Midway through Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers asks Nick Fury how he is doing. He responds, and I am paraphrasing: “Before today I would have said there’s no such thing as life on other planets, but I just sat through an alien autopsy. I can’t un-see that.”
The cliché that Fury intimates is something that we are all familiar with: seeing is believing. It is the same proof Thomas demanded of Christ: he must first see. Thomas wanted proof.
Both Fury and Thomas had the advantage of being able to believe without the problem of doubt. Indeed, the other disciples already had the benefit of receiving proof. Believing in aliens after sitting through an alien autopsy hardly requires a leap of faith.
After revealing himself to Thomas, Christ responds that those who believe without proof proceed on faith. In other words, faith merges belief with doubt.
Back to Captain Marvel: Near the end of the film, Danvers tells Fury to call upon her if circumstances require. Until then, she takes up the Moses-like mantle to lead a wayward people home across the galaxy and leaves Fury with a task that requires faith.
Indeed, where faith comes into play for Fury -- where Fury must merge belief with doubt -- comes in the final scene where, despite the exit of Captain Marvel, Fury sets out to assemble a team of heroes, a team of Avengers, he has no proof even exist. While he may doubt if he will succeed, like Thomas and the disciples before him, he pairs that doubt with belief and moves forward on Faith.
I’m Michael Perry and that’s my perspective.
