I have to wonder about the fallen angels. First of all, how is it that angels, being in the presence of an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving God even conceive of "rebelling" and leaving his presence, Lucifer's beauty and cleverness notwithstanding. Okay, but let's buy into this for a moment.

So a third of Heaven rebels. A third. That's 33 % plus change. So not only did one angel - Lucifer - rebel, but he convinced a third of Heaven that God sucks.

Then comes, ostensibly, the first war. Lucifer against an omnipotent God. He and his rebels are cast down to Earth, where they remain to pretty much fuck with humans until God decides it's time to call the faithful home.

This is enormously convenient for humans. They can point at the Devil and blame his ass for all of their petty bullshit. He gets to be the ultimate scapegoat. Everybody wins. Except Lucifer.

I once asked a preacher at a southern baptist church an earnest question when I was about 12. If Lucifer asked for forgiveness, would God grant it? Wouldn't this whole duality war shut down? Christ, you should have seen him wrestle with this question. His answer was ultimately yes, but he quickly added that Lucifer was too far gone, so it could never happen.

So then I ask - do you believe God is all-knowing? He answered yes. Well, if God is all knowing, he knows everything that will happen before he spit in the earth and shaped man out of clay. Wouldn't he have an inventory, at the very beginning, of who would eventually be damned. How could such a God live with himself?

Anyway, I wasn't invited back to the youth group.

Getting back to the thrust of my meaning - you can't really have it both ways with your dogma. If the angels are not free-willed, they couldn't rebel could they? If God is so great, who would try to dethrone him? And accepting a rebellion occurs (as a human child rebels against his parents when he or she feels independent enough) - you don't consign them to eternal hellfire or use them as bait to test the mettel of your next favorite children.

Of course, Lucifer is a metaphor, as is every other manifestation of the Divine. He exist to explain the dark nature inside every human heart.

Just some thoughts.

In this painting, Lucifer goes to Church, the whip he uses to rule the other fallen angels clasped in his hand. The dazzling hues of the stained-glass windows comfort him, a reflection of the rainbow colors God created in his eyes. Remembering his carefree days in Heaven, where no one knows they're naked, he can't seem to keep his pants on.

The model is a new friend of mine named Michael Morr, a professional model and very warm person. You can view him at his Model Mayhem page at this [link]