ANGELS13some distinguished analytic philosophy of
religion (represented by Alvin Plantinga
and Richard Swinburne) has been recog-
nized as using a different model of phi-
losophy than continental philosophy of
religion (represented by Jean-Luc Marion
and John Caputo).
ANALYTIC STATEMENTS. Proposi-
tions whose denial involve a contradic-
tion; for example, “A square has four right
angles.” The universal consistency of an
analytic statement is most often due to its
definitional nature, that is, it does not
add anything new but rather describes
the subject involved. A controversial
topic relevant to philosophers of religion
is whether or not the statement, “God is
good,” is analytic.
ANAXAGORAS (499–422 BCE). An
ancient Greek philosopher and early
proponent of viewing nature as evolving.
He thought that small particles create
the generation and destruction of gross,
macro-bodies like animals and plants.
His chief work is On Nature, which only
survives in fragments.
ANAXIMANDER (610–547 BCE). An
ancient Greek philosopher who taught
that the cosmos receives its definition and
life from that which is boundless and
indeterminate (the apeiron).
ANAXIMENES (588–524 BCE). An
ancient Greek philosopher, credited with
viewing air as the fundamental, divine,
cosmic principle. He is one of the major
pre-Socratic thinkers who gave a central
role to philosophy of the natural world.ANGELS. From the Greek angelos, mean-
ing “messenger.” Angels have played an
important role in the scriptures of Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam. Angels are gener-
ally understood as spiritual beings cre-
ated by God; they are immortal and
superior to humans in both knowledge of
the divine and goodness. The Hebrew
word for angel in the Bible is mal’ak,
which also means messenger, but it was
not until the Hellenistic period of Juda-
ism that a developed “angelology” began
to emerge in which angels were differen-
tiated from human messengers and God.
Angels serve manifold purposes: they
are God’s heavenly court, standing in
adoration around God’s throne through-
out eternity; they convey commands
and guidance to God’s human servants;
and, according to Thomas of Aquinas,
each baptized soul acquires one “guardian
angel,” an image which has become
engrained in popular culture over the
years. According to Pseudo-Dionysius the
Areopagite, there are nine distinct choirs
of angels, namely (in descending order
of rank) seraphim, cherubim, thrones,
dominions, virtues, powers, principalities,
archangels, and angels. It is commonly
believed that fallen angels, including