinity; for the word God is not always used in the strict doctrinal sense” [Michaelis is quoted by Dana, ref. below].
Some misc commentaries:
In The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of John by Gary M. Burge.
Burge said that Thomas's statement can be seen as an expression of awe and worship rather than a doctrinal assertion about Jesus' divine nature.
There's The Expositor's Bible Commentary which says that Thomas's exclamation may reflect a moment of realization rather than a formal theological declaration, with emphasis on the relational aspect of his response.
There's John's Gospel: A Theological Commentary by John D. Barry. Barry discusses various interpretations, suggesting that Thomas’s proclamation may serve as a recognition of Jesus's authority rather than a straightforward identification of him as God.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary by John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck. This work interprets Thomas's words in the context of Jewish thought, arguing that it can be understood as a statement of loyalty or devotion.
When will you be a believer? There is an entire community of scholars, experts, and theologians who have debunked you. Your theological ship is sinking.
First you ignored the Greek experts which addressed your argument concerning the vocative case showing it was bogus
second it is an outright lie that There is an entire community of scholars, experts, and theologians who have debunked me
Verse 28. Thomas answered, &c.] Those who deny the Godhead of Christ would have us to believe that these words are an exclamation of Thomas, made through surprise, and that they were addressed to the Father and not to Christ. Theodore of Mopsuestia was the first, I believe, who gave the words this turn; and the fifth Œcumenic council, held at Constantinople, anathematized him for it. This was not according to the spirit of the Gospel of God. However, a man must do violence to every rule of construction who can apply the address here to any but Christ. The text is plain: Jesus comes in—sees Thomas, and addresses him; desiring him to come to him, and put his finger into the print of the nails, &c. Thomas, perfectly satisfied of the reality of our Lord’s resurrection, says unto him,—MY LORD! and MY GOD! i
Adam Clarke, The Holy Bible with a Commentary and Critical Notes (vol. 5, New Edition.; Bellingham, WA: Faithlife Corporation, 2014), 659.
My Lord and my God. In this passage the name God is expressly given to Christ, in his own presence and by one of his own apostles. This declaration has been considered as a clear proof of the divinity of Christ, for the following reasons: 1st. There is no evidence that this was a mere expression, as some have supposed, of surprise or astonishment. 2d. The language was addressed to Jesus himself—“Thomas—said UNTO HIM.” 3d. The Saviour did not reprove him or check him as using any improper language. If he had not been divine, it is impossible to reconcile it with his honesty that he did not rebuke the disciple. No pious man would have allowed such language to be addressed to him
Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: Luke & John (ed. Robert Frew; London: Blackie & Son, 1884–1885), 379.
My Lord and my God (ὁ κυριος μου και ὁ θεος μου [Ho kurios mou kai ho theos mou]). Not exclamation, but address, the vocative case though the form of the nominative, a very common thing in the Koiné. Thomas was wholly convinced and did not hesitate to address the Risen Christ as Lord and God. And Jesus accepts the words and praises Thomas for so doing.
A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), Jn 20:28.
Thomas’s cry, “My Lord and my God!” is an exclamatory address, an exclamation specifically directed to Jesus, as its subject and recipient (note αὐτῷ). That the cry was not an extravagant acclamation, spoken in a moment of spiritual exaltation when his exuberance exceeded his theological sense, is apparent from two facts.
1. The evangelist records no rebuke of Jesus to Thomas for his worship (cf. 5:18; Acts 14:8–18; Rev 19:9–10; 21:8–9). Thomas was not guilty of worshiping the creature over the Creator (cf. Rom 1:25). Indeed, Jesus’ word to Thomas—“You have believed” (v. 29a)—implies the acceptance of his confession, which is then indirectly commended to others (v. 29b).
2. John has endorsed Thomas’s confession by making it his final and climactic Christological affirmation
Murray J. Harris, John (Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament; B&H Academic, 2015), 333–334.
Thomas’ response, My Lord and My God! is the high point of the Gospel. Here was a skeptical man, confronted by the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection. He announced that Jesus, the Man of Galilee, is God manifest in the flesh
Edwin A. Blum, “John,” in
The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck; vol. 2; Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 2343–344.
note this is the BKC it does not support you
Thomas’s confession of Jesus as my Lord and my God is yet another climax in this Gospel. Jesus has invited him to catch up with the others in their new stage of faith, and he shoots past them and heads to the top of the class. His confession is climactic not only as part of the Gospel’s story line, but also as an expression of the core of John’s witness to Jesus in this Gospel. Thomas confesses Jesus as God when he sees that the crucified one is alive
Rodney A. Whitacre, John (vol. 4; The IVP New Testament Commentary Series; Westmont, IL: IVP Academic, 1999), 485.
