Whether or not we believe in angels as the winged beings we see on Christmas cards, few of us can pretend we don't believe in them at all. But when they talk about their experiences, they're really talking about feeling profoundly grateful for the ways in which they've been well and mysteriously cared for. One woman is grateful for a lifesaving warning, another for unexpected love. New Testament statements about angels reflect Jewish views of these beings. During the Middle Ages, theologians developed a hierarchy of angels.
Angels are a popular subject in folklore, literature, and art.
All religions are concerned with the relationship human beings have or may have with the supernatural realm. In ancient Greek religion, in Judaism and Christianity, and in Islam this relationship is thought to involve angels-divine messengers sent to humans to instruct, inform, or command them. An angel can function also as a protective guardian, as a heavenly warrior, and even as a cosmic power. Moreover, the line between a good angel and a bad angel, or demon, is sometimes unclear. Hence, angels can be broadly described as personified powers mediating between the divine and the human.