Did you hear the one about the drunken angel? Apparently no one has. I was amazed that of all of the rather controversial items that we take on in the book, the issue that generated the most push back was the concept of angels drinking.
There are several characters in the novel who have a taste for yanin. Although it is never explicitly stated, it is inferred that this is some type of wine.
While to me this seemed like a minor point of controversy, [after all we endorse a version of the big bang, we imagine angels using wormholes, we conceptualize a network through which dark energy is continually recycled, we even have angels mining the material of quasars] many of the earliest reviews contained questions about drinking in heaven.
Here is our answer: perhaps angels never tasted wine in heaven; however, the fact that Lucifer, an angel living in heaven, was able to be tempted to reject God and was able to convince a third of the angels to follow suit seems to indicate a level of temptation in heaven.
If there is no temptation, there can be no choice. Sin needs opportunity in order to exist.
Sin is most often the misapplication or perversion of a good thing. Food is good; gluttony is bad. Sex is good; promiscuity is bad. Football is good; the Dallas Cowboys are bad.
So an angel walks into a bar and orders a martini...
* I would have given proper attribution to the picture above, but found it in several locations and wasn't sure who to attribute it to. If it is yours, thanks!
