What IS an angel?

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-20-2000
What IS an angel?
7
Wed, 05-25-2005 - 2:37pm

OK, I admit, I could look it up, but figure it's likely to have different meanings with different people, so I thought it might be interesting to ask here.

Is an angel someone who used to be human, died, and then somehow was appointed? Are they nonhuman, otherworldly only? Were they ever earthly? Are they real, or more conceptual? Do you believe in angels?



iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 05-25-2005 - 3:58pm

Hmmm... good question. One of my best friends is very into high ceremonial magick and would say that angels (he works with Enochian angels) are a completely different, otherworldly entity. I get the impression that the Biblical angels are also meant to be a whole seperate class of being.

I've never really spent much time on the idea, or thought I had any experience with angels, but something just came to mind. I had a clairaudient experience about 12 years ago (a big rig pulled out from a side street almost hitting me and I heard a voice from behind--backseat region, so it wasn't the car behind me--me screaming 'look out!') and that felt very different from the times I've felt (or thought I felt) ghosts. Another time that stands out in my memory is when I first saw DH (met him a few minutes later) and heard (only in my head, not out loud like the other incident) 'there...that's the man you're going to marry.' In both instances the *presence* felt different, protective, directed at me. I wasn't just noticing someone/something else nearby, whatever it was was there specifically to be in contact with me. Exactly how I'd expect a guardian angel to feel. So yeah, now that I think about it, I think angels are a seperate, otherworldly, never-been-human class of being.

(Have I mentioned how much I love this board?!?!?)

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-31-2003
Wed, 05-25-2005 - 6:34pm
I think Angels are their own being and we can never be angels.

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-31-2003
Wed, 05-25-2005 - 6:39pm

Ginger.cookie - I purposely did not look at any responses when I posted mine and I totally agree.

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2003
Wed, 05-25-2005 - 8:17pm

Good question.


iVillage Member
Registered: 05-26-2004
Thu, 05-26-2005 - 10:13am
Definitely a tough one! I don't think they were ever human, although I think they can take the shape of a human to help someone in need. I've also heard that there are good and bad angels. Angels that work for God and angels that work for Satan. Although I personally don't believe in Satan. I have never had an encounter where an angel saved my life so I would have to go by others experiences and form an opinion from what I have heard.
There is so much still in this world that is so mysterious. As advanced as we humans are, we don't have the answers to many of lifes' mysteries. It seems the same for fairies. Some people say they live in a different dimension and can cross over when they feel like it. The same goes for dragons.
The thing that really impresses me about it all is that, in the ancient world, before people on other continents could interact on a regular basis, their stories and history shows that they have all encountered these beings in some form or another. It seems highly coincidental. Kind of like Bigfoot today. There is so much that we can't fully comprehend and, in a way, I like it that way. If we truelly knew everything, where would our imaginations, hopes of an afterlife and dreams fit into this world?
R-
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-26-2005
Thu, 05-26-2005 - 6:52pm
I absolutely believe in angels! :P The definition in my Catholic Catechism glossary is: "A spiritual, personal, and immortal creature, with intelligence and free will, who glorifies God without ceasing and who serves God as a messenger of His saving plan." Under Guardian Angel, it says: "Angels assigned to protect and intercede for each person." I especially sensed this being when I was a young child. As an adult I have experienced interventions and guidance, either through my intuitive sense and/or inexplicable happenings that kept me from harm's way or actually blocked me from going in a certain direction. I think another name used could be guardians or spirit guides in other faith traditions. Anna
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-27-2003
Mon, 05-30-2005 - 10:50am

 

 

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