angel

angel (bringer of messages), bodiless, immortal [不死的] spirit, limited in knowledge and power, accepted in the traditional belief of Judaism [犹太教], Christianity [基督教], and Islam [伊斯兰教] and other religions.

The Bible [圣经] also speaks of guardian angels, protecting individuals or nations.

Christians [基督徒] inherited Jewish [犹太人] understandings of angels, which in turn may have been partly inherited from the Egyptians [埃及人].

By the late 4th century, the Church Fathers agreed that there were different categories of angels, with appropriate missions and activities assigned to them. There was, however, some disagreement regarding the nature of angels. Some argued that angels had physical bodies, while some maintained that they were entirely spiritual.

The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians [神学家] and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal [教义的] foundations of Christianity.

"how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?" A question once used to challenge medieval theologians. Today, it is used as a metaphor [比喻] for unimportant intellectual debate.

Alongside archangel [大天使] Michael, Gabriel [加百列] is described as the guardian angel of Israel [以色列], defending its people against the angels of the other nations.

A business angel or angel investor is a person who gives financial support to a commercial venture [风险投资] and receives a share of any profits from it, but who does not expect to be involved in its management.

Arch- combines with nouns referring to people to form new nouns that refer to people who are extreme examples of something. For example, arch-rival, arch-enemy, and archbishop.