(April 10, 2021 at 9:26 pm)Eleven Wrote: For the same reason that god is male. In a patriarchy, the male is superior.

Although, some theists will argue that angels are genderless.

As far as I know, no one could portray an androgynous angel better than Tilda Swinton:

(April 10, 2021 at 9:24 pm)Fake Messiah Wrote: Daria, Melissa, or Belinda?

You know, the Bible wasn't written in English. The name Michael is an anglicization of  מי כאל.

In other languages this can be Miguel or Mikhail or Michel. Plenty of women are given the same name, though written in a feminine form to avoid confusion. For example Michelle. 

So the names of the genderless angels are used for both sexes.

Angels are actually hermaphrodites, their names are beyond earthly pronunciation. Early humans went with what it sounded closest to.

What we were told (approximately - Sunday School was a long time ago):

‘Angels are beings of spirit and are therefore sexless and genderless. In their dealings with humans, however, they can take on an appropriate form. An angel fulfilling the role of a warrior, messenger, or prophet will assume a male persona, as these were traditionally male functions. Doing so allowed them to better interact with human beings.’

It’s interesting to note, though, that the customary universal maleness of angelic beings is peculiar to the Abrahamic religions. Plenty of other faiths have beings that fulfill the function and station of angels (not quite gods, not quite people) who either have specific sexes or no sexual identification at all.

Boru

(April 10, 2021 at 11:51 pm)Angrboda Wrote:

You HAD to open that box...

Boru

Cooties.

(April 10, 2021 at 9:42 pm)Rev. Rye Wrote: 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:

Geez, I miss Alan Rickman.  I don't think there's a role I didn't enjoy seeing him play.

(April 12, 2021 at 12:02 pm)arewethereyet Wrote:

(April 10, 2021 at 9:42 pm)Rev. Rye Wrote: 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:

Geez, I miss Alan Rickman.  I don't think there's a role I didn't enjoy seeing him play.

Yup. He was the best of the bad guys and no mistake.

Boru

The first time I really took notice of Rickman was in "Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves". It was a bad movie but Rickman was so bad and funny as the Sherriff of Nottingham. After that I looked for his performances and he didn't disappoint.

There is a movie I saw ages ago called "Something the Lord Made" about Dr. Alfred Blalock and his black lab technician Vivien Thomas set back in the 40's. They were working on solving a pediatric cardiac issue. It's an obscure movie but very good. I enjoyed it so much that's it's one I added to my DVD collection...in large part because of Rickman.