We frequently hear from the news media of those who are unsatisfied with the name "Father" and with the pronouns "He" and "Him" as the only designations for the Supreme Being. Many people are reaching for a more meaningful perception of the person or individuality of God than that of a male deity. This is a natural turning to reason as human thought rejects the undefined and insists on intelligible answers. There is also an undeniable yearning in every human heart to know and feel a sustaining and protective power above and beyond oneself. Even the infidel, when in distress, often cries, "O God, save me."
Students of Christian Science have found a deeply satisfying perception of the divine Parent in the teaching that God is not only Father but Mother too. In the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy writes, "Father-Mother is the name for Deity, which indicates His tender relationship to His spiritual creation." Science and Health, p. 332. But the teachings of Christian Science, confirming Christ Jesus' demonstration of God's true nature, go far beyond any single explanation of God and reveal the many facets of His being.
Mrs. Eddy's use of the terms "Father" and the traditional "He" and "Him" followed the Hebrew and Greek of the ancient texts and the English of the King James Version of the Bible—the version in which she largely carried on her search for the true meaning of God. Yet natural though it was for the Bible writers, in their cultural setting, to envisage God as masculine—and inadequate as mere human language was to give whole meaning to the word "God"—the perception was there of God's impartial loving care for all His children. In the book of Acts we find the Apostle Peter describing an aspect of the divine nature where he says, "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons." Acts 10:34. And the First Epistle of John declares that "God is love." I John 4:8. John didn't say that God is loving, although He is, but that He is Love.
