During a time of oppression by both Church and State, the French philosopher Voltaire was a voice of Reason. A good introduction to his work is The Philosophical Dictionary.
Here is how he defines FILIAL:
"A filial fear mixed with love should be felt by all good Christians for a God who is not always in the best of tempers, and for the Holy Church, his spouse, who frequently shows herself to be a virago and a shrew."
