Angelmania

Today, it seems angels are everywhere--on greeting cards, in gift stores, on television, and in the movies. Angels are so much a part of the culture today that many people don't realize that they were largely ignored throughout the 20th century until about 1990. Prior to that time, gift stores stocked angels--almost entirely tree ornaments--usually only at Christmas. Only eight angel books were in print. One was a general book, one a coffee-table book, one a dictionary of angels, and five were denominational books. People did not talk about angels, and certainly did not share any personal experiences with angels for fear of being considered weird.

Mortimer J. Adler, the noted philosopher and editor of "The Great Books of the Western World," has pointed out that, throughout centuries of recorded history, angels had been a major topic of conversation and study by philosophers and peasants alike. It was only in the 20th century that a strange silence about angels developed. The silence was not due to a lack of interest, but rather because in our scientific, highly rational age, people were hesitant to talk about heavenly beings that seemed to be irrational, mysterious, and thoroughly unscientific. Still, according to a 1993 Gallup poll, 73% of Americans said they believed in angels.

That same year, my wife Marilynn wrote an article for Guideposts magazine about a woman who reported seeing an angel just before she was purposely run down by a man stealing an ice cream truck. Marilynn received over 8,500 letters in response to the article, with many people telling her about their experiences with angels, often adding that this was the first time they had shared their story.

By 1994, the explosion of interest in angels was obvious to everyone. Even the Wall Street Journal ran a front-page story: "Long Unemployed, Guardian Angels Aare Pressed Iinto Service." Time magazine called to interview us for their cover stories on angels, and soon other magazines and the Associated Press were calling us. My wife and I served as consultants for network specials on angels. "Unsolved Mysteries" ran stories from our book, "A Rustle of Angels," during prime- time during sweeps week in 1994.

When Oprah Winfrey and other talk-show hosts devoted entire programs to angels, people began feeling safe talking about the heavenly beings at work, at bridge clubs, and wherever people gathered.

Suddenly, shops were filled with angel merchandise of all kinds. In contrast to the majestic, mighty angels of the Bible (Matthew 28:2-4), these figures were greatly toned-down versions of the heavenly beings. Countless copies of Raphael's angels--two small, cuddly cherubs--suddenly appeared everywhere.

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