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The Hum of Angels: Listening for the Messengers of God Around Us
Would You Recognize an Angel if You Saw One?
The majority of earth’s inhabitants believe in Angels. Yet so few of us can claim to have seen one. Why?
Perhaps it’s because in order to encounter one, we first have to learn what to look for and how to look! We live in a world where the natural and supernatural overlap. Angels are constantly on mission from God and constantly at work in this world.
From the Garden of Eden to the Book of Revelation, Scripture is filled with hundreds of references to these wondrous creatures. In this creative work, Scot McKnight explores what the Bible says – and doesn’t say – about these majestic beings. And that’s deeply important because angels are still on mission today. They express God’s love, confirm His presence, and even lead humans in redemptive worship.
Don’t just believe in angels. Learn how to recognize these messengers of God that are all around us and know how God might be using them to affect our lives.
Most People Believe in Angels.
It’s What we Believe About them that Matters.
Believing in angels is one thing. But how can we know what angels are really like – especially when our preconceived notions have been mostly shape by sensationalized misinterpretations of these wondrous beings?
To help sort things out, Scot McKnight untangles fact from fiction on topics such as:
* Do loved ones become angels when they die?
* Can we hear from angels?
* Is there a hierarchy of angels?
* Do we have a specific guardian angel?
* Should we be scared of angels?
* Are cherubs and seraphs different creatures than angels?
* Do angels have wings?
* Are angels worship leaders?
The Hum of Angels illuminates what the Bible says about these heavenly beings; and it helps you to understand the deepest truths about one of God’s most magnificent and yet misunderstood creations.
The majority of earth’s inhabitants believe in Angels. Yet so few of us can claim to have seen one. Why?
Perhaps it’s because in order to encounter one, we first have to learn what to look for and how to look! We live in a world where the natural and supernatural overlap. Angels are constantly on mission from God and constantly at work in this world.
From the Garden of Eden to the Book of Revelation, Scripture is filled with hundreds of references to these wondrous creatures. In this creative work, Scot McKnight explores what the Bible says – and doesn’t say – about these majestic beings. And that’s deeply important because angels are still on mission today. They express God’s love, confirm His presence, and even lead humans in redemptive worship.
Don’t just believe in angels. Learn how to recognize these messengers of God that are all around us and know how God might be using them to affect our lives.
Most People Believe in Angels.
It’s What we Believe About them that Matters.
Believing in angels is one thing. But how can we know what angels are really like – especially when our preconceived notions have been mostly shape by sensationalized misinterpretations of these wondrous beings?
To help sort things out, Scot McKnight untangles fact from fiction on topics such as:
* Do loved ones become angels when they die?
* Can we hear from angels?
* Is there a hierarchy of angels?
* Do we have a specific guardian angel?
* Should we be scared of angels?
* Are cherubs and seraphs different creatures than angels?
* Do angels have wings?
* Are angels worship leaders?
The Hum of Angels illuminates what the Bible says about these heavenly beings; and it helps you to understand the deepest truths about one of God’s most magnificent and yet misunderstood creations.
224 pages, Hardcover
Published February 7, 2017
47 people are currently reading
337 people want to read
About the author
Scot McKnight
209 books542 followersScot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. McKnight, author or editor of forty books, is the Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, IL. Dr. McKnight has given interviews on radios across the nation, has appeared on television, and is regularly speaks at local churches, conferences, colleges, and seminaries in the USA and abroad. Dr. McKnight obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Nottingham (1986).
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April 30, 2021
McKnight, Scot. The Hum of Angels. WaterBrook, 2017.
Key idea: “The Bible challenges the flat cosmology of moderns with a thick cosmology.”
When we go to the Bible for knowledge of angels, we often conclude from one passage (or maybe a tiny sampling) that that is all there can possibly be known about angels. That idea is foreign to the entire history of the church before modernity.
Thesis of the book: If you believe in God, then you must also believe in angels.
