What do you understand about Angels

[Alvin T. Grey]

So many people seem to get the answer wrong, I was wondering what you understand regarding their existance, their puropse all of that stuff.

 

[marduc]

get the answer wrong? huh?

I understand that man has many varying myths regarding angles.

A related follow up question:

What do you understand about dragons? -So many people seem to get the answer wrong

 

[Alvin T. Grey]

get the answer wrong? huh?

I understand that man has many varying myths regarding angles.

A related follow up question:

What do you understand about dragons? -So many people seem to get the answer wrong

Most refer to clouds and harps and somesuch. We know that is not correct in the classical sense.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

It depends on what view you're taking: religious, mythological, philosophical, paranormal.

To Christianity/Catholicism: Angels are divine beings who reside in heaven and unseen on earth. There are different levels of angels - arch angels and so forth - that have different roles and purposes and levels of importance. There are also fallen angels who serve for/with the Devil. . . and he's one of them.
In the Bible Angels were the bearers of news to humans with messages from God.

Paranormal: this is I feel that guardian angels fall in. A religious-less belief that angels protect us and keep us from harm and save us from tragedy. There's actual evidence of this occurring, so this is one that I believe.

Mythological - Angel-like beings serve all sorts of purposes in various myths. Everything from guardian angels to effective angels who help people control their emotions. To messengers between humans and gods and on and on.

There is no one right answer or right belief.

 

[hoops]

So many people seem to get the answer wrong, I was wondering what you understand regarding their existance, their puropse all of that stuff.

As to their existance, that depends on if you believe in God through the JudeoChristian and Muslim faiths. As to their purpose, different angels allegedly have different roles. Some constantly sing Gods praises (seraphim) some protect the throne of God (cherubim), some are messengers of God (malakhim). There is some variation on their roles depending on which author you read and which faith.

 

[Spartacus FPV]

It depends on what view you're taking: religious, mythological, philosophical, paranormal.

To Christianity/Catholicism: Angels are divine beings who reside in heaven and unseen on earth. There are different levels of angels - arch angels and so forth - that have different roles and purposes and levels of importance. There are also fallen angels who serve for/with the Devil. . . and he's one of them.
In the Bible Angels were the bearers of news to humans with messages from God.

Paranormal: this is I feel that guardian angels fall in. A religious-less belief that angels protect us and keep us from harm and save us from tragedy. There's actual evidence of this occurring, so this is one that I believe.

Mythological - Angel-like beings serve all sorts of purposes in various myths. Everything from guardian angels to effective angels who help people control their emotions. To messengers between humans and gods and on and on.

There is no one right answer or right belief.

I would like to hear about this alleged evidence.

 

[1069]

I don't believe in the paranormal.
I believe the closest things to angels that exist are people who come to aid and protect you or your loved ones when you need help.
In other words, we can all be angels, if we want to.

 

[Black Dog]

In a purely Christian sense they are the troops etc of God. They spend their time worshiping God and doing his bidding.

I am Christian, but I think these line from the movie "Prophecy" were interesting...

Did you ever notice how in the Bible, when ever God needed to punish someone, or make an example, or whenever God needed a killing, he sent an angel? Did you ever wonder what a creature like that must be like? A whole existence spent praising your God, but always with one wing dipped in blood. Would you ever really want to see an angel? - Thomas Daggett

I'm an angel. I kill firstborns while their mamas watch. I turn cities into salt. I even, when I feel like it, rip the souls from little girls, and from now till kingdom come, the only thing you can count on in your existence is never understanding why. - Gabriel

Just a great line...

Little Tommy Daggett. How I loved listening to your sweet prayers every night. And then you'd jump in your bed, so afraid I was under there. And I was!

 

[Aunt Spiker]

I would like to hear about this alleged evidence.

There have been countless stories for centuries of unseen forces intervening during battle, saving someone from falling off a cliff and so on, so forth. Either witness by a few or witnessed by many.

I believe there's some sort of truth to these - so in some way I believe in 'guardian angels' but I void the whole religious-aspect of them. Basically - there's just more to the world than we know and it doesn't have to be related to religion.

The Angel of Mons is a good 'we all saw it' story of the guardian angel type.

 

[1069]

There have been countless stories for centuries of unseen forces intervening during battle, saving someone from falling off a cliff and so on, so forth. Either witness by a few or witnessed by many.

