Proof of Angels' Existence?

The world is already difficult enough as it is with human problems, pain and suffering. Throw supernatural angels and demons into it and it just gets even more complicated. What is it that makes humans need to further complicate their lives?

Is it the yearning for external explanations to explain their misfortunes? Is it the need to feel as though their lives mean something beyond wasting space and energy on this planet? Is it the fear of death and the need for hope that life does not end there?

Renaissance Protestants were strong supporters of this last possibility, and were fascinated with death. A 17th century account describes a woman at the edge of death surrounded by loved ones, exclaiming during her last moments that she could see angels standing around her ready to defend her soul. (Oldridge, "Angels on a Pinhead") This idea echoes the philosophies of Jacobus de Voragine, who in the 13th century published The Golden Legend. In this work, he described the existence of a good angel and an evil angel for each person - the evil angel to test him and the good angel to protect him. During sickness and death, the struggle between the two heightens, as the ultimate prize of the person's soul is at its nearest.

Angels in the Early Modern Period existed to reassure people that good could triumph over evil, that God cared about their souls, and that there was purpose in leading godly lives, to live eternally with Him after death. He sent angels to protect them and guide them, and these angels carried the messages of God.

Pictured above is the Enochian alphabet, discovered by Elizabeth I's court astrologer John Dee. Dee used a special crystal and a medium, Kelley, to summon and speak with angels. In many of these "angelic conferences," (Deacon, John Dee, 146) Dee used a chart like the one above to transfer symbols into tables; these tables would then be translated into English. The works produced were believed by Dee and his supporters to be a new scripture that would bring together the two sides of Christianity -- the Catholics and the Protestants -- who were in large conflict at the time.

The fact that these examples of the language of angels and how completely different it is from any other pattern of language created by man gives credibility to Dee's research. Scholars today are still translating his charts, and because the language is so different from any other studied, it is a long and tedious process, however upheld as a true language that can be translated. Is it really the voice of the angels?

The writings not only bring public attention to Dee and his possible corruption, but they highlight angel belief from the time period. Is this the communication and proof of angels' existence? Angels were and are today very important as moral compasses. If they are God's eyes and ears and they're all around, we are more likely to act in ways we would be proud of.

It is important that we have angels because they give us hope. They force us to act wisely and encourage our belief in God. Angels serve an important purpose in our world, and perhaps make it simpler and easier to make the right choices as we navigate through this difficult earthly world.