Valerie Marica
THEO 104-D48
Reflection Paper
Introduction
Angels are many times presented as being dressed in white flowing robes with halos and wings. They are usually depicted with long flowing hair and surrounded by bright white light. It is not unusual to see angels presented in movies, television and literature as taking human form and assisting people by performing various supernatural acts, such as flying or performing miracles. Angels are almost always presented as good and peaceful beings having been sent by God to assist humankind. These representations many times do not agree with scripture, but the overwhelming popularity of angels in our culture is undeniable. Demons, on the other hand, seem to be a topic
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It goes without saying that there are many many people who do not believe in God, yet they certainly believe in angels The idea of angels helps us to accept the reality of God and His Heaven. In our culture, where we tend to hear a lot about God and Heaven, the belief that there are angels who come from a place called heaven, helps us to accept the reality of the spiritual realm as well as accept the idea of God’s love and goodness. After all, if we believe that there are these creatures who help us and serve a gentle and peaceful ruler that we cannot see or hear, then He very likely is a loving God, as well. Thus, Heaven must be quite a place, since these spiritual creatures apparently live there.
Part Two The Bible talks about Demons mostly in the New Testament, predominanatly in the four gospels and the Book of Acts. They are spiritual creatures who are strongly associated with Satan and Hell, and they are usually assumed to be operating in evil ways in their attempts to afflict human beings in one way or another. Most people are hesitant to discuss or even bring up the topic of demons, and there are few who are neutral when it comes to these mysterious spiritual creatures. Yet, when asked, most would likely agree there since there are angels who are considerd “good”, they would agree that there must exist similar creatures who are “bad” or evil. Like angels, there are numerous reports of demonic activity. To be sure, many have insisted
The events in Elisabeth Bower's 'The Demon Lover'; can be explained naturally. The story being as vague as it is leads most to concur with the title of the story and imagine that there is a supernatural aspect in the story. In the short story, Kathleen has returned to her home in London that has been abandoned during the bombing of World War II. She is not expected, yet she finds a letter addressed to her on a table in the hallway. Twenty-five years has past since the leaving of her former lover during World War I. Kathleen's lover is had been presumed dead after months of being missing in action and she has moved on. She is now married to a William Dover and living the countryside with her immediate
The killer angels is a world acclaimed novel that was written by an author known as Michael Shaara. In the year 1975, it was granted the Pulitzer Prize for creative writing. It gives us in details the occurrences of the four days in the Battle of Gettysburg. This was during the American Civil War that occurred in the year 1863. At this time, troops that comprised of both the Union and Confederacy were at war in town called Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. This is a piece of story that is driven by disposition and narrated from the point of view of various heroes (Hartwig, 1996).
In a letter to the reader, Michael Shaara states that his purpose is similar to Stephen Crane's in The Red Badge of Courage. He wishes to display history not as cold facts, but rather in such a way that the reader can live the history. This is to be accomplished through extensive detail of the emotions of the men, the atmosphere of the battle, and strategies of the commanding officers. Accepting this as Shaara's intent, it can be justifiably stated that he succeeds in his objective. The Killer Angels does not merely relate what assaults and defenses where made by which colonels and generals. Instead, the book delves into the emotions of the major figures of the battle and what they endured physically and mentally as they planned for
Wars have been fought for many different reasons through the years, and that holds true for the American Civil War (1861-1865). In Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Killer Angels, the reasons for fighting the war are brought about through the officers and soldiers at a famous battle site of the Civil War, Gettysburg. Gettysburg was one of the most documented battles of the whole war. It took place over a span of three days and can be viewed as a turning point from Confederate prominence to Confederate demise. As in any conflict, there are two sides to the story. The Union and the Confederacy each had their own views as to why they were fighting the war. Victors write the history so too often only the Union side is
In The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara fictionally illustrates the historical facts of the battle at Gettysburg. Shaara gives action and words to characters of another time, and then places these players on the stage of this great battle. Through the use of powerful biblical and non-biblical imagery and themes the epic nature of the battle at Gettysburg and its characters are enhanced. Such imagery and themes, combined with Shaara's fictionalization, help to contribute to why this single battle holds such monumental significance and influence upon the lives of Americans over a century removed from its occurrence.
Honor played a major role in novel, Killer Angels. Throughout the book, Honor was a concept that remained important to members of the armies, regardless of whether they were supporting the Union or the Confederacy. Every action and decision was made with the intention of being heroic and as honorable as possible.
Killer Angels is a 1974 historical novel by Michael Shaara. The book tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. The novel is told through the voices of both Union army and Confederate Army of Northern Virginia leaders who were in battle there. The novel is laid out in days and each new chapter for the day gives a number and the name of the man who is the focus of the chapter. In Killer Angels, the Army of Northern Virginia’s demise is highlighted by a few different features. The failing health and age of Robert E. Lee served to distract him from military obligations, the advantage point the Union side had over Confederate Army at the Battle of Gettysburg, and the most significant reason for demise, was the
There was never a bloodier war on American soil than the Civil War. Those short four years took the lives of thousands of soldiers and destroyed many infrastructures of America. The war, however, was more than a battle between Lincoln and Davis, the North and the South, slavery and freeman. The Civil War was a war of ideals. The accounts told by the soldiers shown that, although the two sides did not agree on most topics, the North and the South did held certain ideals. In The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, the eyes of James Longstreet and Joshua Chamberlain expresses the battle between the North and the South as an opportunity to show their major contributions, their loyalties to their troops, and their opinions of the war that shaped them.
