Posted on 12/22/2009 6:30:54 PM PST by JoeProBono
LONDON, A London scientist has authored a paper arguing angels as classically depicted, mostly-human forms with wings, would be unable to fly.
Professor Roger Wotton of University College London wrote in his paper, which was published by the school's Opticon magazine, that human-appearing angels with feathered bird-like wings would not be able to use the wings for flight, The Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday.
"Even a cursory examination of the evidence in representational arts shows that angels and cherubs cannot take off and cannot use powered flight," Wotton wrote. "And even if they used gliding flight, they would need to be exposed to very high wind velocities at take off -- such high winds that they would be blown away and have no need for wings."
Wotton's paper also took aim at fantasy depictions of fairies with the wings of butterflies.
"The distortion of the thorax needed for flight in fairies with butterfly wings would be exceedingly uncomfortable," the paper read. "For sure, fairies don't fly."
I believe it was GK Chesterton who said Angels can fly because they don’t take themselves seriously.
Of course the Bible doesn’t really talk about angels flying. Seraphim yes, there was a creature in Revelation like an eagle that could fly, and an eagle in Rev. 8 that cried out to the earth as it flew.
But I wouldn’t tell an angel it can’t fly.
I read somewhere that the “obese little baby” thing came about because so many babies died shortly after birth in the olden days, and there was also a lot of hunger. People desperately wanted to believe that their dead babies had gone to heaven, where they were plump and well fed and became angels. So artists began depicting angels as chubby babies.
Angels are incorporeal creatures, that is, they neither have mass nor take up space. They are spirit. This was the rationale behind the Scholastic debate over “How many angels can stand on the end of a needle?” The answer is an infinite number. Angels may “appear” to us in many forms, wings and sans wings. There are a number of verses in the Bible in which angels appeared as “young men.” There was no mention of wings.
Do not confuse the angels that are shown on television and in the movies with the teachings of Scripture.
"The Angels' Carol" from the John Rutter Christmas album.
It would never be Christmas for me without that song.
I have known missionaries. They’ve seen things. They tell stories. Stories of angels over 10 feet tall built like linebackers, powerful beyond comprehension and of very serious demeanor.
That picture of a pig is clearly Photoshopped. It’s ridiculous. Everyone knows that pigs are mammals and don’t have feathers, so pig wings have the same fur as the rest of their bodies. Didn’t you ever study biology?
Really?
And science said bees should not be able to fly either. Science was wrong.
"I never knew! I'm so ashamed."
We’re talking about vertebrates, dork. You get 4 limbs, a head and a tail. That’s all. When you try to jam two limbs into one shoulder socket, there’s no place to put all the muscles.
The first time I saw them they were in F9F Panthers.
Did see a Bearcat at an air show when I was a kid. WOW!
I remember hearing that angels in the old testament didn’t have wings. The concept of wings came much later. I always thought they traveled inter-dimensionally. They seem to sort of phase in at out at times. Like shifting dimensional phases.
Much better. Thank you for posting that. It’s always better to attend to scientific accuracy, and I appreciate your kind effort to educate the scientifically illiterate Revoltingcat! and other Freepers who don’t understand even the most basic principles of porcine flight.
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