We refer to the Fatherhood of God, which is fine but incomplete… We have hardly spoken about the Motherhood of God, and consequently we have been poorer for this.

Desmond Tutu

The Nature of God

Theme: Divine Father and Mother

Just as we must always have faith, we must always question our creeds and make sure that our beliefs bring us closer to God and to truth. Often we focus too much on concrete images of God and on overtly literal readings of the Bible. It is a liability of many languages that they are gendered and therefore we must speak of God as either a He or a She but rarely both. There is something in the nature of God that corresponds to our maleness and our femaleness. We have tended to speak much more of the maleness, so we refer to the Fatherhood of God, which is fine but incomplete. We have missed out on the fullness that is God when we have ignored that which corresponds to our femaleness. We have hardly spoken about the Motherhood of God, and consequently we have been poorer for this.

Desmond Tutu

Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 1931 – 26 December 2021) was a distinguished South African Anglican Archbishop and theologian known globally for his dedicated work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. His involvement in the fight against racial segregation in South Africa during the apartheid era was steadfast and resulted in significant contributions to the nation's quest for racial equality. In recognition of his efforts, Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. His leadership and moral courage were instrumental in transitioning South Africa towards a more reconciled society.

Tutu was deeply religious and his belief in God, perceived as both a Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother, played a major role in his life and advocacy. This belief, which extended beyond traditional Anglican theology, played a significant role in his stance on gender equality. His faith, therefore, wasn't simply a personal doctrine, but it also guided his public advocacy and influenced his approach towards human rights.

Tutu was also a strong proponent of Ubuntu, an African philosophy that stresses the interconnectedness of humanity. This concept aligns with the idea that one's well-being is tied to the well-being of others. Tutu's acknowledgment of advancements in human rights and his continued efforts for improvement were reflective of this philosophy. Despite the challenges he faced during the apartheid era, Tutu remained committed to advocating for a world where peace, justice, and dignity were accessible to everyone. Through his lifetime, Desmond Tutu left an enduring mark on society, and his legacy continues to inspire those who pursue equality and human rights.

(1931-2021) Christianity
God Has A Dream

Tutu, Desmond. "God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Times." Edited by Douglas Abrams. Rider, 2004. 47. [Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu, God Has a Dream].

Desmond Tutu

Theme: Divine Father and Mother

About Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s Quote [Commentary]

Archbishop Tutu offers us a call to action as much as he provides an insight. He is urging us to correct a historical bias that has long dominated our spiritual dialogues and practices. While acknowledging the Fatherhood of God is significant, he posits that it is equally crucial to honor the Motherhood of God. Archbishop Tutu is not merely suggesting that we adjust our language; he is inviting us to alter our entire spiritual outlook. By focusing solely on the Fatherhood of God, we’ve missed out on the depth and breadth of Divine presence that also encompasses Motherhood.

The archbishop’s observations indicate that this imbalance is not just an oversight; it has made our spiritual experiences less complete. For too long, we’ve allowed a limited viewpoint to shape our relationship with God and consequently, we’ve distanced ourselves from the full experience of the Divine. Archbishop Tutu compels us to bring this Mother aspect into our spiritual practices and thoughts, not as an appendage to existing belief, but as a vital, enriching complement to the Father aspect we already acknowledge.

So, Archbishop Tutu’s message serves as a bridge between tradition and a more inclusive, complete understanding of the Divine. By recognizing and embracing both the Fatherhood and Motherhood of God, we can move closer to the experience that Archbishop Tutu believes is accessible to us all. This is not merely a matter of being politically correct or linguistically inclusive; it’s about spiritual wholeness. We are called to reimagine and re-experience God in a way that honors the full richness of Divine being.

God Has a Dream

“All over this magnificent world God calls us to extend His kingdom of Shalom—peace and wholeness—of justice, of goodness, of compassion, of caring, of sharing, of laughter, of joy, and of reconciliation. God is transfiguring the world right this very moment through us because God loves us. What can separate us from the love of God? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And as we share God’s love with our brothers and sisters, God’s other children, there is no tyrant who can resist us, no oppression that cannot be ended, no hunger that cannot be fed, no wound that cannot be healed, no hatred that cannot be turned to love, no dream that cannot be fulfilled.”

—Desmond Tutu [God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Times].

A View of Heavenly Father and Mother in World Scripture

The Absolute Being relates to human beings as parent to child. The Jewish and Christian scriptures call God our Heavenly Father; in the Lotus Sutra the Buddha is called “Father of the World.” In some traditions the Absolute Being is also identified as the Divine Mother. Even religions that customarily employ patriarchal imagery for God also describe a motherly aspect: God as Nurturer, Fount of compassion and Sustainer. “There is something in the nature of God that corresponds to our maleness and our femaleness,” remarks Bishop Desmond Tutu. God’s fatherhood and motherhood may be identified with heaven and earth, cooperating to create and nurture all living things.
God’s parental role is not limited to the act of creation; it is an enduring affective relationship of the heart. Love reveals God’s parental aspect better than anything. Even Islam, which avoids describing God as a divine father, in light of its strong rejection of polytheism in which gods physically procreate, includes traditions that describe God’s love by analogy to a father’s love for his son.

—Andrew Wilson [Wilson, Andrew, editor. World Scripture II. Universal Peace Federation, 2011].

Additional Desmond Tutu Quotes

“It is through weakness and vulnerability that most of us learn empathy and compassion and discover our soul.”

—Desmond Tutu [God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Times].

“There are different kinds of justice. Retributive justice is largely Western. The African understanding is far more restorative—not so much to punish as to redress or restore a balance that has been knocked askew.”

—Desmond Tutu [“Recovering from Apartheid” in The New Yorker (18 November 1996)].

“Like humility, generosity comes from seeing that everything we have and everything we accomplish comes from God’s grace and God’s love for us… Certainly it is from experiencing this generosity of God and the generosity of those in our life that we learn gratitude and to be generous to others.”

—Desmond Tutu [God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Times] p. 86.

“Forgiveness is an absolute necessity for continued human existence.”

—Desmond Tutu [As quoted in Pastoral Care for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Healing the Shattered Soul (2002) by Dalene Fuller Rogers and Harold G. Koenig] p. 31.

“I give great thanks to God that he has created a Dalai Lama. Do you really think, as some have argued, that God will be saying: “You know, that guy, the Dalai Lama, is not bad. What a pity he’s not a Christian”? I don’t think that is the case—because, you see, God is not a Christian.”

—Desmond Tutu [As quoted in “Dalai Lama honors Tintin and Tutu” at BBC News (2 June 2006)].

The Nature of God

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