Animal-headed Divinities in Christianity | Tsem Rinpoche

Animal-headed Divinities in Christianity | Tsem Rinpoche:

With the tradition of venerating the dog-headed St. Christopher and the manifestation of animal forms of Cherub and Seraphim angels it is clear that animal-headed divinities do exist within Christianity. It is not only something that exists in ‘pagan’ religions because divinity can manifest in a variety of ways, and divinity can certainly manifest in animal form. Mind you, pagan is something labelled by the Christians to denounce the gods of other religions calling them satanic or evil in order to denounce. Sometimes Christians would denounce in this way to show their superiority over other religions when all religions are actually equal. Nothing can limit the manner in which divinity or God can manifest in order to protect or benefit all beings. Hence, there is nothing wrong or demonic when divinity manifests in animal forms in any religion. It is, in fact, an expression of the divine reaching out to protect and benefit all beings.