I believe there's some sort of truth to these - so in some way I believe in 'guardian angels' but I void the whole religious-aspect of them. Basically - there's just more to the world than we know and it doesn't have to be related to religion.

The Angel of Mons is a good 'we all saw it' story of the guardian angel type.

I don't know.
I seriously doubt, if there were a Supreme Being, that he'd be rooting for one army or the other to win in battle.
I also doubt he or his minions would run around saving individuals from falling off cliffs.
Good people- important people, even children- die every day. Some suffer horrible, protracted agony before they die. Some are tortured to death.
In fact, we all die, eventually.
No paranormal force intervenes.


Any time I encounter the suggestion that God and/or his minions sometimes intervene to "save" specific individuals, it irritates me.
Special, important, and beloved people die daily, and no supernatural force intervenes. Ergo, I seriously doubt they're intervening to save other people. Why would they? Those people would only die of something else, eventually.

I guess my point is, if there were a god, I doubt he'd play favorites.

 

[Orion]

Classically speaking, Angels are messengers.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

I don't know.
I seriously doubt, if there were a Supreme Being, that he'd be rooting for one army or the other to win in battle.
I also doubt he or his minions would run around saving individuals from falling off cliffs.
Good people- important people, even children- die every day. Some suffer horrible, protracted agony before they die. Some are tortured to death.
In fact, we all die, eventually.
No paranormal force intervenes.


Any time I encounter the suggestion that God and/or his minions sometimes intervene to "save" specific individuals, it irritates me.
Special, important, and beloved people die daily, and no supernatural force intervenes. Ergo, I seriously doubt they're intervening to save other people. Why would they? Those people would only die of something else, eventually.

I guess my point is, if there were a god, I doubt he'd play favorites.

I don't think we know anything one way or another.

It's just a fact that there are forces and situations of all types that we don't understand or comprehend and the best we can do is theorize.
Often those theories are proven true or false with time and careful study.

So I think this is one of those things - perhaps people really have a natural ability to react to danger in unusual ways (such as the ability to lift cars off of people) - or the ability to sense when someone else is in dangers (such as a Mom hearing a child calling out, when one is at work and the other is at home, etc).

There are just so many things and we're really quite knowledge less when it comes to everything.

 

[John Doe]

I don't think we know anything one way or another.

It's just a fact that there are forces and situations of all types that we don't understand or comprehend and the best we can do is theorize.
Often those theories are proven true or false with time and careful study.

So I think this is one of those things - perhaps people really have a natural ability to react to danger in unusual ways (such as the ability to lift cars off of people) - or the ability to sense when someone else is in dangers (such as a Mom hearing a child calling out, when one is at work and the other is at home, etc).

There are just so many things and we're really quite knowledge less when it comes to everything.

So we fill it in with a supernatural explanation? Why can't we just say "I don't know?"

You've essentially made the God of the Gaps argument. We don't know, so God did it. Such an argument is irrational and holds no water. How about we don't know so the FSM did it, or a pink invisible unicorn, Satan, or just nothing? How do you differentiate between these? Can you? If not, your argument can't conclude anything meaningful, or even that there's "something" there.

You're simply making a claim, assuming what you want to believe, in order to support what you want to believe. Occam's razor even dictates assuming supernatural forces is the last thing we should do, because of all the complexity that brings in. Much simpler is: stuff happens. People get lucky, people have intuition, completely explainable and testable things.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

So we fill it in with a supernatural explanation? Why can't we just say "I don't know?"

You've essentially made the God of the Gaps argument. We don't know, so God did it. Such an argument is irrational and holds no water. How about we don't know so the FSM did it, or a pink invisible unicorn, Satan, or just nothing? How do you differentiate between these? Can you? If not, your argument can't conclude anything meaningful, or even that there's "something" there.

You're simply making a claim, assuming what you want to believe, in order to support what you want to believe. Occam's razor even dictates assuming supernatural forces is the last thing we should do, because of all the complexity that brings in. Much simpler is: stuff happens. People get lucky, people have intuition, completely explainable and testable things.

But I don't believe in God.

I just believe that there are things we don't understand - and who knows what the 'truth' is, I just think we have no clue, yet.

Perhaps there are other things at play in various 'guardian angels saved my life' stories - like dormant superhuman strengths and reflexes, telepathy and other such things.

We just have no idea.