The Matter of Angels

And yet angels are not equally welcome in some Christian circles. Among liberals, the demythologizing spirit of Rudolf Bultmann still holds sway, impossibly separating the kernel of the gospel from its “cosmological trappings.” Bultmann wrote: “We cannot use electric lights and radios and, in the event of illness, avail ourselves of modern medical and clinical means and at the same time believe in the spirit and wonder world of the New Testament.” Even those who would not go quite so far are dismissive of the new angelic religion, believing it is an easy and comfortable New Age version of faith, making no demands on its adherents.