God as the father of angels in Dominion (tv show)

Is God considered the “father” of the angels or just their creator? If the latter why do they talk about God in the TV show Dominion, as children talk about a lost parent? I have several answers for that question, but meanwhile want to explore the Jewish and Christian theological answers too. Before going into that here is a shortened version of the synopsis from wikipedia for the series:

God vanishes and in his absence the archangel Gabriel and his army of lower angels wage war against mankind, believing them to be the cause of God’s absence. Twenty-five years later, mankind survives in a few fortified cities. The Archangel Michael has chosen to side with humanity against Gabriel, living among humans in the fortified city of Vega (once Las Vegas) until the time a prophesied savior appears to save mankind.

In the (Hebrew) Bible the primary function of angels is to be messengers (“malach“) and are without physical form or gender. In the Torah, the five books of Moses, not a single one of them is named, although later books mention names: Gabriel in Daniel 9:20 and “Michael, one of the chief princes” in Daniel 10:13.

Here are my answers to the original question.

1. In the Bible the genderless angels, who do not have their own will either, never refer to God as their father. In the show In the TV show they are definitely male and there are positively female angels too (see picture). If the angels became gendered and anthropomorphized then why not give them a male father, instead of a neutral creator, even if the latter was all powerful.

Female angel

2. Fathers and their children is a main theme of this TV show. There is David the ruthless politician, who left his son, William, to be killed in the desert. There is Claire, whose father is General Riesen a rather imperfect soldier. And finally the same Claire almost becomes the mother of a child by Alex, the “chosen one.” If the major human characters of the show struggle with their fathers and children why not balance it by showing how angels suffer and long for their absent father.

3. Speaking of longing: the angels language of speaking of God is reminiscent of Jesus’ famous words, (coming from Psalm 22;1): “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This evokes the concept of  Jesus, son of God, but also the Holy Trinity. Angels may not fit directly into either, but for a TV show it is enough to build emotional or conceptual links, doesn’t need to be theologically accurate.

Any other takes?

 

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