My encounter with Angels.

I really liked Ian42's original post though.

The astray bits are fun, and I love them. I just don't want to listen to sniping in whatever guise.

This is the first time I've ever joined in an altercation on GN, and that's enough for me, my dear friends. Off for some .

ok

A bit early isn't it? Oh good grief, is that the time?
cheers! All!

What is an Angel?

Up to this point we have formed a general impression about what angels do, but have explained nothing about their nature. St. Augustine wrote that “ ‘angel’ is the name of theirfunction, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is ‘spirit.’ ”4 Precisely what a pure “spirit” or an angel is has been the object of much theological debate.
St. Thomas Aquinas thought that an angel is a totally immaterial, limited being which possesses a separate intellectual substance. In this light we see that in no way should an angel be mistaken for a ghost or a soul separated from a human body. An angel by its nature is created to exist apart from a body.
Because angels are not composed of any material substance whatsoever, but are held in being by God, they cannot decay and perish; and they are not vulnerable to physical injury or death at the hands of other creatures. Angels, like human souls, do not occupy a quantitative space. A human soul does not occupy any single part of the human body, and yet it exercises its power everywhere in the body. In this respect, angels are similar to the human soul, since they act upon the physical world and have effects there in large and small ways without occupying a certainplace.
Aside from acting as celestial couriers who deliver messages between God and humans, angels can also act directly on material things and can influence human actions in a number of ways. As we have already noted, the actions of angels on earth and in relation to human beings sometimes require that an angel assume a quasi-human form in order to accomplish a mission. Such an assumed body is not a living organism, however, but only looks and acts like one. How angels appropriate matter into a human form is their own practical concern.
The important point for us to remember is that the ultimate cause of all such change is God. Likewise, when an angel moves a material object locally, it is only by God’s will that this is achieved.
Angels assist us and only perform miracles as God’s agents, at his command and with his consent.
An angel can act indirectly upon the intellect and will of a person in much the same way as one human influences another. However, an angel’s ability to influence someone is far more powerful than any human attempt to do the same. Yet, even with their superior intellect and will, an angel has no privileged access to our thoughts or to our free will. An angel is able to stir a person’s imagination and emotions in persuasive and effective ways in order to influence the will. What an angel cannot do is infuse knowledge into a human mind anymore than a teacher can pour ideas into a student’s mind.

Ian - do you have any evidence for your view of what an angel is? I don't mean unsubstantiated feelings that somebody or something was helping someone, but verifiable proof? Until that is given to me, I will continue to exercise my right to class angels with fairies.
Just because St. Thomas Aquinas said something it does not mean I have to accept it.

Greatnan - . I know this may be considered a serious subject, but your last sentence made me laugh!

Is it a serious subject? Not to me!

Back to Lewis carroll on meaning of words!

It does sound a bit as though Ian has just quoted a chunk of 'A Book about Angels' or some such....

Oh dear. I agree with you, Anagram and Greatnan.

And me

I don't know how the rest of you feel, but I don't feel a forum like this is an appropriate place for a religious lecture. It reminds me of being doorstepped by Jehovah's Witnesses.

Mmmm. But we did pick it up...maybe leave it now?

Yes,leave this one alone I would say - don't like lectures.

i haven't met an angel but i've seen Jesus twice, and very welcome he was, at the time.

my colleague met an angel in africa. he was alone, travelling, his money was lost, he had nothing to eat or drink. along came a man in a jeep, gave him a coke and some money to sort himself out. colleague asked for his address and went there to repay and thank. no-one had heard of the man.
colleague is sure he was an angel.

i'm sorry, ianthingy's posts are too long for me tonight. the way people talk about angels nowadays is so unlike biblical angels.

now that you've all gone, i might read the thread tomorrow.

I like the thought of the existence of angels. There have been times when a complete stranger has been kind and I've liked to think of them as being an angel. Many years ago I had a very dear friend who was very ill. The last time we met we were travelling home by train, and reached a station where he had to get off to get another train. We hadn't spoken much, both realising that this was the end of our friendship; not having found seats on the train we'd been standing by one of the doors. A young lad got on, strangely enough with golden blond curly hair; he got talking to my friend who tactfully dealt with several of his comments, especially one where he offered him a job in the future [we'd been travelling back from a race meeting and the young lad had also been there]. They both got off the train, leaving me standing there waving goodbye to my friend for the last time, and the last vision I had of him was walking away with this young man. Make of it what you will, but when people appear fleetingly in your life for no apparent reason when you need them, it makes you think....

It's interesting that so many of these reported meeings with angels seem to happen on trains, or when travelling. Perhaps when people are slightly disorientated or out of their comfort zone anyway, a chance encounter takes on greater significance? Just a thought.

....and it gave you comfort, and may well have given comfort to your friend as well, crimson. Whoever this young man was, he was definitely special.

Funny how angels are always white with golden hair - I wonder what black people's angelic sightings are like.

I'm sure I've read somewhere that people see angels as they expect them to be - if they're of a different culture or ethnicity, that's how they'll see their angels.

I once was having a conversation with my friend about whether angels existed, she said she would have to have proof before she believed. A bell tinkled above us and a large white feather floated down in front of us and landed on the path. We just looked at each other and laughed. Was it a sign ?

A sparrow just flew past my window. It was a sign.

It was a sign that a sparrow was flying past my window on the way to its nest which is above the window.

Actually it is a house martin's nest. The sparrow is squatting. Is this a sign of falling moral standards in sparrows? Or just sparrows using available resources in order to survive and bring up their young?

bagitha

I blame its parents/teachers/the last government.