Marla Martin

Debra Jizi
UWRT 110229
13 April 2016
Atoms and Angels:
Exploring the Nature of Different Perspectives
As I read the first few sentences in the midst of my scrolling
down my average dose of Facebook, an odd statement latched onto
my thoughts and almost instinctively made my fingers pause midscroll. The long written note turned out to be something of great value.
It was a topic directed towards the things that go unnoticed in our daily
lives. However the topic was specifically directed towards the
existence of the supernatural and the reality of angels, unseen by
human perception. The imagery was strong, and this post was
unfamiliar and beyond anything I have ever considered. It is
throughout this journey that Ive come to know the importance for us
as all as humans to realize the possibilities that extend beyond our
understanding. Its all about perspective and faith to believe, and yet
most of the time its takes a life changing event for us to consider that.
Angels are a confusing concept to imagine, being that we cannot
see or hear from them. Come to think of it, what even are angels? Its
hard for us to talk about angels since science, religion, and freedom of
belief most often stand in the way. If I were to ask the question of a
group of people if they believe if Angels are real, many of them would

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feel slightly uncomfortable. Angels are a topic similar to politics,
controversies, theories, and ethics, all of which either encourage highly
opinionated responses or due to confusion possibly no response at all.
However, when we take a step back from our brief lives and think
about the universe thats been present since the inception of life, we
end up inquisitively intrigued. We want to know the big questions.
However we get caught up in the questions of how? Instead we should
be exploring the basic question of why? Richard Kennedy in his book
When Never Shall We Die beautifully illustrates how we get lost in the
process of trying to make sense of the senseless. He preciously states
how we seek the reasoning in and of everything because we are given
the gift to wonder. There is pureness in his metaphor: But to declare,
Where theres smoke, theres fire puts more emphasis on espial than
explanation. This quote by Kennedy is tasteful and clever to the fullest
because it outlines our human instincts to be intrigued by sight rather
than the reason. I found that were intrigued by how incredible things
appear; yet the reasoning behind it all never amazes us, partially
because we can never figure out one true answer to the reason. This
being said, our human instinct controlled by desire of the senses, puts
us directly back in the crossroad of the questions how verses why? We
tie in logic based to the questions of how something works or is made;
however the tricky answers are commonly associated to the question

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of why. Why does that exist? Why was this created? Why here? But the
questions are never resolved by logic because often times the answers
are beyond our understanding. The most peculiar part of it all however,
is that the questions still exist; there are no answers to prove a
question of why right or wrong. Therefor, you and I create our own
answers to the questions of why? By relying heavily on the mindset
that the answers we have created are correct. This can be a dangerous
concept because a person who believes in only one correct way to
see or do things can lead to destruction by prejudice, judgment, and
harm towards others. Although at the same time, our freedom to
compose our own beliefs to the big questions of why, is at the
foundation of what faith is. Would you rather know how something
works and how its been created, or would you rather know the answer
to why something has been created? These types of on-going
questions can never be resolved because they always extend into
further questions. Take for example the existence of a rainbow; it can
be look at from two different perspectives. Some people believe a
rainbow is Gods promise to never flood the Earth again, while some
people believe that science is the only explanation of this; neither
explanation is wrong. We can conclude that there is never just one
answer to a question, and just like that we can be assured that life as

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we know it, is a composure of perspectives- scientific, religious,
instinctive, and beyond.
When science cannot prove a concept it is easy for us to cross
that off our list and forget about it. Yet, until an idea is disproven (even
after something has been disproven, considering science is always
changing) we should most defiantly not stop staying engaged and
questioning. Questioning everything with an open and accepting mind
has its advantage. For once in my seemingly small nineteen years of
existence a strong feeling came over me, one of which I knew in that
moment that I should not simply accept my confusion, but rather
question it further. Despite embarrassment and possible further
confusion, I wanted answers and not just ones that would be satisfying
to my beliefs, but answers that I could make sense of. And what I have
learned, Author Scott Meyer says no better: Everythings senseless
until someone makes sense of it. Life doesnt explain itself. This is a
quote that I have learned to live by, because I have been faced with
various challenging questions and not always having the answers can
be discouraging. However, Ive always learned to start with the basic of
what I know to be realistic.
What do we make up of the world around us? We know Earth
itself is circular and encompasses the masses of land and water on
which we survive. When we walk on this massive field we see life from

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an eye level view and eventually we become accustomed to our
perspectives of Earth. We look out from our car windows on the vast
land on which corn stalks grow, as we watch the farmer plow each row
of corn; one by one. It seems endless, this corn field, it seems like it
would take us years just to reach the other end. But, this is just the
view from our eyes, the binoculars of our body. Those of which are only
as large as a mere Ping-Pong ball. Just like a Ping-Pong ball, our
understanding of life gets slapped around from side to side. We feel
liked we are being toyed with, like a cat playing with a never-ending
ball of yarn. However its those moments, when our reality and beliefs
become questionable, that keep us most intrigued. The beauty that our
eyes hold however is significant. They are the doorways to the
entrances of our mind.
Taken up miles into the air our ground-level view is no longer in
play. Thats the moment when our perspective begins to shift; we see
things in a newer light. The never-ending field's we used to believe in
are now just a mere speck in our universe. Our perspective has now
changed. What we originally thought was true was only true from our
view. When are perspectives and beliefs are not rock-solid in our
stubborn nature of what we think is right, it is easier for our minds to
grasp the concepts that seem unrealistic.

