Children Quote by Monica Sjöö
““But, when the cult of the male god was established, there must have been difficulty in explaining how he could be the giver of life to all creation—since the man, unlike the woman, cannot produce from his body either the child or the food for the child. The whole attitude of humans towards the God had to be altered—violently altered. There could not be that same vital biological and magical link (the I-Thou) between the child and the father, as there is between the child and its mother: two beings evolving in and from the same body, the same rhythms, the same dreams. From the religious point of view, this means the loss between the human and the divine of direct, continuous physical-emotional-spiritual relationship. Oneness is dualized, the “self” is isolated within, and the rest of the universe, including God, is displaced and objectified without. The evolutionary, protoplasmic connection between the experienced self and the All is broken, and the new relation becomes: I-the Other; or worse: I-It. The father is not of the same all-containing, all-infusing, shaping and nourishing substance, and so the relation between humans and the Father God becomes abstract and alienated, distant and moralistic. The””
About This Quote
Source Essay: The Feminine Divine, 1990s, null
The quote argues that male‑centered deity concepts break the natural mother‑child bond, turning divine relation into abstract, alienated I‑Other or I‑It.
In simple terms: Male god concepts separate humanity from direct, nurturing divine connection.
Recognize and restore relational, embodied spirituality.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- religious practice
- family dynamics
- personal meditation
- community rituals
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How does gender shape our spiritual experiences?
- Can we re‑imagine divine relationships beyond gender?
May overlook cultural variations in divine concepts.