BioBeing

Thanks for the replies! missus_gumby - that was great! :notworthy

Badfish - Shakespeare was more right than he knew - all the worlds a stage! Interesting concept!

Bree

Again, where in the Bible does it say this???

paul30

I am a Buddhist and care nothing for angels, but my understanding is:

When the children of Israel came out of slavery in Egypt and went to the land of Canaan and conquered it, they also conquered the local gods and goddesses.

They wanted to assert the dominance of their own One God, Yahweh, but they were politically astute, and instead of banishing the local gods and goddesses, they kept them, simply demoting them. Yahweh became the Lord of Hosts--the god of the other gods, and these lesser gods were given the rank of angels.

Does this correspond to what others have learned?

Darth Dane

Well put paul, I figure this is how Buddha made the wheel of karma, God(s) were given new titles, as angels, or divine beings, or deities(godlike).

To me though there is no difference, all is one, also teh Void Buddha mentions, it is part of it, at least tahts how the texts appear to me.

Edit: I am a Buddhist and care nothing for angels Isn't taht an oxymoron? Buddhist -> not caring?

Plz explain




DD - Love Spliff

Yellum Notnef

Check out Angels:An Endangered Species by Malcom Godwin.

You can get it Amazon for as little as $3.00

It traces the history of angels back thousands of years across many cultures and it's certainly not written from the Christian point of view. It's well worth $3.00.

BioBeing

It is my understanding that it is ASSUMED by many Christians that the snake must equal Satan, because who else would have deceived Eve? [If God can make an ass talk, maybe he can make a snake talk to...?] This was part of my question: is there any evidence for this? missus_gumby's post (I haven't been through the Bible quote by quote yet) seems to suggest that there is no mention of their creation - they just happen to exist.

Looking at things from an ecological perspective (hah!) every (biological) species has its own little "niche". Assuming a heirarchy from God thru angels, man, and on down to bacteria, what is the angel's niche? I think Badfish's answer was good - we are just made for their enjoyment! I guess even angel's get bored! Maybe, Satan got so bored, God made us for him to play with?

paul30 - Of course the Christians incorporated many other pre-christian myths and rituals into their particular story! (although try getting them to admit that!). My question is more aimed at getting an Xian perspective on it though...

Fenton - another one for my wish list! Thanks. If only I had time to read...

mike_decock

Exodus 25:20
And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.

Isaiah 6:2
Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

-Mike...

Mageth

Well, I guess they are sometimes portrayed as having wings. Though, as seen in missus gumby's post, they seem to be removable wings.

BioBeing

How do they see where they are going if they covered their face with two of their wings?

mike_decock

Maybe they peek through their feathers.

-Mike...