Asking the Clergy: Why do so many people believe in angels?

Do you believe in angels? If so, you agree with more than two-thirds of U.S. adults responding to a recent national survey. This week’s clergy discuss why so many believe in the heavenly beings, who serve in such roles as God’s messengers and earthly comfort-givers.

Pastor Gary Chin
Grace Community Outreach Church, Hempstead

People believe in angels because they are real. The Bible talks about angels many times. The Old Testament mentions angels 285 times, and the New Testament 177 times, according to my online King James version research. As a pastor, I don’t just believe in angels. I know angels exist.

One of the reasons that the majority of Americans believe in angels is that they look for help in dealing with their problems as well as for comfort in moments of crisis. There are many stories about angels appearing to aid people at traffic accidents. In 2015, for instance, a South Carolina man who witnessed a one-car crash saw what he and others believe was a guardian angel watching over the victim. (Ten years ago, there was a woman who believed that a mysterious angel had aided her in escaping from a crashed vehicle. Angels may have been involved in this miracle, but the angelic man turned out to be a local priest.) In my own pastoral duties, ministering to people in prison and hospitals, I have heard many stories about people actually encountering angels. Some say they have a face, and some say they have wings. I say they are real.

The Rev. Karen Gigante

Staff Minister, The Center for Spiritual Living, Hicksville, and Chaplain, Guiding Light Foundation, Woodbury

In Christianity and Islam, angels are depicted as God’s messengers. For a lot of believers, angels function as guardians. The word “angel” has come to describe a hero. Angels are called upon to perform a wide variety of tasks from healing, to finding lost objects, to protecting us in a time of trouble. Many people believe in them, and they have their proof when they call on them and a so-called miracle occurs. Angels are popular because they represent unconditional love and are a source of comfort to many. They are all around us, depicted in beautiful art. Popular television shows such as NBC’s “Highway to Heaven” (1984-1989) and CBS’ “Touched by an Angel” (1994-2003) helped bring angels into hearts and minds via American pop culture. When something good, unexpected and unexplainable happens, it’s often assumed to be the result of divine intervention by God or by angels. Angels are the highest thought of God and bring much joy and goodness into the lives of many who chose to believe in them. “Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream,” said Jacob. “And I said, ‘Here I am.’ (Genesis 31:11)”

Rabbi Art Vernon

Congregation Shaaray Shalom, West Hempstead

If by angels, one means ethereal spiritual beings who live in heaven and periodically appear to human beings, then Judaism does not believe in angels. The Hebrew word for similar beings in the Bible is “malach,” which means a messenger. A malach is created by God to perform a specific task on earth and then ceases to exist. Often these messengers appear in human form, such as the three who appeared to Abraham and the one who fought with Isaac. Isaac is of course spared by a heavenly being, and Moses encounters one in the desert at the burning bush. There was also the being that fought with Jacob. All of these are "malachim" in the Hebrew text. A malach has no will of its own; it performs the mission for which it was created. Why God creates such beings is not explained in the Bible. These messengers are not objects of adoration in Jewish tradition, and we do not pray to them for intercession. While these messengers are part of our Biblical tradition, they do not appear in later Jewish literature.