Boxed In

606.  Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225-1274)

What would you think of an intellectual who had written volume after huge volume of theology--then claimed at the end of his life that it was all useless and should be burned?  Thomas Aquinas, the most famous theologian of the Middle Ages, did just that.  But his colleagues valued his theology more than he did and preserved it, and for centuries he was the theologian, even though unfinished, was considered the most comprehensive work of Catholic theology, and in it he touched on every subject imaginable--including, naturally, angels, demons, and the afterlife.  Thomas affirmed the belief that each believer has a guardian angel assigned to him.  Thomas must have been fascinated by the angels, for he wrote almost a hundred pages on them--their hierarchy, habits, knowledge, movements, and so on.  Angels, he said, are the highest grade of creation, and they are incorruptible and immortal.  He believed that the stars and planets are moved and guided by them.  In his belief in angels he was deeply influenced by the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius.  Catholic tradition refers to Thomas as the "Angelic Doctor," with Doctor meaning "Teacher."  He did not neglect demons, either.  Demons, he said, are capable of all kinds of harm, even causing impotence in men.  They may appear audibly or visibly to men, or they can speak through the human imagination.  Thomas took witchcraft seriously (as did most people of the Middle Ages)  and believed that woman and men who consorted with demons could do all kinds of harm.  Curiously, for someone who opposed the occult and satanism, Thomas did believe in astrology--at least, he believed that some people might allow themselves to be influenced by the movements of the stars and planets, though it was not inevitable.  Hell, Thomas said, was a real material place, located somewhere in the lowest part to the earth.  To those who thought that perhaps everyone might find salvation, Thomas gave a definite no.  But he also had much to say about heaven.  The chief happiness of the saved person will consist in seeing God.  The human soul, restless on earth, finds rest when it rejoins its Source. 

Steps to the Altar

84.  cherubim

The term "cherubs" usually refers to the cute, pudgy angels found on Christmas cards.  But in the Bible they, are awesome, almost frightening creatures.  The prophet Ezekiel had a strange vision of the cherubim (that's plural--one cherub, two cherubim):  "Their whole body, with their back, their hands, their wings, and the wheels that the four had, were full of eyes all around ... Each one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, the second face the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle"  (Ezek.  10:12, 14).  Much earlier, cherubim had served as sentries, brandishing flaming swords to keep Adam and Eve out once they were banished from Eden (Gen. 3:24).  The most commonly seen cherubim--or, at least, figures of them--were the two on the lid of the ark of the covenant.  The ark is describned in detail in Exodus 25, including the two winged figures who face each othere, their wings touch ing (and protrayed accurately, by the way, in the movies Raiders of the Lost Ark).  Israel was prohibited form making images of God Himself, but apparently they thought of the space between the cherubim as the place where God was present:  The phrase "LORD Almighty, enthroned between the cherubim"  occurs many times in the Bible.

Star Puzzle

46.  the Bibles' first angels

People always connect the Garden of Eden with the tempter, Satan.  But there were angels connected with Eden as well, though not in any pleasant sense.  After the serpent tempted Adam and Eve, they ate the forbidden fruit, and because they disobeyed God, they were banished from Eden.  The entryway of Eden was guarded by cherubin (angels) and a flaming sword, a vivid symbol that once man had sinned he could never go back to Eden (Gen. 3:24).

Pinwheel

8.  pleasure in watching hell?

Do the people in heaven see the people in hell?  Jesus' parable of Lazarus and the rich man suggests that they do.  In the parable, the beggar Lazarus is in heaven while the coldhearted rich man who snubbed him is in hell, where Lazarus can see and hear him  Some prominent theologians, such as Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, claimed that one of the pleasures of heaven is seeing the torments of those in hell.  This strikes us as rather cruel, but consider what they meant:  Sin is receiving its just punishment, so those in heaven should rejoice because justice is done and because they themselves have escaped horror.