This is one of those times.
The Angelic Way: Angels through the Ages and Their Meaning for Us by Rami Shapiro is a scholarly work that is highly readable and quite thought provoking.
How fascinating was this work?
Let's put it this way... I wrote 18 pages of notes to myself about topics from Shapiro's text. I am not parting with my copy of this book, no way.
Rabbi Rami Shapiro defines angels as a metaphor (or symbol) used to describe the human ability to transecend our "ego-centered mind" into a "God centered conciousness".
Being that I am a Catholic reader I could not accept Shapiro's stance that angels exist only as myth.
Yet, not once, did I take issue with his thesis. In the end the emphasis is placed upon each individual's ability to let go of the self (ego) and embrace joining with the Divine.
Shapiro's approach is ecumenical or what you maycall interfaith. He opens the doors for addressing the history of angels from a wealth of knowledge from many religious perspectives. His work is firmly rooted in the study of mythology with reference to the powerful work of Joseph Campbell.
Unlike the overflowing miasma on book store shelves of pop culture angels compartmentalized into simplistic explanations used to serve authors ' needs to appease a reading population that wants quick fix spirituality...
Shapiro's text is a fine work of scholarship that appeals to the reader's intellect. The Angelic Way: Angels through the Ages and Their Meaning for Us is written with such clarity that it encompasses complex concepts that are accessible to the unitiated theological reader.
And with that being said, I am going to hit my notes and start exploring the new worlds that author, Shapiro< has introduced to this avid reader.
ENJOY!
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AUTHOR'S BLOG: Rabbi Rami
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