(Arch)Angels and stuff.

Sarky

Can anyone tell me about, or show me where to find out about angels?

I can't say I'm much of a practicing Christian, but a lot of the background intrigues me.

I know there's a huge amount of stuff that nobody ever teaches us (or teaches Catholics, at least) about certain areas of Christianity, and I've only found out tiny fragments about some really interesting stuff. For example, from what I can make out, there were some very powerful agents of God, angels and archangels and whatnot, who were really nasty. They served God and justice and all that, but in a harsh Judge Dredd sort of way.

I haven't had much luck tracking down anything more about this sort of thing, maybe some of you might have something to share?
Personally I think that a lot of energy could be reinjected into Christianity in some areas if more people knew about such things. Everyone knows kids love hearing grisly details, right?

Thanks in advance.

neuro-praxis

Check out the books Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts, which all have tidbits about various angels in 'em.

For fun, read Paradise Lost by John Milton. It characterises angels (good and bad) very imaginatively. But remember, it's pretty much fiction.

The bible doesn't focus much on angels. They aren't very significant to faith.

Sarky

Originally posted by neuro-praxis
The bible doesn't focus much on angels. They aren't very significant to faith.

Maybe not, but the background to say, Warhammer, isn't very significant to how the game works. But players get bored real quickly without the fluff.

Excelsior

Good point. I mean, my faith in Christianity is an awful lot like an franchised adolescent board game, when you think about it.

JustHalf

There is information about angels both in accepted Scripture (the Bible) and Jewish folklore and legends (which goes into much more detail). Whether the Jewish folklore and legends are actually Truth is debatable, but they certainly make for interesting reading.

I did a bit of research on this before, I'll try dig some up. There are several classifications of angel mentioned... there is a distinction made between Seraphim (six-winged, four-headed) and Cherubim (four-winged, four-headed).

Here's some links I found by google (though their accuracy I have not had the time to confirm).

http://www.christiananswers.net/q-acb/acb-t005.html
http://wiwi.essortment.com/angelsbible_ryia.htm

Manach

Personally my favourite source for Angel's info is "Good Omens" by Pratchett & Gaimen, but thats just me.

Nevyn

as Angles pre date Man for God created them first, they also predate chirstianity.

If you really wanted to go that far back you need to look into judaic scripture for that.

www.sacred-texts.com

may have what you are looking for.

Karl Hungus

Oh, thanks very much...

You've just given me hours worth of reading!!!
And I cannot just leave this kinda stuff alone, damn you!

stonebruise

Originally posted by AngelWhore
Oh, thanks very much...

You've just given me hours worth of reading!!!
And I cannot just leave this kinda stuff alone, damn you!

Angels never say damn. They would have no trouble with any of the moderators here on the boards. They could post all day long and never have to use ****'s and such.

Do any of you have personal angel stories? I do. I am certain that they exist and am certain I have encountered one. I also have heard stories of personal encounters by people I know not to be 1. liars 2. sociopaths 3. fanatics 4. generally insane.

I would love to hear some stories before I post mine and look like a 1. liar 2. sociopath 3. fanatic 4 generally insane.

Nevyn

/me grins at Anglewhore
happy to know he is reading and not out running the streets .

hedgetrimmer

Believe it or not, Angels are something of a "Hobby" of mine, primarily due to a growning fascination with a role-playing games called In Nomine.


The bible and gospels (as accepted by the Modern Catholic Church and notwithstanding Apocraphyl texts) only mentions 4 angels/ Archangels AFAICR - Michael, Gabriel, Uriel and Lucifer. Over the centuries, the mythos has grown around angels creating a cast of tens of thousands, many "borrowed" from other cultures, which Christianity converted and transmuted .

Books like "The Encyclopedia of Angels" by Constance Briggs (ISBN: 0452279216 ) are good places to starts and I think this one has a bibliography in it too.

I have a rake of books for research, so when I get around to it, I'll put a list up here, but the encyclopedia is the best beginning point IMO

Talliesin

Originally posted by hedgetrimmer
The bible and gospels (as accepted by the Modern Catholic Church and notwithstanding Apocraphyl texts) only mentions 4 angels/ Archangels AFAICR - Michael, Gabriel, Uriel and Lucifer.

Uriel is mentioned in the Book of Enoch, and other apocryphal books, but not in the canonical bible. Lucifer is not referred to as such, but as "Satan" (literally "the adversary"). The name Lucifer comes from Roman mythology and was adopted as a name for Satan before the Rebellion by early Roman Christians.

Raphael is mentioned in the bible. The Catholic Church considers him, along with Michael and Gabriel, to be a saint and there are often hospitals and hospital wards named after him (Michael too, especially military hospitals since he is associated with both healing and soldiering).

The book of Enoch has quite a lot to say on the subject of angels, and on related subjects like Nephilim. The Qabala is another non-Christian source, metatron being a particularly well-known angel for whom the Qabala appears to be the most important source.

Other angels who are mentioned but not named are the cherub who guards the gate of Eden with a flaming sword, the cherubim that appear in a vision to Ezekiel, the angel of death (named Azrael, IIRC that name appears in the Qur'an but is of Jewish origin; I don't know if it has earlier textual use), the angel Joseph wrestled with and several in the Revelation of Saint John.

Mediaeval and Renaissance demonology is pratically teeming with angels and fallen angels.

Carbiens

Originally posted by AngelWhore
Oh, thanks very much...

You've just given me hours worth of reading!!!
And I cannot just leave this kinda stuff alone, damn you!

ditto

thank you, seriously:)

Nevyn

your welcome always happy to share the fun

Yoda

To my mind, the richest writings by a Christian on the subject of God, angels, and other orders of created beings can be found in The Silmarillion.