The Angels and Us

266 Pages·2016·1.11 MB·English

by  Mortimer J. Adler

ancets ano us
th€
by
J
~rtimer ~dler
MACMILLAN PUBLISHING CO., INC.
New York
COLLIER MACMILLAN PUBLISHERS
Londo«
1
anqels ano us
th€
by
J
~rtimer ~dler
MACMILLAN PUBLISHING CO., INC.
New York
COLLIER MACMILLAN PUBLISHERS
Lmu/qn
2
the angels and us
3
OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR
Dialectic
What Man Has Made of Man
How to Read a Book
How to Think About War and Peace
The Capitalist Manifesto
(with Louis O. Kelso)
The Idea of Freedom
The Conditions of Philosophy
The Difference of Man and the Difference It
Makes
The Time of Our Lives
The Common Sense of Politics
The American Testament
(with William Gorman)
Some Questions About Language
Philosopher at Large
Reforming Education
Great Treasury of Western Thought
(with Charles Van Doren)
Aristotle for Everybody
How to Think About God
Six Great Ideas
4
the angels and us
by
Mortimer J. Adler
MACMILLAN PUBLISHING CO., INC.
New York
COLUER MACMILLAN PUBLISHERS
LAndQn
5
Copyright © 1982 by Mortimer J. Adler
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording or by any information
storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the Publisher.
Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
866 Third Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022
www.SimonandSchuster.com
Collier Macmillan Canada, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging in
Publication Data
Adler, Mortimer Jerome.
The angels and us.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
I. Angels. 2. Angels—History of
doctrines.
I. Title.
BT966.2.A34 235’.3 81-20810
ISBN 0-02-500550-2 AACR2
eISBN-13: 978-1-4391-0578-8
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
6
7
Contents
Preface
PART ONE Prologue
1. The Fascination of Angels
(1) Minds Without Bodies
(2) Extraterrestrial Intelligences
(3) The Image of Angels
2. The Significance of Angels
(1) Significance for Whom?
(2) Reality or Possibility
(3) Theology or Philosophy
PART TWO Angels as Objects of Religious Belief
3. The Dogma and the Doctrines
(1) Why a Belief in Angels?
(2) What the Belief Is
(3) From Dogma to Doctrines
(4) An Angelic Entertainment
4. The Reality of Angels
(1) Why Try to Prove the Existence of Angels?
(2) The Reason God Created Angels
(3) The Great Chain of Being
(4) The Best of All Possible Worlds
5. Theological Speculation About Angels
(1) The Range and Order of Questions
(2) The Mission of Angels on Earth
(3) A Necessary Digression
(4) The Life of Angels in Heaven
8
6. Hell’s Angels
(1) From Heaven to Hell
(2) Satan in the Service of God
(3) The Mystery of Original Sin
PART THREE Angels as Objects of Philosophical
Thought
7. The Possibility of Angels
(1) The Crux of the Matter
(2) Who Says That Angels Are Impossible?
(3) Reasons for Affirming Their Possibility
8. Philosophical Exploration of That Possibility
(1) Angelology and Mathematics
(2) The Mutability of Angels
(3) The Differentiation of Angels
(4) Angelic Occupation of Space and
Movement Through It
(5) Angels as Knowers
(6) Angels as Lovers
(7) The Community and Communication of
Angels
PART FOUR Angelistic Fallacies in Modern
Thought
9. How Like an Angel!
(1) And How Unlike!
(2) The Two Extremes
(3) The Incarnation of the Angel
10. Shades of the Prison House
(1) The Immortality of the Soul
(2) One or Two?
(3) More Like an Angel
(4) The Incarceration of the Soul
9
11. If Men Were Angels
(1) Angelistic Politics
(2) Angelistic Psychology
(3) Angelistic Linguistics
(4) Angelistic Ethics
PART FIVE Epilogue
12. Man on the Boundary Line
(1) Straddling the Line or Reaching Over It?
(2) The Weakness of the Human Mind
(3) The Middle Ground
(4) The Resurrection of the Body
13. What More to Read About Angels
Index
10