Wicca and certain forms of paganism revere the earth as a goddess. Gaia, the Great Goddess and Maya are just a few of the many names given to Mother Earth. The common understanding of the earth goddess is that she is one deity among many. She is revered by some as the creator of all life and by others as the giver or the sustainer of life. This worship of the earth as divine is in direct opposition to the Biblical teaching that God alone is God, Creator and Sustainer. However, can Christians use Mother Earth as another name for God?

A person intending to give all credit to Jehovah, the God of the Bible, for the work of creation and for the work of sustaining creation might desire to call Him Mother Earth. Despite good intentions, the God of the Bible must not be referred to as Mother Earth. In common use “Mother Earth” is understood to be a reference to something other than the God of the Bible. This means identifying God as Mother Earth is confusing and misleading to the hearers.

More importantly, God does not permit His worshipers to innovate in their worship of Him. The book of Leviticus is a rule book for the Israelite’s worship of God. The Old Testament gives repeated examples of the consequences of worshiping God in a way other than the way prescribed by Him. The death and resurrection of Jesus in the New Testament ended temple worship and the Old Testament rituals. Jesus’ death did not alter the character of God or the necessity of worshiping Him as He prescribes. God must still be worshiped “in truth.” (John 4:24)

God has revealed Himself exclusively with masculine names and pronouns. None who desire to worship God rightly can refer to Him by feminine names or pronouns. God is declared in Scripture to be “Our Father,” never “Our Mother.” Those who desire to worship God in accord with His revelation cannot call Him by names or titles not given to Him in the Bible.

A handful of passages in the Old Testament describe God with feminine imagery. In Deuteronomy 32:18 God is said to have given birth to Israel. In Psalm 17:8 and Psalm 91:4 God is described as sheltering His child like a hen shelters her chicks. Do these and similar descriptions of God justify referring to Him as Mother? Every description of God using feminine imagery is a description of the work God does. God is never called by a feminine title. Instead, His care for His children is said to be like that of a mother, a nurse or a hen.

The Old Testament uses an abundance of images to describe God’s interactions with people. He is described as having horns, a mighty arm and an all-seeing eye. He is described as riding on clouds and breathing fire against His enemies. None of these are literally true, but are figures of speech intended to teach something about God’s interactions with mankind. The use of feminine imagery does not justify referring to God as Mother Earth any more than the use of barnyard imagery justifies referring to God as Mother Hen.

God has revealed Himself to humanity. God’s revelation to man defines God and in so doing limits the way humans can speak of God. God truly does care for His people like a mother cares for her children, but the people of God must not refer to God by any name other than those revealed by Him in His Word.