Angels: Messengers of God

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People who have spiritual beliefs often have no problem accepting that angels are messengers from God, and they bring protection, healing, encouragement, and hope into our lives. These people find an ease and comfort in having faith in God and his messengers. However, in the same regard there are some people who lack the amount of faith and belief who cannot fathom their being a God or any type of greater being like an angel watching over them. These people are agnostics and athiests.

Angels are messengers of God in the Hebrew Bible (translating מלאך), the New Testament and the Quran. The term "angel" has also been expanded to various notions of "spiritual beings" found in many other religious traditions. (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc)These particular beings are said to serve, worship, and praise the almighty God, reveal God’s will to men, guide mankind towards the right path, protect his people during their lives on earth, and assist him in answering the prayers of his people.

The myths and legends of angels differ with each particular religion you look at but all base themselves around the same general ideas. Zoroastrianism led to Judaism. This religion divided the world into three parts. There was Hell which became the home of the devil and his followers, then Earth which was the residence of flesh and blood humankind. Next in the chain comes Heaven in which the angels and God reside, and the specific role of the angels is to serve God and do his will. They are supposed to punish wickedness and reward good deeds. Christianity follows the same general three tier universe; however, they see angels as purely messengers of God. They are created to bring forth his word to his children and accordingly bring strength an...

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... partiality, and to do nothing out of favorism. (Bible)

Bibliography

Anderson, Joan Wester. "The Mysterious Diver That Saved Her." Guideposts 28 June 2010.

Barker, Dan. Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists. Berkeley: Ulysses Press, 2008.

"Bible." New International Version Bible. n.d. 1 Timothy 5: 21.

Boulanger, Lynda. Touched By Angels. 2010. 15 July 2010 .

Fechter, Kate. "Understanding atheism and agnosticism." Washburn Review 7 April 2010.

Flemming, Alexandra Rockey and Richard Jerome. "An African Boy's Healing Year." People 28 September 2008: 98.

Stonger, Jon. "What if an Atheist Saw an Angel?" Heretical Ideas 9 June 2009.

Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Angel - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 15 July 2010. 15 July 2010 .

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