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Sans Seraph

I am sure you don't need me to remind you that the festive season is now upon us; a time of year when it is customary to spend money you don't have on things that people may never use and quite often don't really want. On the other hand it is also a time of warmth and generosity, when we let in light and banish shade, a time for families come together and celebrate Jesus' birthday, regardless of whether they even believe in him. The shops are an exciting (and frustrating) place to be at Christmas with their merry tunes playing and tinsel adorning the walls, however this year it seems every shop I walk into is playing the awful cover version of the Band Aid record. The one in which Bono embarrasses himself with a rubbish attempt to put a new spin on his contribution, and numerous other artisans pretend to care about famine by singing. God knows why they couldn't all sit down and write a new song given the collective talent involved in the project; it would have at least been interesting.

There is a certain magic which fills the air at Christmas, it is the magic of children believing in Father Christmas flying to bring them gifts from somewhere cold, and the questioning belief among adults in the great mysteries which have been passed down through generations, such as the birth of Jesus and the existence of angels. I am not one to wander the streets preaching the Bible and quoting the Gospel to every sinner who crosses my path or each Leper I encounter hiding in the Conifers, however I do think that parts of the book may be based on real events. The Bible mentions angels on numerous occasions and I am genuinely intrigued by the fact that something could be watching over us in some spiritual way.

The word angel comes from the Greek (what a surprise) word Angelos , simply meaning Messenger. An angel is a celestial being which functions as an intermediary between God and humankind, the link between the life we lead and what may lie beyond it. There are nine choirs (types) of angels, ranked according to their role and function in the following order. King of the Hill is the Seraphim with its 6 wings, followed by the Cherubim (the one usually depicted in paintings and on cards etc.), then it's Thrones ; Dominions ; Virtues ; Powers ; Principalities ; Archangels (historically named e.g. Gabriel) and finally Angels , who are the ones most associated with helping humankind out. The trouble is do angels really exist?

In order to get to the root of any problem it is always best to go back to the beginning, in this case it is the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, and find out how it all started. The scriptures tell us (in elaborate detail) that Adam was happily lazing in the garden when he was tempted by a pure evil spirit which took the form of a snake. If we are to accept that pure evil can exist as a spirit in any form, then so it goes that pure goodness must also exist in some form i.e. an angel.

As mankind took over Earth and populated it, it figures that God would have gradually needed more messengers to protect people from evil sprits, and so created The Order of Angels to carry out this work. These angels would move freely through time and space unnoticed, doing good deeds and warding off evil, all the while unseen by the human eye. The stereotype of the white winged asexual descending from the clouds is about as relevant as Saint Nicholas flying round the world on a large sleigh wearing a red coat; it is merely a personification.

Of course it doesn't have to be all about God, it is possible to believe in the existence of angels and yet still have reservations about the existence of an Almighty presence. I myself am unsure about the nature of God; I have read the book (The Bible), worn the T-shirt (I attended a Catholic School ) and seen the film (Bedazzled) yet I am not convinced he exists.

Having spent some time looking into angels in preparation for this article, I have read some fascinating accounts of real life experiences in which people are convinced they were protected or helped in some way by a spiritual guardian. These angels have been known to assume many forms; one lady reported being joined by a large black dog as she walked alone one night, keeping her safe from the man who was following her until he went away. Most of these encounters are worthy of nothing more than five minutes on Jerry Springer, however some of the stories do present the possibility of unseen forces acting around us.

Not a day goes by when some fantastic new scientific discovery isn't made by members of the human race, and yet we know so little about the spiritual side of our world and are reluctant to accept the existence of anything intangible and ethereal. The truth is angels could exist, and whilst I am sure you are far too busy preparing for Christmas to bother about them, just think next time you are thrown and overblown with bliss that there could be an angel playing with your heart.

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