Angels Watching Over Us

The word angel comes from the Greek, angelo, which mean “messenger.”  For thousands of years, thousands of translations, countless written descriptions and oral accounts speak of divine winged messengers draped in pure, white robes, underscoring humankind’s ageless belief and fascination with angels.  Fundamental to Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, the concept of angelic beings is very similar in all three faiths: spiritual beings created by God before the world was created, whose role is to glorify God, minister to God, and particularly, to act as God's messengers to humans in matters of great importance (such as the announcement to Mary in Christianity and the revelation of the Qur'an in Islam).  Read more . . .

Sodom and Gomorrah: History or Allegory?

According to one of the earliest stories of the Bible, two cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their inhabitants were destroyed some 5,000 years ago for not living up to the ethical standards of God.  But, did these ancient cities actually exist?  And if so, were they actually destroyed by fire and brimstone or is this purely a cautionary, anagogical tale as many stories of the Bible are thought to have been?  These are the questions believers and scholars alike have asked for centuries.  Read more . . .