Angels of the Religions

There are many religions which recognize the spiritual supernatural being called an Angel. Their duties and attributes and the traditions surrounding them will vary, but in the main, they are considered to be messengers from the Supreme Being.

You especially find this to be true in Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Many Christians also see them to be guardians.

The following story by a Christian mother illustrates this point:

"It happened when my son Matthew was a few months old. I had decided to carry him into the living room to be close to me while I worked. There was a big, soft blanket on the floor, and I began to gently lower him onto it, holding his head in my hand. But just as I was about to put him down, with his head but a few inches above the blanket, a voice in my mind clearly said, Stop! Check the blanket!

"I would have ignored the voice, as I was sure everything was all right, but it sounded so clear and so urgent that it made me stop. As I moved one of the folds of the blanket, there it was – one of the biggest, most menacing-looking spiders I have ever seen."

In many Biblical stories you will find that were sometimes sent to do a certain task that God needed done. This has often led to the wonderings if Angels had free will in the Christian beliefs. Across the religions, however the traditions of free will vary.

One Christian scholar said, "Therein we learn that angels are spiritual beings created by God to serve him, and sent by God to watch over the human race, to deliver his message, to guard and protect us from danger, to do battle with other spiritual beings on our behalf." This helps to show the concept that for the Angel: there is only God's bidding to be done.

Judaic beliefs also agree that angels are heavenly beings created by God and not endowed with free will.

In the Bahai Faith, the Angel is portrayed as one who has severed attachments to the earthly world and is now free from the fetters of self and passion. For the Bahai, in so many ways the Angel becomes who has transcended into a higher spiritual plane - and is no longer a servant. They discuss as well how one can be an Angel on earth by keeping their thoughts pure, souls gladdened, etc.

A similar, but still distinctly different look at the Angel can be found with the Mystics. Here we see that the soul grows more along an evolutionary line, mineral to plant to animal to human. When the human dies, he can become an angel.

Another interesting look at the role of angels comes from Zoroastrianism. Here we learn of angel-like animals. Each person has a guardian angel called a Fravashi. It is a concept that is remarkably close to some of the Native Americans Spirit Animal beliefs.

One thing is certain. In many of the religions in practice today, there is a recognition of a spiritual being that is not on the same level as the supreme being, and not in the same form as the human being - and this being often has a role in some way of helping the human being.

© TheosEra.com Spiritual Community 2008