Angels vs. Humans

There is a misconception among many people that when you die, you become an angel. This isn't true. I understand where this urban legend comes from. One has only to look at television or children's books to understand why so many people believe this lie.

A Depiction of Michael the Archangel

For starters, how many television shows have you watched were a person dies, goes to Heaven, and gets their wings? I know that I have seen plenty of shows, a lot of cartoons, and some movies where the instant a person dies, they either become an angel or have to earn their spot as an angel. This isn't the case.

Humans do not become angels. According to the Bible, only one human has ever become an angel. Not only do humans not become angels, but angels do not look like humans. Books and television like to make us believe that angels and men have the same features, but we do not. Angels are more in touch with their godlike powers; in fact, they are referred to as semi-gods with God being the head. Angels have different proportions than humans - the most noticeable being that their heads are bigger.

Lucifer in his Angel Form

The second problem with this notion is that there are no female angels. Popular culture has led us to believe that angels are women, but they aren't. Anyone who has ever read the Bible knows that, while Zechariah 5:9 alludes to possible female angels, it cannot be confirmed. The rest of the Bible; however, makes a point that angels are only male.

Pop Culture's Version of Angels

I don't understand why our culture has such a fascination with wanting to be angels. We find out in the Book of Revelations that humans are God's favorites and the reason for Lucifer's failed rebellion and subsequent fall from Heaven. Why would you want to be an angel when you are already God's favorite?

An Artist's Version of Lucifer After Being Cast From Heaven

Links:

Online Bible

God: Male or Female?

Every time someone mentions God, they refer to Him as male. Even I am guilty of this. In fact, I have only ever thought of God as a He. That is how we are taught to refer to God. This is why when I was reading Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult, I was so shocked to hear the main character, a little girl named Faith, referring to God as She.

Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult

In Keeping Faith, a little girl named Faith is experiencing the trauma of her parents' divorce. She starts to speak to her mother about a woman visiting her and calling herself Faith's guard. Faith's mother thinks that she has created an invisible friend until Faith begins to recite parts of the bible - a book she has never read. Then she mysteriously has holes appear in her hands and feet - mimicking those that would have been made on Jesus when he was crucified. When Faith told her mother that she was speaking to God, Faith's mother was shocked to hear Faith call God, She and describe God as a woman.

The Traditional View of God

In this novel, when the world finds out how Faith is describing God, there is backlash from priests and people alike as they proclaim that God cannot be  female. We all know that there are people in our society that would be extremely upset if someone said God is female. Well, those people are wrong.

An Artist's Depiction of a Female God

In Revelation 22:13, God says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."  So, what does God mean by saying He is the Alpha and the Omega? This means that God is neither male nor female. He is both. Which makes sense seeing as how the bible states that we are all made in God's image.

Some View God as a Ball of Light

In lieu of this, I see nothing wrong with viewing God as male or female. In fact, it would probably be easier for little children to view God as being their gender. I know I like to think of God as female over male. The female side of God is what I picture to be the nurturing one that listens to our prayers and woes while the male God is the God I think of who takes revenge on others and serves punishments.

Alpha and Omega

What do you guys think about the many genders of God?


Links:
Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult
Book of Revelation 22:13

Who Really was the FIRST Woman?

Anyone who has grown up in the Christian religion as I have has always been told that Eve was the first woman. We are all familiar with Genesis and the story of how God made woman from Adam's rib. Our bible, the Christian bible, says that Eve was the woman that God made from Adam's rib and thus she was the first woman. Any biblical scholar; however, will tell you that Eve was not the first woman.

Antonio Molinari's Version of Adam and Eve

Long ago, when the bible was translated from ancient Hebrew to Latin, the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church chose to have certain parts of the bible not included in what would become the modern bible. There are several books missing from the bible, certain things were mistranslated, and, in the case of the first woman, the story was completely altered to leave out a key figure. The traditional Hebrew texts as well as the current Jewish bible still have the original story.

The Vatican

In the beginning, after creating Adam, God created a woman named Lilith. This was before the creation of Eve. Lilith was supposed to be Adam's companion, but the two did not get along and fought all the time. Eventually, Lilith left Adam and God, having seen how Lilith and Adam did not get along, decided that this time around, he would make a woman from Adam. So he took one of Adam's ribs and created Eve. 

The Hebrew Text ( Jewish Bible)

We all know the story from there, but what most of us do not know is what happened to Lilith. Though some of us who watch the HBO series True Blood will have an idea. After leaving Adam, the Hebrew texts say that Lilith became the world's first succubus - the precursor to the vampire. Lilith was a succubus who stole children's souls, specifically children's souls. 

An Artist's Depiction of Lilith

Now Lilith's story isn't the only one in the bible that the Roman Catholic Church changed. In the ancient texts, Moses' walking cane did not become a snake when he threw it on the ground in front of Pharaoh - it became a Nile crocodile. The text is specific about it being a Nile crocodile and none other. 

A Depiction of the Christian Bible's Tale of Moses and the Pharaoh 

On top of these minor mistakes in the modern bible, there are also several books that the Roman Catholic Church excluded a known total of 13 books. 

Links:

Lilith In The Bible
Banned From the Bible