What is an ‘angel’?

[Zzyzx]

What is an ‘angel’? Do such things exist outside imagination and mythology / religion?

“A typically benevolent celestial being that acts as an intermediary between heaven and earth, especially in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Zoroastrianism. A representation of such a being, especially in Christianity, conventionally in the image of a human figure with a halo and wings. The last of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology. From the highest to the lowest in rank, the orders are: seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominations or dominions, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels, and angels.
From: American Heritage® Dictionary

Angles are important figures in biblical religions – including a storied rebellion that produced ‘Satan’ (the archenemy of ‘god’) and his fellow ‘devils’.

Angels are typically portrayed as human male form with wings (and a ‘halo’). Do they fly in ‘heaven’, in space, in the Earth’s atmosphere?

Do angels possess superhuman abilities?

How can anything be learned and verified about angels?

[1213]

...
How can anything be learned and verified about angels?

You can learn about angels by reading the Bible. First mention in the Bible is in Gen. 16:7.

In the Bible angels usually are the messengers of God.

But, can you know they actually visited and told the messages, probably not. Even if an angel would visit you today, you could say it was a hallucination and ask drugs to get rid of the idea. It remains a matter of belief in any case.

[bjs1]

What is an ‘angel’? Do such things exist outside imagination and mythology / religion?

Angel is a Hebrew word which means messenger.

Angles are important figures in biblical religions – including a storied rebellion that produced ‘Satan’ (the archenemy of ‘god’) and his fellow ‘devils’.

Biblically, angels more often serve as messengers. While the Bible hints at a “rebellion that produced ‘Satan’ (the archenemy of ‘god’) and his fellow devils,” most of what people think about that comes from pop culture. Satan is portrayed as the accuser or opposer of humans, not God.

Angels are typically portrayed as human male form with wings (and a ‘halo’). Do they fly in ‘heaven’, in space, in the Earth’s atmosphere?

This description is purely from pop culture. Angels were portrayed in art to have wings for symbolic reasons, but over the centuries the symbolism was forgotten and the wings were taken literally.

The Bible portrays angels looking like young men (no wings) in bright white clothes, or as spiritual creatures that do not resemble humans. They never have halos. The halos also come from a symbolic concept in art that was later taken literally.

Do angels possess superhuman abilities?

Biblically, angels serve as messengers. They deliver messages and praise God.

How can anything be learned and verified about angels?

Angels are non-physical beings. To “verify” anything about them would require us to become non-physical. That is, to die.

Short of that, or an angel appearing to a person, any response to angels (positive or negative) would have to be built on faith.

[Zzyzx]

Perhaps 'angles' are imaginary characters from folklore and religious propaganda recorded thousands of years ago by people claiming knowledge of the unknowable. As someone said,

"Angels are non-physical beings. To “verify” anything about them would require us to become non-physical. That is, to die. Short of that, or an angel appearing to a person, any response to angels (positive or negative) would have to be built on faith."

That could be rephrased as: "You can't know unless you die, but you can use your imagination."

[Tcg]

[Replying to Zzyzx in post #4]

Given that it could be used to accept absolutely anything, faith is the most useless of all reasons to accept the truthfulness of any claim. Not surprisingly, apologists use it as if it were a trump card when their ability to support a belief they hold fails utterly. It's actually a sign of surrender, a surrender to irrationality.


Tcg

[William]

AI: The speaker discusses the concept of angels from a Jewish perspective, making two key points:

Two Types of Angels:

Angels created by God at the beginning of the world, each with specific tasks as messengers.

Angels created by human actions: every good deed (mitzvah) creates a positive angel/force, and every negative deed creates a negative one. These angels form an "aura" or energy around a person, influencing future actions—good deeds become easier after creating a positive angel, and vice versa.

Humans Lead, Angels Serve:

Contrary to the idea that angels are superior, Judaism teaches that angels—both God-created and human-created—exist to serve and assist humans.

Humans are central; angels are like "spiritual robots" awaiting our cues. We empower them through our choices and deeds.

