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TestingPointDesign β Archangel Lucifer
Published: 2005-10-18 21:39:53 +0000 UTC; Views: 21775; Favourites: 209; Downloads: 21
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Description
"One fatal tree there stands of Knowledge called,Forbidden them to taste: Knowledge forbidden?
Suspicious, reasonless. Why should their Lord
Envy them that? Can it be sin to know,
Can it be death? And do they only stand
By ignorance, is that their happy state,
The proof of their obedience and their faith?"
-Satan, Paradise Lost by John Milton
"If the account given in Genesis is really true, ought we not, after all, to thank this serpent? He was the first schoolmaster, the first advocate of learning, the first enemy of ignorance, the first to whisper in human ears the sacred word liberty, the creator of ambition, the author of modesty, of inquiry, of doubt, of investigation, of progress and of civilization.
Give me the storm and tempest of thought and action, rather than the dead calm of ignorance and faith! Banish me from Eden when you will; but first let me eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge!"
- Robert Green Ingersoll from The Gods
I was sure to try and stay close to the Greek Orthodox iconography style and use of symbolism. The only thing is I wasn't praying and fasting as is required when an icon is being created in Greek Orthodox. Then again this is an icon of Lucifer so it's already about as blasphemous as it can get.
This is number 1 of 5 in a series titled Unlikely Icons
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Comments: 106
I love this and I love Paradise Lost so much...But Lucifer was aΒ cherub
Sorry,Β I couldn't help but to overhear you guys are talking about of my favoriteΒ
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Thank you. I saw some info saying he was a Seraphim. Either way I think it's fair to put him on equal footing with Michael.
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All right, can't argue with thatΒ Β
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Still confused as to why medevial people thought that long hair was sexy in that style...
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Lucifer does promote freedom, but with freedom from control, we also have freedom from God's protection. So it is important to know that as well.
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Lucifer is an idea.
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Maybe so. I was in no way forcing my beliefs on you. I am a religious person, but a sensible one.
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Freedom from God's protection? If we suppose that nothing happens outside of God's will, we simply play the role God ordains for us. Freedom has nothing to do with God. Lucifer or freedom is the idea that rebels against the notion of God and the judgment and damning predestination that comes with it.
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Holy necro-comments, Batman! I don't even remember what this conversation was even about til I went back and scrolled through all of them..
And if you go by Kabbalah's definition of God, our free will is entirely an illusion.
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Hahaha. Indeed. An illusion. Agreed
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Anyway. I do apologise if I offended you, I know sometimes in religious discussion it is nearly entirely unavoidable in this day and age considering all the radicals and extremists. When one states "I am Christian" people instantly assume we are homo haters, that we are against gay marriage, carbomb and jihad people and molest kids or whatever other stereotypical nonsense is associated with us these days..
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No offense taken at all. I invite people to "offend" me. It can set the stage for discussion.
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I always thought Satan was the perfect villain. It all his grandeur, he lost sight of what he was doing in reality. The simple sin of arrogance turned the line between good and evil blurry and vague. And it gets to the point where even he doesn't know why mass murder is a bad thing.
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very good indeed, I'm reading Paradise Lost now, by John Milton, I love it!!!
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The idea of good versus evil is a common myth. In reality, it is freedom versus oppression. Which side do you choose? To be freed by the wings that knowledge will give you, or to be shackled by the heavy chains of ignorance?
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How cruel God must be. In its omnipotence, God planned Adam and Eve's downfall which proves that God had always been a sadistic, malevolent entity from the beginning. Tragic.
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The twist of free will is that you get to choose whether or not you want to be a good person. God's only alternatives in the Adam/Eve scenario were to not create mankind or create it as a mass of slaves. Either way, you wouldn't have the ability to poetically bitch about your right to bitch.
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Your description really makes you think a little. Very good!
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i knew satan had curly hair... but wasnt he a blonde? or a ginger?
cuz u no gngrs hav no soul
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This is great! As a symbol of Liberation and Freedom, I'm not digging the handcuffs, but hey, to each his own. It's so nice to see another take of Lucifer, than to see ANOTHER Pan (Ancient Greek) mash up. Something most don't know, is that gnostic christians actually worshipped and honored the Serpent. As the Serpent brought them Gnosis (Greek for: To Know. ie Knowledge) and shunned the "god of abraham." Every religion you look at, there is ALWAYS an entity giving Knowledge to Humans. Sadly, all of these icons (except for Sophia, in Gnostic Christianity) are treated as horrible beings and devils. So, the next time you win ace that math test, or have the know how to get that touchdown, show "props" to the one that fought for you to have that. Not a "god" that wants you to remain as dunce as a child and too afraid to question. 93 93/93
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You love the fallen Angel? BLASPHEMY!!!
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I like him that doesn't mean i serve him dude
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same here!!
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hehee thankies 
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Thank you so much!
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I always like the evil guys--Lucifer, Judas, Bowser (no that is NOT a Bible character 
--If you look in the book of Job, "Satan" is far more of a job description than a particular individual. His duty is to test and try the faith of all, putting obstacles in their way and seeing how their faith can stand the challenge.
--Similarly to Prometheus providing flame, the guy did us a favor by removing our immortality (or so I believe and will detail if you wish). I like my life a lot, but I don't want to live forever.
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"I always like the evil guys--Lucifer, Judas, Bowser"
And then Toad said unto Mario, "Thou must eatest of the red fungus, but do not eat of the purple fungus, for in the day thou eat thereof, you shall surly die!"
XD
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I figured you'd like that. XD
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I'm a fan of the "evil" guys too because they tend to create conflict whether theologically or morally or both. The characters in my icons are more paradoxical in a religious sense because they are seen as evil and yet necessary (as in Job). I guess I'd say I'm a fan of any character that brings a religion's logical and moral deficiencies to light. Haha
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Then here's something you may enjoy: in the Lakotan (or Sioux, if you prefer) culture, people joined groups that spanned between tribes on account of their spirit animal. However, if someone dreamed of storms, they joined a group which wore smiling masks at festivals (rather than a costume representing their animal spirit), and behaved in ways ranging from peculiar (complaining of the heat in the coldest part of winter) to downright wrong (stuffing oneself at a feast in a culture that celebrates minimum waste). The point being, of course, to highlight the way not to do things so that others will behave properly.
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That's really interesting. Never heard of that before. Thanks for sharing!
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I quite liked the previous symbol, but you're right; tree of knowledge is much easier to understand here. That the first teacher would have been a rebellious anarchist like him ought to give most people dissatisfied with school and learning a pause.
It's very nice, and makes me think of icons in the digital age. The contrast between the woodcut-like wings and the fluidly coloured figure is interesting. A question, though, if I may - is there a specific reason for the three gash-like lines on the left wing to be there?
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Thank you for the thoughtful comments. Those gashes are supposed to be scars from the war in heaven against god.
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