In the Battle of Gettysburg that took place on July 1, 1863, and ended on July 3, many casualties and injuries resulted from the fighting between those few days, leading to the victory of the Union Army. As mentioned in the Killer Angels, the hospitals were tents where soldiers were treated for their wounds on the battlefield, in the view of anyone and everyone. Amputations were almost every physician’s immediate response to bullet wounds shattering bones, amongst other types of injuries. Medicine was not as advanced back then as it is now, especially in the battlefield. Often, physicians and other medical professionals did not use proper hygienic techniques, which led to further complications due to bacteria and
Throughout the course of the Civil War around 620,000 lives were lost, of these thousands upon thousands killed, about 51,000 died in the Battle of Gettysburg. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara documents the events during the Battle of Gettysburg from the perspectives of 7 different men, on both sides, who fought through the bloodiest battle in the Civil War. The central theme of The Killer Angels centers around the concept that some decisions are difficult to make because they are neither wrong nor right, as exemplified through Generals who make difficult decisions on the battlefield, question the theology and morals of warfare, and are forced to make decisions with an unknown outcome.
Wars have been fought for many different reasons through the years, and that holds true for the American Civil War (1861-1865). In Michael Shaara’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Killer Angels, the reasons for fighting the war are brought about through the officers and soldiers at a famous battle site of the Civil War, Gettysburg. Gettysburg was one of the most documented battles of the whole war. It took place over a span of three days and can be viewed as a turning point from Confederate prominence to Confederate demise. The Union and the Confederacy each had their own views as to why they were fighting the war.
In The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara, stories of the events leading up to the Civil War’s Battle of Gettysburg, as well as the battle itself, are told from both the Northern and Southern perspectives. During the Civil War men fought for various reasons. Shaara uses the thoughts and actions of his characters to identify each person’s purpose for fighting. There were many factors that led men to fight in the Civil War. While soldiers had many reasons to fight, Michael Shaara’s The Killer Angels, brings focus to three major factors and characters: Robert E. Lee fought for his homeland, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain fought for an ideal and Jeb Stuart fought for the glory.
If I ask you to picture an angel, what do you see? Is it a vibrant white, majestically dressed individual with lush and strong wings who commands reverence with his presence? What does this ethereal creature stand for? Righteousness? Protector of good and the purest form of a celestial being besides God? If you have read Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” then you may have been introduced to a conflicting image of an angel. This angel is in no way similar to the one described above. Actually, we are not even sure he is an angel. What we do know after reading this story is that the
At night, beyond the public eye, the rooftop comforts me, provides me a my safe haven. I hear the wind whispering my name to escape: but I do not listen. Being in my own world ushers a feeling of fright, yet also comes as a relief. With no one there to judge me; I sit alone, with the company of my inner demons.. I close my eyes, my demons have assailed me all day, midnight is their time. The void of judgment has remained. It’s dark, but at the end you see a flash of light. So, I walk in the obesity of my mind where the darkness has taken over. The sense of being paralyzed comes to my mind, my fears are woken up and the sense of neglect is off. I smell fear all around. I do not smell the smoke from the burning wood I left. The smell of fear and sweat are much more dominant,I feel my hands are getting sweaty, my body frozen, paralyzed. My heart beats faster than ever before. My Demons have become vigorous. An explosion of fear, rage, sadness and anxiety overwhelms me, but I cannot wake up. Powerless, my demons pull me into the darkest depths of my mind where I try to hold on for dear mercy.
Angels are eluded to 103 times in the Old Testament and 93 times in the New Testament. These angels, described as spiritual beings created by God, serve Him. Still, angels are created higher than man. Angels are separated into two major categories, good angels and bad/fallen angels. The good angels continue to obey God and follow His will. The fallen angels disobey God. In fact, fallen angels oppose everything God stands for. For this reason, the fallen angels no longer reside in their holy positions. Furthermore, the fallen angels work against the plan and will of God. Three other familiar terms referring to angels are seraphim, cherubim, and ministering spirits. Both the Hebrew and Greek word for angel means “messenger”, describing one who completes the purpose and will of the one whom they serve. Thus, the good angels follow God, and the fallen angels serve Satan. One angel, unlike any other, is the “angel of the Lord.” “The angel of the Lord”, identified as God, speaks as God and states to utilize the entitlements of God. According to the Christian belief, unlike one worldly perspective, angels are not the spirits of deceased human beings. Instead, they are created beings made for a purpose (Keathley).