Answer: The writer of what we call John’s gospel said the “word” was an eternal Reality and that it was made “flesh”. The institutional Church has always interpreted that to mean Jesus was the word (voice, messenger) of divine truth. In the Hebrew scriptures, the “word of God” was the prophetic word spoken by the prophets to their particular communities. The bible that we have is a collection of sacred stories that the Church canonized hundreds of years after the writers of those stories had died. So, when we call the bible the “word of God”, it almost suggests that God dictated every word, or that God somehow channeled a heavenly message through human vessels… in other words, that God wrote the bible. I must say that I do not believe that. We find too many human prejudices in the bible that I could never attribute to God. And we find information that we now know to be scientifically inaccurate. We also find inconsistencies in the bible (like two contradictory creation accounts).

So, while we may euphemistically call the bible the world of God, we must not mistake that to mean the “words” of God. The bible is a collection of stories written, edited, translated, interpreted, and taught by humans. The bible covers multiple cultures and it covers about 1300 years of writing. The stories are wonderful in that they show people struggling to make meaning in their lives and they share their experiences, beliefs, hopes, disappointments, creativity, and growth. We aren’t meant to idolize their stories, but to courageously follow their example. We are meant to ask our own questions and share our own stories. As we follow the brave examples of the biblical characters, then the divine word comes alive in us. I find the bible to be very important, but only after we liberate it from the limitations of literalism that we have traditionally tried to place on it.

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” John F. Kennedy

I came to Sunshine Cathedral in the summer of 2006. Since that time I have been to two Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) international General Conferences, an MCC Region 7 cluster conference, 4 International New Thought Alliance Congresses, 2 MCC Large Church Pastors gatherings, and I have completed my Doctor of Ministry degree. During this same time, Rev. Robert Griffin has attended a number of conferences and has completed his Doctor of Ministry degree. Likewise, since coming to Sunshine Cathedral in the Fall of 2007, Rev. Michael Diaz has completed his internship for ordination, attended several conferences, and has now completed the coursework for his Doctor of Ministry degree (which he will receive in 2011).

The pastoral leaders of Sunshine Cathedral clearly are committed to life-long learning and continual professional development. When you study, take religious education courses, attend conferences, read and reflect on Spirit & Truth, watch Sharing the Light on our You Tube channel, attend worship and remain open to new ideas, you are feeding your mind and spirit and allowing yourself to grow. As you continue to learn, evolve, stretch, and grow, you are modeling the power of learning also, and someone will notice and follow your example. That means that as you are learning, you are leading; and that makes you a minister of Good News! Let’s keep learning.

In this episode of Sharing the Light, Sunshine Cathedral’s Senior Pastor Durrell Watkins speaks with Director of Media and Justice Ministries Robert Griffin. We invite you to join us for an enlightening conversation on Sharing the Light.

“We are threefold beings: we are spirit, mind and body. It is important to nourish all three dimensions. We can maintain a balance in our spiritual lives by practicing the presence of God; by nourishing our minds… through a variety of academic, educational, and cultural activities; and by taking care of our body temples through proper nutrition, rest, and physical activity.” Rev. Dr. Barbara King

“The Church” isn’t a building, a pastor, a name, a denomination, a set of beliefs, a set of instruments, or a collection of texts. The Church is the people assembled. The Church is community. The Church is a gathering of “seekers and students of Truth”. We aren’t the church because we agree with one another all the time or because we have certain creeds or rituals. We are the church because we come together and in our togetherness we are the body of Christ, the Church, the assembly of seekers and givers. The Church is us. The Church is a lifestyle.

As people living the Church lifestyle, we are trying to model wholeness. We want to be blessed in mind, spirit, and body and we want to help others be blessed as well; and so we come together to learn, to share, to give, to express our sacredness. When we tithe, when we worship weekly, when we pray daily, when we take religious education classes and go to spiritual conferences, when we read positive literature, when we take care of our mental and physical health, and when we gladly lend our time and talent in specific areas of ministry, we are being “the Church”. We are working together to be our best selves, and as a result we grow and we share our light with the world. When we choose to be “the Church” we are nourishing our whole selves and we are blessing the whole world.

In this episode of Sharing the Light, Sunshine Cathedral’s Senior Pastor Durrell Watkins speaks with Director of Media and Justice Ministries Robert Griffin. We invite you to join us for an enlightening conversation on Sharing the Light.

