Wings of Desire is one of my favorite films of all time. I love the poetry of it. The first half has no plot really, it's a mediation of the internal lives of the everyday people in 1980's Berlin. It's told from the point of view of angels, who can watch and hear everything. They are in this world, but not of it. They can't feel warm nor cold, pain nor joy. The second half starts when an angel decides he wants to know what it is to be human, to be in love.
What I find interesting is how much of what we as a society believe about angels is not from the Bible. Nowhere does it says that when we die that we will become angels. Those who have accepted Christ will be granted eternal life, but not as angels. I'm not Bible scholar. I'm not even practicing, but as I recall, the angels were a separate race from man, employed by God as messengers and soldiers. This link provides an interesting overview of what the Bible says about angels.
What I'd like to know is where DO we get these ideas about angels? Is it Highway to Heaven, or Touched By an Angel, and why don't superliteralist Bible groups take us to task on this?
1 comment:
Because the uberrealists - when it comes to the Bible - are generally red-staters. We red-staters will believe just about anything. It's easier that way. Though I guess it is also easier to tell you four-year-old child that her grandma who just passed away is now an angel watching over her. How do you explain that grandma is now one with God? It's easier to picture Grandma with her same face and blue hair in a white gown and wings than it is to picture her as a part of God.
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