St. Michael ~ who does he slay, his tale, etc.

[CaptainStoner]

Hello Trekkies

I've been following other spiritual studies for many years now, mainly Taoism, and Shamanism, but am interested in any input the various Christians here have on the tale of St. Michael, a very popular Archangel. Who, or what, is he? What is an Archangel, how do they differ from regular Angels?
And who is he slaying in the common depiction?
I realize its a fallen angel, or a dragon - is this Satan himself, is Michael delivering the killing blow in the final battle?

Any discussion of this fascinating image is appreciated, as well as (even especially) any correlations to pre-Christian mythology.

My "birth" religion is Catholicism, in which I served as a Music minister for 7 years or so, before departing on a broader study. I should know this stuff better, but then, this is what we have the Internets for.
I can google and research as well as anyone, I'm more interested in discussion and input.
Thanks.

Please indicate your denomination, if you will. Non-religious and agnostic/atheist perspectives are welcome as well. It takes two to tango.

 

[RoJoHen]

John Travolta.

That's all I got.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Hello Trekkies

I've been following other spiritual studies for many years now, mainly Taoism, and Shamanism, but am interested in any input the various Christians here have on the tale of St. Michael, a very popular Archangel. Who, or what, is he? What is an Archangel, how do they differ from regular Angels?
And who is he slaying in the common depiction?
I realize its a fallen angel, or a dragon - is this Satan himself, is Michael delivering the killing blow in the final battle?

Any discussion of this fascinating image is appreciated, as well as (even especially) any correlations to pre-Christian mythology.

Please indicate your denomination, if you will. Non-religious and agnostic/atheist perspectives are welcome as well. It takes two to tango.

I'm an atheist, raised Catholic but went astray quite soon. However, I love mythology, and Christian mythology is really interesting. There are many interpretations of Micheal, and I think there are Christian confessions that believe him to be the exalted spirit of Adam, or even of the Logos himself, that will be incarnated as Jesus.

In every case, he is seen as the defender of Mankind against the powers of Darkness. He is most often depicted slaying a Dragon, the embodiment of primeval forces of chaos. I think the most close associations with other mythologies is Thor from Nordic Saga, whose destiny is to slay the World-Serpent Jormungandr, and also Indra from Vedic mythology, also a god of rain and thunder whose enemy is the Snake-God Vritra.

The identification of the Dragon with Satan is ambiguous: Satan (the Accuser) in Jewish mythology is actually a force of law and order, whose role is to be the "prosecutor" in God's trial against humanity. Maybe Michael's role as humanity's defender extended in mythology also to fulfill the role as "counselor" for Mankind. In this case, it's easy to see how Satan merged with dragon-serpent, embodiment of chaos and the material world (both in Genesis and in Revelations).

I'm sure other people can post a more accurate and less confused review of Christian mythology than myself.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I've seen St. Michael on the labels of clothing bought from Marks & Spencer.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Let's not forget that angels are actually more a Zoroastrian invention than an original Jewish one, which was absorbed into Jewish mythology during (I think) Babylonian captivity. Before that, there was no mention of angelic beings (aka, divine messengers between God and Man) in the Bible.

Archangels, again if we assume Zoroastrian origin, are a bit more than simple messengers, but counterparts of the Amesha Spenta, the divine sparks, actually manifestations of Ahura Mazda, the Supreme Being (just like the various gods in Hinduism are actually the personification of various aspect of the same divine being, Brahman, the "divine ground"). In this case, Michael would be the personification of God's law or righteousness.

 

[cultcross]

Patron saint of police officers.

Yeah, that's about all I know.

 

[Holdfast]

I've seen St. Michael on the labels of clothing bought from Marks & Spencer.

I believe St Michael is the patron saint of microwave ready meals.

 

[Commander Rabbit]

I believe St Michael is the patron saint of microwave ready meals.

Well then, he is definitely the patron saint of my kitchen! I'll have to find an icon...

 

[melancholymecha]

However, I love mythology, and Christian mythology is really interesting.

yeah its fascinating stuff isnt it? The saints too. Almost as good as Greek myth.

as for Micheal, he's the one who's the badass.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

as for Micheal, he's the one who's the badass.

So his last name is Robau, then?

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I've seen St. Michael on the labels of clothing bought from Marks & Spencer.

I believe St Michael is the patron saint of microwave ready meals.

He works in Sainsbury's too?!

 

[Neutral Zone]

The only bit I know about St Michael is from the statue outside Coventary Cathedral where the Saint is depicted as casting Satan out of heaven. So I guess that he is the one that Satan out and relegated him to being the adversary/temptor on earth.

 

[ancientone51]

^ That's the one I remember. When God tossed "Light" (Lucifer) out of heaven, Michael was the bouncer who made sure he and his posse left the building.

 

[RevdKathy]

St Michael is often the patron of churches built on old pagan sites, probably in an effort to 'Christianise' places that were especially sacred in the old religion. In particular this seems to apply to hill-tops and mounts: eg Mont St Michel (Brittany) St Michael's Mount (Cornwall) and the [remains of the] chapel on the top of Glastonbury Tor. Proponents of the ley line theory identify a 'line' of points associated with St Michael,

 

[CaptainStoner]

In every case, he is seen as the defender of Mankind against the powers of Darkness. He is most often depicted slaying a Dragon, the embodiment of primeval forces of chaos. I think the most close associations with other mythologies is Thor from Nordic Saga, whose destiny is to slay the World-Serpent Jormungandr, and also Indra from Vedic mythology, also a god of rain and thunder whose enemy is the Snake-God Vritra.

That's good stuff. I have to wonder how, or if, it crosses over into anti-Goddess sentiments also, which I think would be relatively later developments.

The identification of the Dragon with Satan is ambiguous: Satan (the Accuser) in Jewish mythology is actually a force of law and order, whose role is to be the "prosecutor" in God's trial against humanity. Maybe Michael's role as humanity's defender extended in mythology also to fulfill the role as "counselor" for Mankind. In this case, it's easy to see how Satan merged with dragon-serpent, embodiment of chaos and the material world (both in Genesis and in Revelations).

That makes sense. Satan is a Lawyer.

Let's not forget that angels are actually more a Zoroastrian invention than an original Jewish one, which was absorbed into Jewish mythology during (I think) Babylonian captivity. Before that, there was no mention of angelic beings (aka, divine messengers between God and Man) in the Bible.

I knew this being had to be of far more ancient origin, thank you.

Archangels, again if we assume Zoroastrian origin, are a bit more than simple messengers, but counterparts of the Amesha Spenta, the divine sparks, actually manifestations of Ahura Mazda, the Supreme Being (just like the various gods in Hinduism are actually the personification of various aspect of the same divine being, Brahman, the "divine ground"). In this case, Michael would be the personification of God's law or righteousness.

Very interesting. Starting to sound Tolkienian also.

I've seen St. Michael on the labels of clothing bought from Marks & Spencer.

I believe St Michael is the patron saint of microwave ready meals.

I doubt such an ancient being would have lived this long on such garbage food.

St Michael is often the patron of churches built on old pagan sites, probably in an effort to 'Christianise' places that were especially sacred in the old religion. In particular this seems to apply to hill-tops and mounts: eg Mont St Michel (Brittany) St Michael's Mount (Cornwall) and the [remains of the] chapel on the top of Glastonbury Tor. Proponents of the ley line theory identify a 'line' of points associated with St Michael,

Thanks for that. Very interesting.

One thing I find interesting about the images of Michael and the Fallen Angel, his face is always completely serene, even while delivering what is to be a killing blow. There's some deep information in that.