Story of the Baal Shem Tov:
A disciple longing to see the angel Elijah the Prophet is sent to help a poor family during the High Holidays. After providing them food, he overhears the mother comforting her hungry child by saying God sent "Elijah" (the disciple himself) with food. The disciple realizes that by performing a mitzvah, he became the embodiment of the angel he sought.

Conclusion:
In Judaism, humans do not aspire to become angels. Instead, angels seek to connect with and elevate humans, who have the unique power of choice and the ability to create spiritual forces through their actions.

[William]

AI: This video explores the biblical reality of angels, which is very different from their popular, gentle image.

Key Points:

Popular vs. Biblical Angels: The common image of elegant, winged humanoids with halos is not biblically accurate. Instead, many biblical heavenly beings are described as strange, sometimes terrifying, cosmic creatures.

Types of Heavenly Beings: The Bible describes a hierarchy, with the standard human-like messenger angels (Malakim) being lower tier. Higher, stranger beings include:

Cherubim: Not cute babies, but four-faced, four-winged hybrids (human, lion, ox, eagle) that act as guardians, possibly inspired by Mesopotamian guardian creatures like lamassu.

Seraphim: The "burning ones" with six wings, who attend God's throne. Their name and fiery nature may link to Egyptian cobra symbolism.

Ophanim: The strangest—interlocking wheels covered in eyes, which carry God's throne. Their origin is mysterious, with interpretations ranging from UFOs to psychedelic visions or complex metaphors.

Origins: The designs of Cherubim and Seraphim show clear influence from the mythical creatures and art of neighboring ancient civilizations like Egypt, Babylon, and Assyria.

Conclusion: The biblical vision of heaven includes these "winged monstrosities" alongside more familiar angelic forms, challenging the sanitized modern perception.

In short, the video argues that "biblically accurate" angels are far more alien and awe-inspiring—and sometimes frightening—than their Hallmark card counterparts.

[bjs1]

Perhaps 'angles' are imaginary characters from folklore and religious propaganda recorded thousands of years ago by people claiming knowledge of the unknowable. As someone said,

"Angels are non-physical beings. To “verify” anything about them would require us to become non-physical. That is, to die. Short of that, or an angel appearing to a person, any response to angels (positive or negative) would have to be built on faith."

That could be rephrased as: "You can't know unless you die, but you can use your imagination."

Sure. Believe whatever you want about angels. I really just wanted to clarify the various inaccuracies in the opening post.

[Dimmesdale]

Angels sound mythical to me.

Not because they have wings or fly. They don't.
Not because they speak from on high to humans as mediums of God (or the "big man" upstairs).
Not because the bad ones seemingly slip through the cracks of our world, like pests, and whisper terrible nothings in our ear.
And not because they are especially beautiful or hideous, depending how they chose to be.

Angels sound mythical to me, because they appear to me the equivalent of AI bots. Virtually all-knowing, but in a way that makes them boring and machine-like. Cold. There is no room for freedom here. Or spontaneity. Or virtuous humility.

In a nutshell, angels are boring. Real creatures are not.

Real beauty is wild and free. And yet I've heard beauty is not necessary to angels.

[JehovahsWitness]

What is an ‘angel’?

In the biblical context angels are spirts (similar to God, but created spirits lower in rank and power to both God and Jesus).

Do angels possess superhuman abilities?

Biblically, yes they are most certainly superior lifeforms.


JEHOVAHS WITNESS



LEARN MORE..

https://www.jw.org/en/publications/maga ... Affect-Us/

Are angels and spirits different "life forms"?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 78#p846578

Is there reason to believe angels/spirits are invisible to humans?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 95#p846495

How many angels does the bible say there are?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 04#p962504

Do angels all have their own individual personalities?
viewtopic.php?p=1104364#p1104364

What do the scriptures tell us about ANGELS?
viewtopic.php?p=965482#p965482

Do we have a GUARDIAN angel?
viewtopic.php?p=1064445#p1064445

Does God have a heavenly organisation ?
viewtopic.php?p=1023112#p1023112

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