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Why are angels always males?
April 10, 2021 at 9:24 pm
So some of the angels names are Michael, Uriel, Raphael, even Gabriel means "man of God" or "hero of God".
But how come there are never women angels? Maybe with names like Daria, Melissa, or Belinda?
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
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RE: Why are angels always males?
April 10, 2021 at 9:26 pm
For the same reason that god is male. In a patriarchy, the male is superior.
Although, some theists will argue that angels are genderless.
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RE: Why are angels always males?
April 10, 2021 at 9:42 pm
Most portrayals of angels I’ve seen do generally portray angels as having both (of the main) genders, and if my memory serves correctly, they tend to skew more towards the female. Then again, the angels of note in The Bible tend to only be male for reasons I’m fairly certain are due to patriarchy.
Also, I’d be remiss in my duties if I didn’t include this clip in a discussion of angels and gender:
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RE: Why are angels always males?
April 10, 2021 at 9:51 pm
(April 10, 2021 at 9:24 pm)Fake Messiah Wrote: So some of the angels names are Michael, Uriel, Raphael, even Gabriel means "man of God" or "hero of God".
But how come there are never women angels? Maybe with names like Daria, Melissa, or Belinda?
Every theologian you can name says that angels are genderless.
Also your etymology for "Gabriel" is incorrect.
Quote:Gabriel (Hebrew: גַבְרִיאֵל; Aramaic: ܓܒܪܐܝܠ) is a given name derived from the Hebrew name "Gabriel" meaning "God is my strength" or "God is my strong man".
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RE: Why are angels always males?
April 10, 2021 at 9:54 pm
When I was a kid in Catholic school, most of the artistic depictions I saw of angels were females, to wit:
![[Image: angel-light-purple_credit-shutterstock.j...nsion=webp]](https://media.beliefnet.com/~/media/photos-with-attribution/angels/angel-light-purple_credit-shutterstock.jpg?as=1&extension=webp)
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RE: Why are angels always males?
April 10, 2021 at 9:58 pm
(This post was last modified: April 10, 2021 at 9:59 pm by The Architect Of Fate.)
(April 10, 2021 at 9:24 pm)Fake Messiah Wrote: So some of the angels names are Michael, Uriel, Raphael, even Gabriel means "man of God" or "hero of God".
But how come there are never women angels? Maybe with names like Daria, Melissa, or Belinda? Angels aren't even supposed to be humanoid in some descriptions
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RE: Why are angels always males?
April 10, 2021 at 10:05 pm
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RE: Why are angels always males?
April 10, 2021 at 10:14 pm
(This post was last modified: April 10, 2021 at 10:17 pm by Silver.)
(April 10, 2021 at 9:54 pm)Gwaithmir Wrote: When I was a kid in Catholic school, most of the artistic depictions I saw of angels were females, to wit:
Catholicism, having a deep reverence for the Virgin Mary perhaps more via the nuns than the priests, has deep roots in the matriarchy and ancient goddess worship. It's like a secret little order within an order.
There's a reason why the matriarchy driven Spanish people tend to be Catholic.
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RE: Why are angels always males?
April 10, 2021 at 10:20 pm
(April 10, 2021 at 10:14 pm)Eleven Wrote: (April 10, 2021 at 9:54 pm)Gwaithmir Wrote: When I was a kid in Catholic school, most of the artistic depictions I saw of angels were females, to wit:
Catholicism, having a deep reverence for the Virgin Mary perhaps more via the nuns than the priests, has deep roots in the matriarchy and ancient goddess worship. It's like a secret little order within an order.
There's a reason why the matriarchy driven Spanish people tend to be Catholic.
Well, that and winning a centuries-long series of wars between Catholic forces and Muslim ones.
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RE: Why are angels always males?
April 10, 2021 at 10:26 pm
(This post was last modified: April 10, 2021 at 10:27 pm by Belacqua.)
The Bible is ambiguous about the appearance of angels. The Greek word "angelos" just means "messenger," and could refer to anyone delivering a message from God. A human being carrying a message could serve as an angel, even unwittingly, if he had such a message.
Later on the various creatures who exist in the hierarchy between people and God were categorized, most famously by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, into different types. Some looked more like people than others.
Since the Bible doesn't give clear descriptions of most angels, and Jews are notoriously opposed to visual representations, it posed a problem for people in Hellenistic and Roman culture who converted to Christianity and wanted pictures of angels. For the most part the artists simply used types of figures they already had. Pre-Christian and pagan psychopomps and genius figures served similar roles to angels in Hellenistic and Roman religions, so it was simplest to give Christian angels the same appearance.
https://wellcomecollection.org/articles/...AAABJiKOvK
Later, in the Renaissance, Cherubs (who are frightening high-level angels in scripture) were confused with Greek and Roman pictures of baby Eros or Erotes, giving rise to the strange picture of cute baby angels which we see in Raphael and on Valentine's Day cards.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erotes#/me...morini.JPG
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