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To see life not just as the way it seems to be, we must uncap our
minds, unwind the biased strands of messiness, and remove the wideeyed spectacles from the entryway to our understanding. One person
that makes this undoubtedly clear is Philosopher Peter S. Williams
whom speaks on the limits of rationality. What can be logical and what
cannot be logical is applied to both his examples of unimaginable
concepts: atoms and angels. The main point to draw from Williamss
teachings is that our minds are able to conceive concepts that seem
logical, but often they are hard to imagine. Knowing that the human
mind is a very powerful tool, he states his beliefs that the mind and the
way it performs do not have to coincide with our world perceptions. He
concludes that it is not irrational to believe in something of which we
are unsure of its existence. Some of the concepts to draw from this are
for example, the solar system with the waves and particles that exist
within it. How hard is it for the human eye to imagine the way it exists
and yet at the same time scientists are able to measure the distance
that light travels in one year. Yet again, we cannot come close to
perceiving the existence of this concept through the human eye. The
odds of fully understanding the universe through the human
perspective are slim. We have only come to understand the possibility
of angels and atoms through altering our initial perspectives. This
means that every moment of our life should be looked at backwards,

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forwards, upside down, sideways, and right side up before believing
that any moment has been fully understood. We can apply this
questioning method to anything in life such as religion, government,
emotions, theories, or anything of a basic human understanding.
The most significant source that has impacted my understanding
on the existence of things we cannot see is the statement by authors
by Kenneth D. Boa and Robert M. Bowman Jr. from their book Sense
and Nonsense about Angels and Demons which reads:
To a thoroughgoing, committed skeptic, no amount of evidence
could ever make any reported supernatural occurrence credible. But
for those who are open to the possibility of the supernatural, the Bible
is by far the most credible source of information about angels of all
time. (Ch.4)
Every one I know holds a different opinion or view in one-way or
another. I have learned that in order to be accepting of what other
people value, it is critical that we be open-minded. This does not mean
that we cannot stand confidently in what we believe, but more so
finding ways to keep learning, all while not rejecting views that differ
from our own. From Boa and Bowmans book, I have realized that
something does not have to be credible for it to be believable. If the
supernatural occurrences that are stated in the Bible were true, we
would never know by credibility, but only by faith of believing. This all

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concludes back to the perceptions each one of us holds. We must
constantly have an accepting and open perspective, especially if we
come across a scenario that requires faith of believing over credibility
and proof.
When comparing differences in perceptions it is often easy to see
how stereotypes are formed. Janice Brown blogs about the
representation of angels based off the book the Screw tapes Letters by
C.S. Lewis. Here she begins to explain the connection between the
images and stereotypes we have of angels or of anything we have not
personally seen. We do not have a physical image of what angels look
like other than historical paintings and sculptures. Since we have a lack
of personal perception of angels many of people tend to create their
own exceptional image of what angels would do, say, and look like.
Sometimes however, we tend to get concepts of the imaginary wrong.
C.S. Lewis explains how we imagine angels in a human figure (with the
addition of wings) because this is the most logical creature known to
us. However, not everyone may view an angel in that context. This is
important because every single person we come in contact with may
have a different perception of a certain idea. It is important to keep this
in mind because in order to be open to others thoughts and opinions
we need to understand that all of us have different perceptions. I can
admit some experiences where I have been neglecting of someones

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views just because I didnt understand why they could think something
so outrageous. This topic on perception of angels has provided me with
a better view and character for understanding others differences in
perspective. It comes down to what we make of something. What we
make of something is comprised of what we have learned and the
perspectives we hold true. It is those perspectives that make up our
reality.
When I was first introduced to the topic on angels I was unsure
what kind of research I would find. However, I am proud to have taken
a step outside of my comfort zone in knowing prior that this topic was
going to be tricky. I was questionable to the types of answers I would
find, thinking in my head: Will they be too far-fetched, too
scientifically in-depth, or too religious? Yet, the answers I have come
across guided every step to further engage in my research. My
discoveries I have concluded down to two main points: One being for
the past nineteen years of my life I have taken the same approach to
every situation. Through only what my human eyes can see Ive truly
only believed what made sense and what could be understood. This is
where I went all wrong because I crossed out the idea of anything that
had potential to be possible. My second conclusion to my discoveries is
that we should always be asking questions. Every minute of our days,
without asking the most critical questions of the things we cannot

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understand, our mind and perspectives will never be challenged. And
being challenged in life is the first step to growth in that area. Without
the challenge we will never grow, or alter the way in which we have
always perceived the world.

Works Cited
Boa, Kenneth, and Robert M. Bowman Jr. Sense & Nonsense about Angels & Demons.
Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007. Print.

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Brown, Janice B. "Mighty Ones, Who Do His Bidding." CS Lewis Blog. 2011. Web. 02
Apr. 2016
Kennedy, Richard David. "Is It Life? Or Life Not Living?" When Never
Shall We Die. Raleigh, NC: Lulu, 2014. Print.
Meyer, Scott. Spell or High Water. Seattle: 47 North, 2014. Print.
Williams, Peter S. "Do Angels Really Exist?" Bethinking.org. 2015. Web. 03 Apr. 2016.