Mother Earth

According to the United Nations – whose General Assembly proclaimed April 22nd as International Mother Earth Day - Mother Earth is “urging a call to action.” Beach clean-up events and many other environmental measurements are performed to “give back to Mother Earth.” Multiple shops from different industries – organic food, organic coffee, engineering, gardening, beauty products, jewelries, breweries, etc. – bear the name of Mother Earth while referring to “the power of Mother Earth,” “the spirit of Mother Earth” or to “make our mother happy.” There seems to be a very common use of the term Mother Earth with an often flowery language related to it. But who is Mother Earth? Where does the concept that stands behind this expression come from?

Mother Earth (sometimes Mother Nature or the Earth Mother) is a deification of the earth. This concept originates from various world mythologies. In Greek mythology for example Mother Earth is the goddess Gaia who created herself. A goddess is to be worshipped by humans. Therefore using the expression Mother Earth fosters a belief that the planet earth requires our worship. Such an idea is the opposite of the Biblical teaching that God is the Creator and that planet earth is His creation. According to this belief mankind’s relation to the planet earth is that of stewardship. Man was put in the environment of planet earth to make good use of everything that is in it. Being a good steward does not include destroying what is entrusted. But lifting the planet earth from the position of a created thing to a goddess, to a creator-like being that is to be worshipped also does not conform to the Biblical standard. The Ten Commandments allow worship only of God Himself, never of his creation. Worshipping planet earth is idolatry. Idolatry is opening the pathway into the occult.

I don’t think that everyone who is using the term Mother Earth is consciously worshipping it. Nevertheless being aware of the origin of this term, one must decide whether or not to reinforce a worldview that turns a created thing into a goddess or an idol. In the end such a wrong perspective is creating in the physical realm wrong solutions for environmental issues and in the spiritual realm leading towards occultism.