Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

GUARDIAN ANGEL

In Catholicism guardian angels are believed to be intelligent spiritual creatures assigned to care for and protect every person on earth. Each person has a guardianangel throughout life. According to Catholic belief, these angels are believed to assist the person in attaining his eternal salvation and they can act as emissaries between the person and God.

Also, these angels are said to protect groups of persons and nations.

Others refer to these guardian angels as guiding spirits who control or guide and particularly help in personal safety. Sometimes they are referred as the "doorkeeper" of the medium.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church they are called guardians. It is believed each person has a guardianangel and a guardian devil.

A Biblical Perspective:

Matthew 18:10 states, "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven". In the context, "these little ones" could either apply to those who believe in Him (v. 6) or it could refer to the little children (vv. 3-5). This is the key passage when the discussion of guardian angels comes up. There is no doubt that good angels help protect (Daniel 6:20-23; 2 Kings 6:13-17), reveal information (Acts 7:52-53; Luke 1:11-20), guide (Matthew 1:20-21; Acts 8:26), provide for (Genesis 21-17-20; 1 Kings 19:5-7), and minister to believers in general (Hebrews 1:14). There are so many more instances of these in Scripture.

The question that is difficult to answer is whether each person or each believer has anangel assigned to him/her. In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel had the archangel (Michael) assigned to it (Daniel 10:21; 12:1), but you do not have anywhere in Scripture where it states that anangel was "assigned" to an individual (they were sometimes sent to individuals on different instances but no mention of "permanent" assignment is given). One commentator states that the Jews had fully developed the belief in guardian angels during the time between the Old and New Testament periods. Some early church fathers believed that each person had not only a goodangel assigned to him/her but also a demon as well (I am not sure who they believed assigned the demon (whether Satan or God). But at any rate, the belief in guardian angels has been around for a long time.

If one is to understand from the Matthew 18:10 passage that guardian angels are referred to, it would seem that these angels are not in an active duty, but rather "always see the face of" the Father in heaven. The active duty or oversight seems then to come more from God than the angels. In our society today, it is "in" to believe in angels. We have movies that focus on angels; we have series on TV which portray angels as being assigned to help. Scripture makes it clear that although angels possess superhuman power and knowledge, they are created beings just as we are and are "nothing" in comparison with God. As such, they are not to be worshipped (Exodus 20:1-6; Colossians 2:18). Rather, worship is to be reserved for the Trinity alone. Unfortunately, while the shows about angels give lip service to God, the Son of God is rarely mentioned (if at all). And God says, in John 5:23 that if one does not honour the Son, he does not honour the Father who sent Him.

It cannot be emphatically answered from Scripture whether each believer has a guardianangel assigned to him/her. But as stated earlier, God does use them in ministering to us. I believe that it is scriptural to say that He uses them like He uses us, i.e. He in no way needs us or them to accomplish His purposes, but chooses to use us nonetheless (Job 4:18; Job 15:15). And in the end, whether we have anangel assigned to protect us or not, we have a greater assurance that God gives: that if we are His children through faith in Christ, He works all things together for good (Romans 8:28-30), and that Jesus Christ will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5-6). If we have an omniscient, omnipotent, all-loving God with us, what does it really matter whether there is a finiteangel along side of us or not?

see also: ANGEL

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc