Mrs. Eddy writes, "Father-Mother is the name for Deity, which indicates His tender relationship to His spiritual creation."Science and Health, p. 332; What more beautiful description of God could be found than this?
All Christendom teaches that God is Father, but what sort of a universe could there be with only fathers? How could there be fathers without mothers? The tiniest babe feels safe in his father's strong arms, but these same strong arms might seem frightening to the little one but for the great tenderness the child feels in that embrace. Surely, then, it is the combination of both strength and tenderness that gives the child the complete sense of safety. Is not this the true concept of Father-Mother God?
Parents who are Christian Scientists strive to give up the belief of material parenthood and see God as the Father-Mother of man. As they do this, they gain the understanding that man is God's spiritual offspring, His idea or reflection. New parents who understand this spiritual fact in Christian Science suffer no sense of disappointment upon the arrival of the little one, whether it is a boy or a girl, for they know that a spiritual idea includes all right qualities, which constitute the very nature of the real man. The perfect balance of masculine and feminine qualities—the strength and wisdom of the father, the tenderness and purity of the mother—characterizes every true identity.
