We always think of Death as being just this one guy, right? But what if there's actually an extended family of Reapers, who have home lives just like anyone else? Let's visit with Grimm Reaper and his lovely family (including wife Maria Black, the skateboarding twins Peril and Hazard, the cantankerous and mischievous Uncle Mort, and Italian cousin Angelo DellaMorte), and the occasional souls who get brought home to meet the family before going on their way to the Great Beyond...-- smendler, Feb 19 2012 Mort http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MortBy the Great Man himself. [8th of 7, Feb 20 2012] Uncle Mort http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_BaileyBefore Pratchett there was Tinniswood. [DrBob, Feb 20 2012] The Ropers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_RopersForgettable as a series... [RayfordSteele, Feb 21 2012] Happy Reaper Happy_20Reaperone of first ideas I successfully posted on HB [xenzag, Mar 25 2013] http://weknowmemes....-joy-in-his-job.jpg [2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jun 29 2014] Where does that blond haired death angel from "Touched by an Angel" fit in? I can't find anything in the Bible about a death angel so he's as much a work of fiction as The Reapers, albiet perhaps a bit less morbid.
Maybe he's their weirdly normal cousin.-- Psalm_97, Feb 19 2012 Wasn't there a show like this? It wasn't a nuclear family, I think the centre of the show was a single woman.-- rcarty, Feb 20 2012 "Dead Like Me"-- FlyingToaster, Feb 20 2012 ...and reminds me of an excellent Firesign Theatre sketch a while ago about a game show called "Beat The Reaper" [+] Here's a bun, son, enjoy!-- Grogster, Feb 20 2012 I find the whole angel thing quite an exciting aspect of Christianity. They are referenced throuought the bible, both old (mostly old) and new - but it's never explained who or what they are, and what their purpose in the whole grand scheme of things is. It seems that they are capable of superhuman powers when interfacing with humans, yet it is suggested that while they benefit from immortality, they do so at the expense of free will.
I rather suspect that angels (and, to a lesser extent, Saints) may be the polytheistic left-overs from earlier religious practice - or that they provide an analogous mechanism through which god communicates with his creation - analogous to the pantheon of fundamental particles communicating forces in a transactional kind of way. The Archangel Gabriel might be an equally good name for the Higgs-Boson, albeit with associated bumpf, but the Higgs-Boson is attracting bumfp already as it is, so who's to say the old scribes weren't just keen on linking unknown physical forces with a shared cultural narrative?-- zen_tom, Feb 20 2012 Um, [z_t], you do realise that Death probably reads the HalfBakery ? You might just want to be a bit careful ...-- 8th of 7, Feb 20 2012 [8th], all the more reason to keep him occupied! Hey [Death]!-- zen_tom, Feb 20 2012 //I find the whole angel thing quite an exciting aspect//
You should bear in mind that "angel" is just the Greek word for "messenger". So, when you read non-religious Greek texts, you will find perfectly normal people* sending and receiving "angels" on foot or horseback with perfectly ordinary, non-supernatural messages.
Bearing this in mind, [zen_tom], you might like to re-read the "angel" passages in the bible, to see in how many of them the swan-like wings (and other SFX) vanish in a puff of etymology.
*or, at least, perfectly normal rulers and commanders-- pertinax, Feb 21 2012 They should have a complicated relationship as landlords to some nurses and a young Mr. Bean-ish klutz that always manages to barely and obliviously escape death but is often behind on the rent.-- RayfordSteele, Feb 21 2012 "This week on MEET THE REAPERS, Grimm gets invited to go on a fishing trip with his buddies Charon and St. Peter. But will an unexpected massacre screw up everyone's schedule?"-- smendler, Jan 17 2013 What about a TV series about people who collect electrical or gas measuring devices, to be naturally called: "Reap the meters"-- xenzag, Jan 17 2013 The theme song, of course, is to the tune of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"
"They're right down the street / Nicest folks you'll ever have to meet / Let's go meet the Reapers / Spend some time with Maria and Grimm (come on baby)..."-- smendler, Mar 25 2013 "Tonight on MEET THE REAPERS - Grimm hasn't had a vacation in 2500 years, but when his application for a couple of weeks off is denied because of an impending plague, he decides to look for other work - only to find that his skill set isn't exactly up to date. Dana Carvey guest stars as an employment counselor."-- smendler, Mar 25 2013 The problem with [Pertinax]'s point is that "messenger" is not used alone in the text. While it sometimes does refer to the prophets, it also refers to "divine" or "holy" messengers that are clearly not human.
Admittedly the concept of Angels as individual and permanent beings only happens fairly late in the old testament, and seems most common in apocalyptic (another interesting word, technically means revelation, but thanks to several end-times "apocalypses", the meaning has shifted) visions.
Oh, and the source for most angelic names and ranks are from post- Pentateuch Judaism. So not in the bible, but included in the extra-biblical traditions of all three Abrahamic regligions. That includes Samael (sometimes conflated with Lucifer/Satan) or Azrael, the angel of death, which becomes the source for other angels of death throughout literature.
The descriptions of Cherubim (not putti, completely different) and Seraphim also come from this period, as well as Revelations and definitely do include wings. What they don't include, so much, is anything resembling a human appearance. Cherubim are sphinx-like, Seraphs are six-winged, definitely involve flame, and are possibly dragon- like.-- MechE, Mar 25 2013 A snippet from the theme song:
When Grimm gets home & hangs up his scythe He just wants to go have a beer with the guys...-- smendler, Jun 29 2014 random, halfbakery