God as a “Good-Enough Mother”: The Divine Relationship between God and Self

Abstract

This work seeks to provide for the reader information on how God functions as a “good-enough mother” and how this facilitates the flourishing of the self. A review of Donald Winnicott’s object relations theory and John Bowlby’s concept of internal working models will be provided. These concepts are reviewed in order to illustrate the role of the good-enough mother and the internal working models in emotional and psychological development which make it possible for one to have a relationship with God, and which then enables the individual to seek flourishing. Finally, a theory of spiritual development is presented. The specific questions that are addressed include: (a) How does God function as a “good-enough mother?”; (b) How does one form a concept of God as a “good-enough mother?”; and (c) How does God as a “good-enough mother” lead to flourishing of the self?