Read the full story: Religion Dispatches
Cloying sentimentality, saccharine pablum, ridiculous camp and embarrassing kitsch—in the contemporary moment the word “angel” hasn’t fared well among those who describe themselves as sophisticates or intellectuals. To many, angels don’t simply conjure superstitious beliefs, but embarrassing superstitious beliefs. Faith in God doesn’t quite raise as much opprobrium, if only because such beliefs may be recast in more intellectually sophisticated philosophical arrangements.