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Angels besiege us all the time — figuratively if not literally — especially during the holidays . They appear in paintings , etchings , figurine , T - shirts , post-horse and just about everything else . angel come along in several religions ; for instance , in Islam , angels are said to be made of light , while Christian angel were willed into being by God .
former interlingual rendition of angels had no sexuality , though later Christian angels were marvelous , slender males with soft feature article , often dressed in flow robes specially tailored around their large white wings . Angels are said to be either immortal or greatly long - live .
The Archangel Gabriel, painted 1431-1433 by by Fra Angelico
Though in the first place they were specifically spiritual figures , angels have become more secular over the years , and today they are wide associated with the New Age movement populated by pagans , atheist and those who consider themselves " spiritual . " Book about angels and angelic contact lens are tremendously popular , with titles like " Where Angels Tread " and " Angels : Who They Are and How They Help . " They typically carry discussions of angels in scripture along with heartwarming unfeigned stories of modern - day miracle assign to the heavenly visitor . pop boob tube shows such as " Highway to Heaven " ( 1984 - 1989 ) and " Touched by an Angel " ( 1994 - 2003 ) helped cement the prominence of angels in American pop culture .
holy person occasionally feature in reports of near - death experiences , though mostly in those who have a pre - existing belief in them . Among UFO believers , some take that alien abductors are really angels instead of extraterrestrials . Erich von Daniken , for instance , author of several democratic ( if scientifically dubious ) books in the seventies , claimed that Biblical tarradiddle of Abraham and Joseph depict them meeting noncitizen , not saint .
Religious angels
The word " angel " comes from the Greek news " anglos , " which think " messenger " in Hebrew . angel can take many form , commonly appear as man or a shine light or aura . Often — specially in cases of averted cataclysm or disaster — angels will not be seen at all , but or else their presence distinguish by their actions . If something good , unexpected , and ostensibly incomprehensible happens , it ’s often take over to be the result of divine or angelic intervention .
The angels most people are familiar with today are the Christian holy man , which originated from the Hebrew Testaments . The Catholic Church give considerable cause to describing and modernise an extensive hierarchy of angels . There were many different types of angels , archangels , seraphim , and so on , with an official census of nearly half a million .
In his book " A Dictionary of Angels " ( The Free Press , 1967 ) research worker Gustav Davidson devotes nearly 400 pages to identify and name angels . Many saint were created ( or endorsed ) by spiritual authorities , but others were make up by quasi - religious scholarly person and laypeople . As Davidson observe , " To formulate an angel , a hierarchy , or an orderliness in a hierarchy , required some imagination but not too much ingenuity . It was sufficient only to 1 ) jumble letters together of the Hebrew alphabet ; 2 ) juxtapose such varsity letter in anagrammatic , acronymous , or cryptogrammatic form ; and 3 ) tack on to any place , property , function , attribute or quality " using the postfix " -el " or " -irion . " Thus , according to Davidson , " Hod ( mean lustre ) was transformed into the angel Hodiel . " In this way , just as the ancient Greeks fundamentally create a pantheon of Supreme Being to worship , angel enthusiast created a pantheon of Angel Falls — some more historically licit than others .
In Christianity and Islam , Angel function mainly as God ’s messengers ( mostly announce births and deaths ) , but in mod time they function more as guardians . Indeed , the Book " angel " has fall to describe any hero or benefactor . Though Angel Falls , by their nature , process God , they also serve mankind directly . Angels execute a wide variety of tasks , from healing the sick and bump lost keys to smiting enemies and , of class , winning football game games . Many believe that angel add up when summoned , and there is a tenacious custom of people using magic enchantment and charm to bring saint to them .
‘Real angels’
Despite centuries of theological speculation about angels — from their act to their duty to how many can trip the light fantastic on the head of a pin — no one recognize if they exist outdoors of stories and fable . Many people think they do .
A 2007 Baylor Religion Survey found that 57 percent of Catholics , 81 per centum of black Protestants , 66 percent of Evangelical Protestants , and 10 percent of Jews reported having a personal experience with a guardian angel . And 20 percent of those who identified themselves as having no religion also lay claim having meet an angel .
In one renowned 2008 holy person coming upon , a North Carolina cleaning woman make Colleen Banton take that an angel miraculously cure her girl . While in a infirmary ’s wait area , Banton noticed that a maculation of sun appeared through a nearby windowpane and shone in the hallway outside her girl ’s room . Her daughter soon got better , and Banton attributed the convalescence to the angelical visit . ( While everyone was glad at the missy ’s recovery , others noted that the patch of sunlight regularly appears in that point , at the door of patient who both do and do n’t recover . )
Though holy man are said to dwell in heaven , their visit to the earthly kingdom are not always benevolent . The most celebrated angel , of course , is Satan , who rebelled against God and was shake off out of heaven . He started his own outfit and has been doing well ever since . Biblical angels pay warfare , lay siege to cities and kill citizenry . The Angelica Archangelica Michael , for illustration , is often picture as the drawing card of God ’s Army , destroy USA with his terrible mightiness and flaming sword . These avenging angels seem to have disappeared in mod times in favor of the eleemosynary variety .
holy person are enduringly popular for many reasons , including that they represent flat love and invoke to personal experience . Any good luck , meaningful coincidences or unexpected pleasant surprise can be represent as the work of angels . Whether real or fabricated , angels have been with humans for millennia , and their presence will continue to console .
Benjamin Radford is deputy editor program of Skeptical Inquirer science powder store and generator of six books include Scientific Paranormal Investigation : How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries . His website is www.BenjaminRadford.com .
