ANGST
14Lucifer (Satan), were expelled from heaven
by God because of rebellion, and that
they now control the powers of evil and
reside in hell. Other than Satan, there
are only four angels named in the Bible
(Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel),
two of whom are only in the apocryphal
books of Tobit and Enoch. Muslims
believe that the Qur’an itself was revealed
to Muhammad by the angel Jibril (Gabriel).
The existence of angels has been
advanced on the basis of scriptural
authority, experiential testimony (osten-
sibly credible narratives of the appear-
ance of angels), and an appeal to the
principle of plenitude. According to the
latter, God is essentially good and of
limitless power. The principle of pleni-
tude is that the very nature of goodness is
self-diffusive (its character is generative
and productive rather than insular) and
variety is itself good (bonum variationis).
Given these premises, it has been argued
that God would create all manner of
different orders of good beings. Such
beings could very well include incorpo-
real agents, hence angels.
ANGST. A term frequently used by
existentialists referring to the anxiety one
encounters in the face of death or mean-
inglessness (see ABSURD). Kierkegaard
focused on anxiety or dread as a sign of
our alienation from God.
ANIMA MUNDI. Latin, “world-soul.”
The idea, originating in Plato’s Timaeus,
that the world is comprised of a soul or
spirit and functions as a living organism.ANIMALS. Historically, animals have
functioned in world religions as symbols
of the divine, sacred, or even that which
is evil; they have been used as sacrifices
to the divine; they have been seen as part
of karmic reincarnation whereby a soul
might transmigrate, at one time enduring
a human and then a nonhuman life; they
have also been identified as sacred, pro-
tected beings who should not be killed
or consumed as food. Some traditional
indigenous religions held a sacred place
for the very animals they hunted, such as
the buffalo for the Sioux.
Religions take different views on ani-
mals and how they ought to be treated.
Christianity’s forerunner in advocating
kindness to animals is St. Francis of Assisi,
the patron saint of animals. Some Chris-
tian churches have special services for the
blessings of animals where families bring
in their pets for blessing. Pope John Paul
II said, “Animals possess a soul and men
must love and feel solidarity with our
smaller brethren... [they are] the fruit of
the creative action of the Holy Spirit and
merit respect... [they are] as near to God
as men are.”
Most religions, Christianity and Islam
for example, say that because animals
are God’s creatures, they deserve respect
and kindness; yet while there are Chris-
tian advocates for vegetarianism, gener-
ally the Christian tradition holds that it is