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2007-10-11 20:04:00 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture Religion & Spirituality

11 answers

Nowadays, the common association of the earth with a mother is usually explained in such terms as "the earth is like a mother because she nurtures and sustains us with her produce and habitable atmosphere. She bears fruits like mothers bear children and has her body opened to us like a big home..."

This parable has spanned millenniums and has developed into a rather rational one with time. However, its origin draws a lot less on logical associations and has its roots in Greek mythology. The earth was believed to be a goddess named "Gaia" or "Gaea" (known as Earth or Mother Earth (the Greek common noun for "land" is ge or ga)). She was born out of the emptiness of the universe and brought with her to life "Eros".. sexual desire. But - she gave birth to the sky and sea without male intervention (the Greek version of the virgin mother..?!) Gaia later married Uranus and gave birth to offspring (amongst them: the Titans, spirits and monsters). She was worshipped in Greece until she was replaced by other gods.. but she surfaces again in Roman mythology as Tellus or Terra.

While many will accept Greek and Roman myths for what they are, namely: myths, many others see in them a hidden wisdom that should be taken more seriously. For most people, however, the more logical associations people have made between the earth and the mother are plausible - at least, on an emotional level.

I guess it’s just a way of looking at the earth. It could be seen as a response to the current world's patriarchal order that has shunned and distorted feminine qualities... You can think of it in terms of an oppressed feminine soul that lurks beneath us while men try to ignore or silence it.

Hope this helps ;)

2007-10-11 21:19:42 · answer #1 · answered by Lana 2 · 1 0

The term "Mother earth" has already gained currency in our speech, like "Mother Nature," and "Father Time." We tend to personify things that give us life or that nourish us.

The recent coinage of "Mother Earth" arose lately from a campaign of awareness with how much we have done damage to our environment that gave rise to the so called global warming and "greenhouse effect."

2007-10-12 01:38:35 · answer #2 · answered by Lance 5 · 1 0

Because the Earth nurtures us. She provides us with food, shelter, life springs forth from her as from a pregnant woman. All the things a mother does.

2007-10-11 20:15:18 · answer #3 · answered by Margastar 6 · 3 0

It provides life, right. The soil grows our food and the plants feed our air. Its quite a beautiful thing. From a poetical standpoint, I love idea that our earth feeds us. From a Christian standpoint, I am thankful we had a Father who loved us so much, He gave us all of this to take care of.

2007-10-11 20:11:26 · answer #4 · answered by Loosid 6 · 2 0

Well, it isn't, yet on some level it is true.
Father is the life giver and mother provides raw material for the new life. In the same way God breathed life into Adam, but Adam was fashioned from the elements of the earth.

2007-10-11 20:09:41 · answer #5 · answered by Mutations Killed Darwin Fish 7 · 1 4

Awfully presumptuous, aren't you? I've never thought of Earth as a mother.

2007-10-11 20:06:59 · answer #6 · answered by Red 3 · 1 2

I think the earth is like a giant spherical mass of rock with no personification to speak of.

2007-10-11 20:09:50 · answer #7 · answered by lauren 3 · 1 3

As Monalisa states. She is our mother and always has been.

2007-10-11 20:09:58 · answer #8 · answered by Xzar 6 · 4 0

Because it give us life and water.

2007-10-11 20:24:10 · answer #9 · answered by Candy 6 · 2 0

WRONG
earth is like a big rock with an atmosphere.
theres stuff on it and there is a balance of crap.
and when big stuff goes on on the rock
the balanced gets messed up and **** happens

2007-10-11 20:09:57 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0 6

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