Do angels have free will?

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vincent10395

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I know that we have free will,but do angels? Since they were created in Heaven how was it possible to turn away from God? And were they created in God’s image and likeness?

Thanks, and God Bless!👍
 
when i see my wife this afternoon i will ask her does she have free will…
she is my angel on earth.
 
Angels are pure spiritual souls, the possess intellect and will. So, yes
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Funny,because our one Priest said that they weren’t in his homily. I don’t know why though.

Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut, it really helped me!

God Bless!👍
 
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

330 As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendour of their glory bears witness.
 
The Church has no teaching on the matter, but various sources I have studied (including Jewish sources, where much of our ideas about angels come from) say that angels have free will, but ever since being admitted to the beatific vision, they (being intelligent creatures) are effectively unable to exercise it, because no intelligent being who is exposed to the beatific vision can choose to disobey God.

It’s kinda like you have free will to chop off your arm, but you would never willingly exercise it.
 
vincent10395 said:
Funny,because our one Priest said that they weren’t in his homily. I don’t know why though.
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Maybe because angels aren’t “souls.” A soul, by definition, belongs to a body; a pure spirit does not. (Angels are pure spirits.)
 
1ke said:
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

330 As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendour of their glory bears witness.
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👍
 
DavidFilmer said:
The Church has no teaching on the matter, but various sources I have studied (including Jewish sources, where much of our ideas about angels come from) say that angels have free will, but ever since being admitted to the beatific vision, they (being intelligent creatures) are effectively unable to exercise it, because no intelligent being who is exposed to the beatific vision can choose to disobey God.

It’s kinda like you have free will to chop off your arm, but you would never willingly exercise it.
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Thanks for your helpful (name removed by moderator)ut, I’ve never heard it put that way.

God Bless!👍
 
DavidFilmer said:
The Church has no teaching on the matter, but various sources I have studied (including Jewish sources, where much of our ideas about angels come from) say that angels have free will, but ever since being admitted to the beatific vision, they (being intelligent creatures) are effectively unable to exercise it, because no intelligent being who is exposed to the beatific vision can choose to disobey God.

It’s kinda like you have free will to chop off your arm, but you would never willingly exercise it.
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Makes Lucifer seem even more insane.
 
I read in the bible an explanation about what an angel looks like, apparently they are pretty strange looking, they have 4 wings and their entire body, including wings are covered in ‘eyes’, they also supposedly wear alot of beautiful stones and gems. I cant think of the verse that describes them, but it is interesting!

Ive also heard a long time ago, angels are supposedly around 35 ft tall, I cant remember where I heard this, but I do remember they had something to back it up, wish I could remember more about this…

Regarding their free will, Satan and one third of the angels exercised their free will when they chose to fall, so yep, they do indeed have free will.
 
mikekle said:
I read in the bible an explanation about what an angel looks like, apparently they are pretty strange looking, they have 4 wings and their entire body, including wings are covered in ‘eyes’, they also supposedly wear alot of beautiful stones and gems. I cant think of the verse that describes them, but it is interesting!

Ive also heard a long time ago, angels are supposedly around 35 ft tall, I cant remember where I heard this, but I do remember they had something to back it up, wish I could remember more about this…
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Angels do not have bodies.
 
Originally Posted by mikekle forums.catholic-questions.org/images/buttons_khaki/viewpost.gif
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Ive also heard a long time ago, angels are supposedly around 35 ft tall, I cant remember where I heard this, but I do remember they had something to back it up, wish I could remember more about this… *
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1ke said:
Angels do not have bodies.
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Maybe, Mikekle, you read about someone’s description of an angel they saw. Angels can appear in body form, as with the (Arch) Angel Raphael in the book of Tobit. Yet, they are pure spirit and have no body.
 
mikekle said:
I read in the bible an explanation about what an angel looks like, apparently they are pretty strange looking, they have 4 wings and their entire body, including wings are covered in ‘eyes’, they also supposedly wear alot of beautiful stones and gems. I cant think of the verse that describes them, but it is interesting!
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That’s from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel. But there’re many different images of angels throughout the Bible.
Ive also heard a long time ago, angels are supposedly around 35 ft tall, I cant remember where I heard this, but I do remember they had something to back it up, wish I could remember more about this…
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I think the people who said that were thinking of the Nephilim - a race of giants mentioned in the Bible from before the flood. Supposedly, the Nephilim were children of angel fathers (the sons of God) and human mothers. St. Paul actually mentions this as the reason why women should veil themselves - because the beauty of women is enough to cause angels to fall.
Regarding their free will, Satan and one third of the angels exercised their free will when they chose to fall, so yep, they do indeed have free will.
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Yes, I mean look what happened to Satan- the fallen angel who rebelled against God.
 
vz71 said:
Makes Lucifer seem even more insane.
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That would only be the case if Lucifer rejected God after being admitted to the Beatific Vision.

Our Jewish sources (from which we derive this knowledge) insist that Lucifer and his followers were given a choice to accept or reject God (a rejection which means they thought themselves superior - the sin of pride) before they were granted the Beatific Vision.

This is a choice which us mortals face many times every day. We are imperfect beings. But, if we were perfect beings (as the angels are perfect beings) then we could make only one choice, and we would be forever committed to this choice. No “perfect being” can change its mind.
 
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