Answer: The first time we see “the satan” (i.e., the accuser) is in the Book of Job. In that story, “the satan” has full access to the heavenly council and is apparently simply doing his (or her) job as an accuser (sort of a prosecutor). It isn’t until much later (and probably as a result of Persian influence) “the satan” becomes “Satan”… the cosmic boogieman who is the cause of all mischief, suffering, and evil.

In the first century, it was commonly believed that difficulties and diseases were caused by evil spirits, and so “Satan” not only came to be thought of as the personification of evil, but as a leader or driving force of supernatural evil entities. Satan as a sort of Lord or Potentate of an afterlife prison called “Hell” is an even later development most vividly depicted in the literature and art of the middle ages and the Renaissance (e.g., Michelangelo’s Last Judgment and Dante’s Divine Comedy).

The story of Satan misbehaving in heaven and getting cast out isn’t really told in any one place in scripture. To form that story, one has to piece together unconnected texts: Luke10.18 (quoting Isaiah14.12, with some license… Isaiah is calling a political ruler “Lucifer” / Morning Star, the planet Venus), 2 Peter 2.4 (referring to angels being chained in “Tartarus”… a term borrowed from Greek mythology), Jude 6 (speaking of angels who did not keep to their proper domain, probably referring to the story in Genesis 6 where angels were said to have seduced humans), and Revelation 12.7-12 (a battle between angels and a dragon, the dragon probably representing Roman imperial power). By taking these disconnected texts and combining them together (and assuming that Lucifer, Satan, and the dragon are all the same character), the story of Satan as a fallen angel emerged. It is a story that developed over time, and one that I do not take literally.

Now, “Satan” is a convenient way of blaming the appearance of evil in our world on “someone.” But let’s also look at the rest of the Satan myth… “in the end” we are told, Satan is finally defeated by the forces of righteousness. What the story illustrates is that evil is not ultimately real. Evil is the absence of or the opposition to Good; but God, the Good, is omnipresent and so for God to be omnipresent means that there is nothing “real” that can ultimately oppose God / Good. A Course in Miracles states, “Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists; herein lies the peace of God.” Nothing can ultimately threaten or oppose what is truly Good. The appearance of evil must eventually give way to the Truth, just as darkness must be expelled the moment a candle is lit. Satan, as a literary figure representing evil, is only a temporary appearance, or illusion, which ultimately must be banished by the light of Truth, which is that God is omnipresent and God is All Good. Good is what is true, what is real, and what must ultimately be experienced.

In this episode of Sharing the Light, Sunshine Cathedral’s Senior Pastor Durrell Watkins speaks with Director of Media and Justice Ministries Robert Griffin and Director of Education and Volunteer Ministries Michal Diaz. We invite you to join us for an enlightening conversation on Sharing the Light.

“Here at the Sunshine Cathedral we are seekers and students of truth, empowered by spirit, sharing the light with the world.” Sunshine Cathedral’s Mission Statement & Affirmation

I love our simple affirmative mission statement.

We are seekers… There is always more to learn, experience, do, share, and understand. Where we’ve been is wonderful, but the journey isn’t over. We continue to seek, to explore, and to expand.

…and students… Another word for student is “disciple”. We are always learning more about our sacred value, the reliability of the omnipresence we call “God” and how to use what we learn in practical ways to bless our lives and our world.

…of truth… Truth isn’t the same as “facts”. We aren’t seeking for “correct” answers to pre-approved questions. We are seeking to express the Truth of Life, which is Love and Unity and Everlasting Goodness. We are seeking to embrace this Truth more fully so that we might share it, offering it to a world in need of the liberation it promises.

… empowered by spirit… Spirit is the power, the presence, the energy, the life-giving activity of God. As we embrace our unity with the divine Presence, we are empowered to live lives of hope, peace, joy, goodwill, and achievement.

…sharing the light with the world. Once we learn to believe in ourselves, and in the God who has created us in Her/His own image, we then want everyone to experience the hope and joy that such a positive belief offers. We share our message so that everyone can believe in themselves and become their best selves.  Our affirmation declares that we are learning, growing, evolving, and sharing the best of what we are so that others can be their best as well. What a wonderful mission. It will take work to fulfill, and we’ll be better at it at some times than at others, but it is definitely a worthy goal to constantly work toward.