Sunshine Cathedral Blog

Question: The Church doctrine page of the Sunburst shows the Eight Points of Progressive Christianity (from The Center for Progressive Christianity) and the Principles of the International New Thought Alliance. Why should I follow the INTA principles instead of Christ’s commandments? And why are we affiliated with The Center for Progressive Christianity (aren’t the “real rules” of traditional Christianity good enough)? Finally, why do we say “Creator” in the Lord’s Prayer?

Answer: Actually, we don’t have a “doctrine” page in the SunBurst. We simply share the Eight points of Progressive Christianity and the Principles of the INTA for you to consider. What you do with those are up to you. You aren’t required to accept, embrace, or act upon any of those. We also share Healing Rays reflections. Again, those are ideas for you to work with; they are not requirements for your faith journey. Your faith journey is your own. At Sunshine Cathedral you may be challenged to consider point of view that are new for you, but you aren’t required to believe anything (belief is a habitual thought, and how can anyone make you think anything?). All attempts to promote spirituality whether as 10 commandments, 8 points, 10 principles really amount to helping people put into practice the Christ-commands: Love God and love neighbor.

The Sunshine Cathedral affiliated with The Center for Progressive Christianity long before I became the pastor here. However, to be honest, its being associated with TCPC is one of the reasons that I chose to move from New York to Florida and become part of the Sunshine Cathedral family. Progressive Christianity attempts to be true to the liberating spirit of Christ, rather than conforming to dogmatic demands of institutional religion. The eight points are compatible with Metropolitan Community Churches’ history and mission and is the “progressive, positive, and practical” sort of spirituality that we try to model at Sunshine Cathedral.

INTA, again, isn’t in opposition to any particular tradition, but is an ecumenical body of people from many denominations who believe spirituality should be experiential and investigative rather than dogmatic. The previous pastor was a member of the INTA as is your current pastor. Light University, additionally, is affiliated with INTA. Beyond that, the church is not an INTA member (though individuals are free to become part of the INTA… and I recommend it! It’s a very positive and affirming organization).

Finally, I’ve addressed the language issue several times before. Since 1981, Metropolitan Community Churches have embraced and practiced the use of “inclusive language”. Using male names and images exclusively for the divine privileges maleness, and that is unfair to women. So, when speaking of God in most MCCs, we use gender-neutral or gender-inclusive language. It is meant to make God bigger than maleness, and to make God accessible to men and women, both of whom are made in Her/His image.

Thanks for the questions… they are more important than the answers!