My Lord and my God] The climax of the gospel. The unbelief of Thomas passes into faith in Christ’s true Deity. Observe that Jesus accepts and approves the confession of Thomas
J. R. Dummelow, ed., A Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1936), 810.
Thomas rises to the challenge and responds by uttering one of the great confessions of history, “My Lord and my God” (v. 28). These words have become the fitting climax and theological core of the Fourth Gospel. While some have tried to turn Thomas’s words into a mere part of the developing understanding of the disciples, they are so much more. With 1:1 (“The Word was God”) this Gospel is framed by statements of Jesus’ deity. It is an astounding leap of faith and understanding, as Thomas had spent the last seven days doubting Jesus’ resurrection and now all of a sudden affirms that he is the one and only God
Grant R. Osborne, John: Verse by Verse (ed. Jeffrey Reimer et al.; Osborne New Testament Commentaries; Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018), 470.
John 20:24–29 (KJV 1900) — 24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. 26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
Thomas’ utterance cannot possibly be taken as shocked profanity addressed to God (if to anyone), a kind of blasphemous version of a stunned ‘My word!’ Despite its popularity with some modern Arians, such profanity would not have been found in first-century Palestine on the lips of a devout Jew. In any case, Thomas’ confession is addressed to him, i.e. to Jesus; and Jesus immediately (if implicitly) praises him for his faith, even if it is not as notable as the faith of those who believe without demanding the kind of evidence accorded Thomas. Nor are Thomas’ words most easily read as a predicative statement addressed to Jesus: ‘My Lord is also my God.’ The overwhelming majority of grammarians rightly take the utterance as vocative address to Jesus: My Lord and my God!—the nouns being put not in the vocative case but in the nominative (as sometimes happens in vocatival address) to add a certain sonorous weight.
D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John (The Pillar New Testament Commentary; Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), 658–659.
Ver. 28. My Lord and my God! [ὁ κύριός μου καὶ ὁ θεός μου! An address of Thomas to Christ (the nom. with the art. for the vocative, as often in the New Testament; compare Christ’s address to His Father, Mark 15:34: ὁ θεός μου, ὁ θεός μου. The highest apostolic confession of faith in the Lordship and Divinity of Christ,—an echo of the beginning of this Gospel: “The Word was God,” 1:1, and an anticipation of its close, 20:30, 31. Thomas, says Augustine, behold and touched Christ as Man, and confessed Him to be God, whom he did not see nor touch
John Peter Lange and Philip Schaff, A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: John (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 622.
Thomas’s response forms the high point of confession in the Gospel. What it does is bring the Gospel full circle from the Prologue, where it is emphatically said that the “Word was God” (1:1) to this confession, “My Lord and my God.” In the process of writing this Gospel the evangelist has proclaimed that Jesus was active in creation (1:2), the Word who became incarnate/enfleshed (1:14), the sin-bearing Lamb of God (1:29, 36), the Messiah (1:41; 4:25–26), the Son of God (1:48), the King of Israel (1:48), the new Temple (2:19–21), a teacher sent from God (3:2), a new symbol of God’s power exhibited through Moses (3:14), the evidence of the love of God (3:16), the Savior of the World (4:42), equal with God (5:18), the authority in judgment (5:27), the agent of God (5:30), the fulfillment of Scripture (5:39), the expected prophet (6:14), the “I am” (6:35, etc.), the supplier of living water (7:38), the one who was from God (9:31–33), the Son of Man (9:35), the consecrated/Holy one (10:36), the lifted up one (4:14; 12:32–34), the glorified one (13:31), the preparer of his followers’ destiny (14:2), the nonabandoning one (14:18), the one in whom we must abide and who is the basis for the fruitfulness of his followers (15:5–7), the sender of the Paraclete (15:26), the bearer of truth (18:37), the crucified King (19:15), the risen Lord (20:20) and God (20:26). The list can be expanded greatly, but the point is that when this list is compared to the designations of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels, the other presentations of Jesus pale in significance before these magnificent confessions about him in John. In the years of contemplating the significance of Jesus, the Johannine evangelist in the context of that early community has supplied for the church of all ages a truly masterful statement about Jesus—Jesus is indeed Lord and God
Gerald L. Borchert, John 12–21 (vol. 25B; The New American Commentary; Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002), 314–315.
and another source you claim which does not support you
The faith of Thomas is full of significance. First, it is helpful to our own faith to hear so decisive and so full a confession coming from the lips of such a man. John himself felt it to be so decisive that after recording it he virtually closes the Gospel which he had undertaken to write in order to persuade men that Jesus is the Son of God. After this confession of Thomas he feels that no more can be said. He stops not for want of matter; "many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples" which are not written in this Gospel. These seemed sufficient. The man who is not moved by this will not be moved by any further proof. Proof is not what such a doubter needs. Whatever we think of the other Apostles, it is plain that Thomas at least was not credulous. If Peter’s generous ardour carried him to a confession unwarranted by the facts, if John saw in Jesus the reflection of his own contemplative and loving nature, what are we to say of the faith of Thomas? He had no determination to see only what he desired, no readiness to accept baseless evidence and irresponsible testimony. He knew the critical nature of the situation, the unique importance of the matter presented to his faith. With him there was no frivolous or thoughtless underrating of difficulties. He did not absolutely deny the possibility of Christ’s resurrection, but he went very near doing so, and showed that practically he considered it either impossible or unlikely in the extreme. But in the end he believes. And the ease with which he passes from doubt to faith proves his honesty and sound-heartedness. As soon as evidence which to him is convincing is produced, he proclaims his faith.
