Meet Reverend Gary
The pursuit of spiritual understanding is a profoundly personal odyssey, devoid of a singular, prescribed path. My own journey, culminating in the conviction that we are all 'Children of the Stars,' each deserving of divine grace and love, began in the most unexpected of settings.
From the coal mines of Appalachia to the sun-kissed shores of South Florida, my life has been a tapestry of diverse experiences. Yet, amidst my extensive travels—spanning forty US states and five continents during a career in global consulting—a profound truth crystallized: the bonds that unite humanity far exceed those that divide us. We universally yearn for safety, comfort, and love.
Though my upbringing included only sporadic church attendance, my interest in religious study deepened with age. I found traditional religious institutions, with their rigid dogma and routines, disconnected from my inner experience. This realization amplified as I explored the major world religions. I discovered striking commonalities, particularly among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Their foundational texts share core narratives: a single universal God, the creation of Adam, the patriarch Abraham, and revered prophets like Noah, Moses, David, and Elijah. Even Jesus Christ, though interpreted through different lenses, holds a place of reverence across these faiths.
It was equally illuminating to observe the shared ethical and spiritual principles within Buddhism. Even Hinduism, despite its distinct theological and philosophical framework, particularly its complex pantheon and cyclical worldview, resonates with core ethical values.
These shared principles, evident across diverse religious traditions, hinted at a common source of inspiration. Even acknowledging that these religions might have served as ancient humanity's attempts to explain the cosmos and organize society, predating modern scientific understanding, the consistency remained perplexing. Was an external force guiding them?
Seeking further clarity, I turned to the insights of modern science. It was during this exploration that my 'aha' moment arrived. The opening verses of Genesis:
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day."
These verses resonated powerfully with the Big Bang Theory: a singularity exploding into the void, birthing light and the universe.
Furthermore, Genesis describes God creating humanity from earth. Here, too, modern scientific theory aligns. Evolution posits that life originated in the oceans, where the heat of volcanic vents, coupled with energy from lightning or radiation, facilitated the formation of amino acids, the building blocks of life. Over time, these evolved into RNA and then into simple organisms, eventually culminating in humans, the most sophisticated of creation's manifestations.
The scientific principle of the conservation of matter—that matter cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed—led me to an inescapable conclusion: the matter and energy of that initial creation are the same as what constitutes each of us today. A fragment of that original Spirit resides within every individual. We are, indeed, 'Children of the Stars,' imbued with a divine light for all to witness."