Question Title | Posted By | Question Date |
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Angels and the sons of god | mike | Thursday, September 9, 2004 |
Question: I have read protestant answers on Genesis ch 6 that have angels mating with the daughters of man but the Church teaches that Angels are sprits only. However, my wife has said that other old testament Angels had the form of flesh (the angels that were with lot at Sodom and Gomoraha , the angel Raphael in Machabees). How does this apparent bodily appearance of angels compare to the Churches teaching that angels are only spirits? |
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Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM+
Dear Mike: The Navarre Bible Commentary gives a good explanation of this passage:
Alluding perhaps to a myth in vogue in ancient times, to the effect that giants were the offspring of women who mated with beings of higher order, the sacred writer is stressing here the headway that sin and disorder have made. In this passage we are told that God put a limit on man's lifespan as a punishment for sin. It is interesting that today, in the 21st Century, mankind has morally declined on account of pride and profound abuses of marriage (vis-a-vis, domestic violence, divorce, abortion, incest, fornication, adultery, concubinage, etc.) Bottomline: the most logical and probably meaning of this passage is that the term "sons of God" refer to the descendants of Seth, and the "daughters of men" refers to the descendants of the evil family line of Cain. The good family line of Seth, corrupted and began to marry from the evil family line of Cain. This would have happened only with a societal moral decline. As a result, the world became so evil that God destroyed all the earth except for Noah and his family. As for the references of angels in bodily form, yes, angels can, when God wills it, appear in bodily form. This is in appearance only. Angels do not become biological creatures. Footer Notes: This forum is for general questions on the faith. See specific Topic Forums below: Spiritual Warfare, demons, the occult go to our Spiritul Warfare Q&S Forum. Liturgy Questions go to our Liturgy and Liturgical Law Q&A Forum Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) Questions go to our Divine Office Q&A Forum Defenfing the Faith Questions go to our Defending the Faith Q&A Forum Church History Questions go to our Church History Q&A Forum
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