His confession, too, is fuller than that of the other disciples. The week of painful questioning had brought clearly before his mind the whole significance of the Resurrection, so that he does not hesitate to own Jesus as his God. When a man of profound spiritual feeling and of good understanding has doubts and hesitations from the very intensity and subtlety of his scrutiny of what appears to him of transcendent importance; when he sees difficulties unseen by men who are too little interested in the matter to recognise them even though they stare them in the face,--when such a man, with the care and anxiety that befit the subject, considers for himself the claims of Christ, and as the result yields himself to the Lord, he sees more in Christ than other men do, and is likely to be steadier in his allegiance than if he had slurred over apparent obstacles instead of removing them, and stifled objections in place of answering them. It was not the mere seeing of Christ risen which prompted the full confession of Thomas. But slowly during that week of suspense he had been taking in the full significance of the Resurrection, coming at the close of such a life as he knew the Lord had lived. The very idea that such a thing was believed by the rest forced his mind back upon the exceptional character of Jesus, His wonderful works, the intimations He had given of His connection with God. The sight of Him risen came as the keystone of the arch, which being wanting all had fallen to the ground, but being inserted clenched the whole, and could now bear any weight. The truths about His person which Thomas had begun to explain away return upon his mind with resistless force, and each in clear, certain verity. He saw now that his Lord had performed all His word, had proved Himself supreme over all that affected men. He saw Him after passing through unknown conflict with principalities and powers come to resume fellowship with sinful men, standing with all things under His feet, yet giving His hand to the weak disciple to make him partake in His triumph.
This was a rare and memorable hour for Thomas, one of those moments that mark a man’s spirit permanently. He is carried entirely out of himself, and sees nothing but his Lord. The whole energy of his spirit goes out to Him undoubtingly, unhesitatingly, unrestrained. Everything is before him in the person of Christ; nothing causes the least diversion or distraction. For once his spirit has found perfect peace. There is nothing in the unseen world that can dismay him, nothing in the future on which he can spend a thought; his soul rests in the Person before him. He does not draw back, questioning whether the Lord will now receive him; he fears no rebuke; he does not scrutinise his spiritual condition, nor ask whether his faith is sufficiently spiritual. He cannot either go back upon his past conduct, or analyse his present feelings, or spend one thought of any kind upon himself. The scrupulous, sceptical man is all devoutness and worship; the thousand objections are swept from his mind; and all by the mere presence of Christ He is rapt in this one object; mind and soul are filled with the regained Lord; he forgets himself; the passion of joy with which he regains in a transfigured form his lost Leader absorbs him quite: "he had lost a possible king of the Jews; he finds his Lord and his God." There can be no question here about himself, his prospects, his interests. He can but utter his surprise, his joy, and his worship in the cry, "My Lord and my God."
and yet another source you claimed does not support you
Instead of taking advantage of the offer, Thomas responds immediately and emphatically to the invitation to “be no longer faithless but faithful.” In reply he “answered and said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ ” (v. 28). The disciples have routinely called Jesus “Lord” (see 13:13), and Mary Magdalene has spoken of him as “my Lord” even in death (v. 13), but this is the first time anyone (aside from the Gospel writer) has called him “God,” or “my God.” Finally the introduction of Jesus to the reader as “God” (1:1), or “God the One and Only” (1:18), is confirmed from within the narrative. He has not “made himself God” (10:33), or “equal to God” (5:18), as his opponents charged, yet he is God, and now at last his disciples know it. The confession is all the more striking because the message Jesus sent to the disciples through Mary Magdalene was “I am going up to my Father and your Father, and my God and your God” (v. 17). Even Jesus recognized the Father as “my God,” and he invited his disciples to do the same. Yet Thomas does not hesitate to address Jesus himself in exactly the same way. He realizes that at the end of the day, “Believe in God, and believe in me!” (14:1) amount to the same thing. Those commands were addressed to all the disciples, not just one, and Thomas’s confession too (like Peter’s in 6:69) is best understood as representing the conviction of all the disciples gathered behind locked doors on those two successive first days of the week.
J. Ramsey Michaels, The Gospel of John (The New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament; Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, UK: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010), 1018.
I have all these resources and many more so maybe you should stop taking out of context snippets from secondary sources
In any case your claim scholars debunk me is quite laughable and an incredible delusion
