To many people, Christianity seems strange, unrealistic, fantastical and just plain weird. This blog is my grand experiment to show why it makes perfect sense without making it too complicated. I’m nobody special – just someone who happens to take this stuff seriously.
For some, the idea that there is a supernatural realm of angelic and demonic entities moving all around just beyond the surface of reality seems like the sort of thing that would be made up by a culture of superstitious barbaric believers in an antiquated religion. However, I think beliefs in angels and demons are perfectly reasonable, but before we get into that let’s make it clear just what we mean when we use such terms.
According to the Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Theology an Angel is “Superhuman or heavenly being who serves as God’s messenger. Both the Hebrew malak and the Greek angelos indicate that these beings also act decisively in fulfilling God’s will in the world. But these two terms also apply to human beings as messengers ( 1 Kings 19:2 ; Hag 1:13 ; Luke 7:24 ). ‘Angels’ are mentioned almost three hundred times in Scripture, and are only noticeably absent from books such as Ruth, Nehemiah, Esther, the letters of John, and James.” Moreover, “By nature they were spiritual entities, and thus not subject to the limitations of human flesh. Although holy, angels could sometimes behave foolishly ( Job 4:18 ), and even prove to be untrustworthy ( Job 15:15 ). Probably these qualities led to the ‘fall’ of some angels, including Satan, but the Bible contains no description of that event. When angels appeared in human society they resembled normal males ( Genesis 18:2 Genesis 18:16 ; Ezek 9:2 ), and never came dressed as women.”
As mentioned above, depending on context the same term that is translated “angel” may refer to a messenger or pastor. Here, we will be referring to angels as one typically thinks of them.
On the other hand, a demon is an angelic being which rebelled against God and is defined byBEDT as a “Spirit being who is unclean and immoral in nature and activities. When demons were created, how they came to be demonic, and their organizational structure are not given significant attention in Scripture because the focus throughout the Bible is on God and his work in Christ rather than on the demonic attempts to demean that work.”
While this subject is incredibly interesting, our short purpose here is to explain why belief in angels and demons is understandable and reasonable. So, what’s the problem?
Many individuals find it difficult to accept the existence of angels and demons because it would mean accepting belief in supernatural non-human beings. After all, “By nature they [are] spiritual entities. . .” However, if we can demonstrate that God exists, as I have done in previous posts (and all over braxtonhunter.com), then we already have good reason to believe in at least one supernatural being. If we know that one supernatural being exists, then why should we conclude that others can’t exist? Think of it this way:
1. If at least one supernatural being exists then it is reasonable to believe in supernatural beings
2. At least one supernatural being does exist (God), therefore,
3. It is reasonable to believe in supernatural beings
Keep in mind, this is not a “proof” that angelic beings exist, but an explanation of why it is reasonable to believe that they do.
So there you have it. The fact that belief in angelic and demonic forces at work in our world is so reasonable is just another reason why so many of us are understandably Christian.