Monday, December 25, 2006
Angels
Any ideas why our culture, and ones that have gone before, have portrayed angels as babies, cherubs, or little children? Is that the best we can do when thinking about purity and innocence, or is there something more? Would we like to ignore the Scriptural picture of the terror-striking angels of Isaiah's writing or the flaming sword of the cherubim that guarded in every direction? Just curious. -N.M.
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2 comments:
Certainly it has to do with Victorianism, doesn't it?? Hmm...Victorianism and Disneyism...is there a conspiracy here??
Probably Victorianism and the "cult of the child" as I've heard it phrased. It is weird though isn't it. Children may be innocent, but they hardly can be pure. Purity is chosen and comes with experience I would think. The human race is born innocent, but not pure. Angels on the other hand are not innocent, they know the depth of evil, but they certainly are pure.
Not only are angels in the Bible never children, they are never even feminine. Not that we are told of very many angels who are specifically gendered, however. But as a whole they seem to be very masculine - flaming swords and death and destruction and eyeballs and the wrath of God and bulls and... and.. No half naked babies or golden haired girls here. Perhaps our modern conception comes from a whitewashing of Grace. Brings to mind Miss O'Connor.
-Serena
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