Who or what are the angels? Are they male or female?

Angel - supernatural being or spirit found in various religions and mythologies.

This is the general meaning, but for the purpose of this thread I'm talking about the ones in the bible.
There is a ton of information regarding this beings, but who they really are?

Give your opinion and I will try to reply to everybody. Be respectful.

Ia reply to: Abednego

I was always told by my grandparents (true or not I'd don't know) ...angels or cherubs were " guardian angles" that are watching over us humans and making sure we get places safely. You could call on them for help, or a specific arch angel ( like michael) and he would send help. They are Almost like an army of angels doing good and fighting evil.

The angels of the Abrahamic Religions are the messengers and enforcers of God. They are terrible and impressive and are not smiling, cute, bastardizations that your grandma's weird friend says she sees dancing across the clouds.

There is a reason that they always say...

BE NOT AFRAID

... when someone sees them.

Now, as to what they actually are, well, that's debatable, but they are most probably... nothing. Because they don't actually exist.

a reply to: Meldionne1

That's one possibility, except for the cherubs (they have wings). And the bible clearly distinguishes between humans and angels.

originally posted by: Abednego
There is a ton of information regarding this beings, but who they really are?

Figments of ancient people's imaginations that people in current day times cannot let go.

How many times have you known someone after receiving a stroke of amazing luck then says, "You must have a guardian angel looking over you"? Nah, that's just confirmation bias while discounting luck/coincidence.

a reply to: Abednego

Clearly, the angels are soldiers of Obama's divine army!

Only joking, of course.

In all seriousness though, i do not know much about angels in general. But if i were to take a guess, i would say that they are the human interpretation of God's interference on Earth. For example, angels are generally seen as celestial servants of God, who undertake his orders and act as the intermediaries between Earth and the heavens. As such, i think it would be fair to say that they serve as an ever present reminder that God is watching. A purely human construct to describe ways in which the heavens and Earth are connected, if you will. As to whether or not angels are actual beings of a celestial or otherwise nature, i cannot say.

originally posted by: AgentShillington

Now, as to what they actually are, well, that's debatable, but they are most probably... nothing. Because they don't actually exist.

I supposed you are atheist. Maybe wrong, if not, please elaborate on why you think they don't exist?

a reply to: Abednego

There are cherubs, which have four wings and four heads, as described by Ezekiel:




There are Babylonian gods with animal head or human head and once again four wings:




While the middle-eastern religion's angles have human appearance except their wings are direct extensions of their arms:



Are they female or male? Hard to say - if they incorporate bird DNA (for the wings, or even the head in some case), then their chromosomes is somehow an impossible mix of two (or more for Ezekiel's cherubs) different numbers, and as sex is determined by X and Y chromosomes in humans specie, it is also determined by Z and W chromosomes (ZZ for male, and ZW for females). Ambiguous to determine.

originally posted by: Abednego

originally posted by: AgentShillington

Now, as to what they actually are, well, that's debatable, but they are most probably... nothing. Because they don't actually exist.

I supposed you are atheist. Maybe wrong, if not, please elaborate on why you think they don't exist?

The Angels of the Bible were messengers. They gave us messages that could be corroborated. They gave us messages that were useful. They told us the Word of God. So what happened to them? Does God simply not have anything left to say to us? Well, if some are to be believed, God still does talk to them through angels. The funny thing is, there aren't verifiable accounts of angels giving humans any knowledge that they didn't already have.

So what changed? Could it be that humans have entered into an Age of Reason? Could our sense making tools be getting better and as such, we need not rely on such primitive storytelling techniques to relay complex ideas?

We go from, "Listen! This is important! How do I know it's important? An ANGEL told me!" to, "This is important! How do I know it's important? Because I figured out that viruses cause illness. Come look for yourself!"

We outgrew the need for angels to tell us about God right around the time we outgrew the need to rely on God to explain our universe.

Hey, how come this guy is wearing watches around his wrists?

a reply to: swanne

How do you know it's a watch and not just a bracelet?

You might want to look up the Assyrian, Chaldean, Babylonian, and even Egyptian cultures to get a better idea of who or what the Angels & demons were.

This is where the concept of angels and demons arose from and were later adopted into Biblical accounts. They were after all, a conquering faith. It was much easier to convert entire cultures to their way of belief, if they adopted some of the varying cultures traditions they were trying to conquer.

So when the Council of Nicaea formed around 400 A.D. to decide what was to be inclusive and not, in the "Holy" texts - it was decided to adopt the concept of Angels and Demons, as it was a large part of everyone's daily lives in the Mesopotamian, Babylonian, Hittite, and Chaldean cultures/regions of the world. It made conversion, simpler. So long as people felt that their traditions and values were present in the conquering faith, they much more readily converted without resistance.

That's my take, anyhoo... Here are some links to further reading.

The Chaldean Account of Genisis

Angels Explained - Pagan Perspective

CdT

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: swanne

How do you know it's a watch and not just a bracelet?

Because it makes for a way better story.

Seriously though: I doubt it's a simple bracelet - The "bracelets" have 15 indentations all around the face, and 60 (the Babylonians used a sexagesimal numeral system) is a multiple of 15.

Maybe just coincidence, but still intriguing nonetheless...

I don't know what these beings actually are, probably something we cannot comprehend. Their existence has been noted throughout history and still today. Every culture seems to speak of them.

Are they real? They may be. We technically do not have to be real either though, there may not actually be any life on this planet or even a planet itself.

That doesn't mean they don't exist.

a reply to: Abednego

There is no way to prove something doesn't exist. So what you are saying is meaningless. The onus is on the person saying that it DOES exist to prove the existence. Not the other way around.

a reply to: Abednego

I think they can be described as :

an·drog·y·nous
anˈdräjənəs/Submit
adjective
partly male and partly female in appearance; of indeterminate sex.
dated
having the physical characteristics of both sexes; hermaphrodite.

or

neu·ter
ˈn(y)o͞odər/
adjective
1.
of or denoting a gender of nouns in some languages, typically contrasting with masculine and feminine or common.
"it is a neuter word in Greek"
2.
(of an animal) lacking developed sexual organs, or having had them removed.
(of a plant or flower) having neither functional pistils nor functional stamens.
(of a person) apparently having no sexual characteristics; asexual.
synonyms: asexual, sexless, unsexed; More
noun

NAMASTE*******

If the Led Zeppelin poster on my wall is accurate, they are neither. I guess they don't pee either.
Maybe they have a cloaca and their waste comes out as a slurry like pigeons.
Don't park your car under a tree in Heaven.

Angel means; "Messenger".

It is a reference to a synthetic electromagnetic replication which is made of certain peoples brain (a brain mapping) by certain 'powers'; that allows them to then feed them information; knowledge and messages for this world in order for them effectively 'control it'.

It is the highest form of the control system of this planet.

Nothing more.

The Bible itself is constructed subliminal coding book. Designed to work with the programming of your brain to move towards collective perception of future events.

It's a control book in its highest form.

a reply to: skunkape23

Birds do have their version of urination - and, additionally, having a cloaca does not make them androgynous, their sexual system is simply hidden from view.