Supernatural Studies, Wednesday, Period 1

[bitten_notshy]

"Welcome back," Jack said, clearly more relaxed now that he was on his second week on the job. He deistributed a stack of handouts as the students took their seats. "For our first class, I thought we'd talk about the first supernatural creature many children who grow up in Western cultures on Earth hear about -- angels. In several religions, angels are seen as benevolent creatures who carry out the will of God on Earth. Traditionally they act as messengers, guides and protectors to humanity."

He moved over to bring up a PowerPoint slide. "The modern image of an angel is something like this," he said, bringing up a slide of an extremly cute being in a white robe with wings and a harp. "But that wasn't what the first people to believe in them saw at all. Descriptions of angels in ancient spiritual texts include seraphim, who were on fire and had six wings. Traditional depictions were more like this."

He regarded the image for a moment."It's said they glow so brightly humans cannot look on them. Satan, the lord of Hell, is described as a fallen angel. Another named angel, Samael, brings death; Michael performs acts of justice and power. in the original stories, they are not meant to be especially nice." That point, he thought, deserved some emphasis. "But in addition to seeing angels as warriors for God, early on people began to believe in 'guardian angels.' This is the concept that an angel watches over each of us at each minute. Some early religious leaders believed this, some did not, and it ended up firm in the popular imagination. Even now, people who are not terribly religious may refer to their 'guardian angel' when they feel spared in some way. Other people may say we're all angels for each other -- that sometimes God moves a human to do something angelic."

Jack wasn't sure he believed any of that, but he would admit it was a nice idea.

"That brings us to our discussion," he said. "What do you think about the concept of heavenly beings who intervene in human lives? Is it something you feel you've seen, or a fairy tale we tell children?" He was prepared to intervene if the discussion got too heated, but asking the question seemed safe enough. "Also, the office seems to think I have a second TA. Charley Brewster, come see me after class."

Comments

Sign In [1/15]

[bitten_notshy]

Angelically.

Re: Sign In [1/15]

[failsatspirit]

Korra

Re: Sign In [1/15]

[robinonadderall]

Stiles Stilinski

Lecture [1/16]

[bitten_notshy]

Listen, flip through the handouts, chat...

Re: Lecture [1/16]

[failsatspirit]

Korra did not trust the cut looking thing. Did not trust it at all.

Re: Lecture [1/16]

[nomoresportscars]

"What's with the face?"

Polite as always, Jackson.

Re: Lecture [1/16]

[nomoresportscars]

Angels? Ugh.

Jackson looked bored. He was not here for this.

Re: Lecture [1/16]

[nottrivial]

This lecture was a little weird for someone who was actually part-angel. Alec rubbed at one of the faded rune scars on his arm and tried not to look too uncomfortable.

Re: Lecture [1/16]

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

Percy didn't know any angels but he did not a few gods and goddesses that like to meddle. It probably wasn't the same thing because Apollo and the like definitely didn't look like some of the pictures on the slides.

Discussion [1/16]

[bitten_notshy]

Do you believe there are angels? Have they helped you? Or is it all a myth?

Messy pinging encouraged.

Re: Discussion [1/16]

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

Sholeh's culture didn't have anything approaching angels, but she was looking dubiously at both images. "I don't see how either of these are supposed to be helpful," she said. "I don't think one is old enough to fly on its own and the other wouldn't be useful unless I needed protection from over-heating or something."

Re: Discussion [1/16]

[holy-daughter.livejournal.com]

"I don't believe they're limited by their physical forms," Lucrezia explained. "An angel is a being with powers of the divine. One may look like an infant, but he still would possess knowledge and abilities that far surpasses that of any person."

Re: Discussion [1/16]

[fewer_explosions]

"There are humans with wings?" Liara said, perturbed. "I did not realize they had so little weight."

... She may have missed the point of the exercise.

Re: Discussion [1/16]

[holy-daughter.livejournal.com]

"They are divine beings," Lucrezia explained. "They are not limited by their physical forms."

Re: Discussion [1/16]

[hawkeye-too.livejournal.com]

"There's probably something like angels somewhere," Kate said - though she was personally doubtful. "But I hope it's not in a Caressed by a Seraphim Touched by an Angel sort of way because that's just cheesy."

Re: Discussion [1/16]

[holy-daughter.livejournal.com]

"Who is being caressed by seraphim?" Lucrezia asked.

Sorry. Still not caught up to the current century, pop-culture-wise.

Re: Discussion [1/16]

[holy-daughter.livejournal.com]

Lucrezia fingered her ornate cross necklace as she spoke.

"I believe that angels serve Our Lord God," she said, solemnly. "I have not seen evidence that they intercede on behalf of mortals, except where directed by God to do so."

She did not add that angels had not spared her Paolo. Perhaps stable-boys were not a priority.

Re: Discussion [1/16]

[nips-your-nose.livejournal.com]

"Angels?" Jack looked at least vaguely amused as he mulled the discussion question over. "I'm pretty sure they could exist, sure. I mean, not that I've ever met one, but if I'm real, I'm probably not in any position to throw stones at other legends, either."

Legends, religious figures, celestial beings, whatever.

"The closest thing to a heavenly being that's interfered in my life would be the Moon. And all I'm pretty sure he did was bring me to life and tell me my name."

Re: Discussion [1/16]

[holy-daughter.livejournal.com]

"I had no idea the Moon was divine," Lucrezia said, giving the white-haired boy a smile.

Re: Discussion [1/16]

[seaweed-demigod.livejournal.com]

"I believe there could be angels," Percy said after some thought. "But, I don't think angels have really helped me. Of course, I didn't believe in gods and goddesses until I found out my dad was one so I could be totally off base here. I suppose if gods can get involved in the lives of humans, what's to stop an angel?"

That didn't make a lot of sense.

"I don't know if I'd want one to get involved with my life, personally. There's already too many people doing that as it is."

Talk to the Teacher & TAs [1/16]

[bitten_notshy]

Who are all of course perfect angels.

Re: Talk to the Teacher & TAs [1/16]

[bitten_notshy]

Jack let himself relax a bit during the discussion. He was curious about Charley as a TA -- he hoped his negative experiences with vampires hadn't prejudiced him against everything supernatural.

Though that type of attitude might make for a more interesting class.

Re: Talk to the Teacher & TAs [1/16]

[robinonadderall]

Stiles had never been a TA before, but he got the jist of how it worked. He did his best to look approachable but it probably made him look like even more of a spaz.

OOC [1/16]

[bitten_notshy]

I believe in Billie Holiday, does that count?

Lyrics | U2 lyrics - Angel Of Harlem lyrics

Re: OOC [1/16]

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

Billie Holiday always counts.