Objection: “Oh yeah, how come nobody experiences angels today?
Reply: They do. Here are some examples.
Objector: They don’t count.
The Dilemma: We cannot abandon the notion of angels, since the Bible clearly teaches it. On the other hand, we don’t want to embrace a traditional angelology because that feels too Catholicky.
I found the anecdotes generally uplifting and encouraging. They won’t convince any deists, so take them as they are. His take on angels follows standard systematic accounts. I will repeat that, since I am often accused of promoting wild views on angels: his account follows standard systematic accounts. If you want a robust, no holds-barred account of angels, read the late 19th century Dutch theologians. Bavinck, Kuyper, and Schilder make McKnight seem like a deist.
Every chapter focuses around Christ and is anchored in God’s love. I normally don’t say stuff like that because it is a cliche. Everyone intends to “point to Christ” or “be biblical,” so by itself that doesn’t mean all that much. McKnight’s arguments, though, always lead back to Jesus. It’s hard to fault him on that point. The thrust of his argument is thus:
McKnight begins with an excellent treatment of heaven: Heaven is superior to earth because “God chose to indwell heaven, to make decisions about earth from heaven, and to send his angels to earth from heaven.” As McKnight nicely puts it, it is “God’s throne room, God’s board room, and God’s courtroom.”
McKnight knows that you really can’t combine all good supernatural beings into the category of “angels.” A cherub, for example, isn’t an errand boy. On the other hand, the cultural river in which we float is so strong that we probably won’t get a good taxonomy across the popular level any time soon.
He has a good section on “guardian angels.” We have to avoid two errors. On one hand, we have no warrant to say with Rome that we each have a personal guardian angel (or even worse, an angel and a devil on each shoulder). On the other hand, we can’t simply dismiss the category altogether. Jesus said angels watch these children.
Granting that, do Jesus’s words mean that each human has a personal guardian angel, or do they mean that each Christian has a guardian angel? The text isn’t clear. I think the idea the text (and other texts where God sends an angel to his corporate people) promotes the general context of “guardian” without committing us to a personal guardian angel.
God’s use of angels is one way he communicates his presence to us. McKnight has a neat argument. Angels attend to Christ. Christians are in Christ. Therefore, sometimes (at the very least), we participate in the angels’ presence with Jesus. This makes sense of ancient (and some Protestant liturgies), “Therefore with angels and archangels….”
McKnight missed an interesting opportunity. Meredith Kline (I think) suggested that God’s glory could is filled with angels and that’s why it looks like a cloud. Could be. It’s a neat idea.
He covers other facets of biblical data: angels judging, angels harvesting, angel’s revealing, etc. This has been covered extensively in good (though not all) systematics.
He has a good appendix interacting with Ps. Dionysius’s celestial hierarchy. McKnight correctly notes that Paul gives no such hierarchy. On the other hand, Paul also doesn’t collapse all celestial beings into “demon” or “angel.”
Criticisms
I’m not so sure about his use of Barth. True, in those passages quoted Barth asserted a belief in angels. I always got the sneaky suspicion, though, that Barth was far more ambiguous on the topic than was presented here. It’s the same with any use of Barth: does Barth mean that the angels are in “historie” or “geschichte?” He never says (and I don’t think Barth really intended to say).
Key idea: “The Bible challenges the flat cosmology of moderns with a thick cosmology.”
When we go to the Bible for knowledge of angels, we often conclude from one passage (or maybe a tiny sampling) that that is all there can possibly be known about angels. That idea is foreign to the entire history of the church before modernity.
Thesis of the book: If you believe in God, then you must also believe in angels.
Objection: “Oh yeah, how come nobody experiences angels today?
Reply: They do. Here are some examples.
Objector: They don’t count.
The Dilemma: We cannot abandon the notion of angels, since the Bible clearly teaches it. On the other hand, we don’t want to embrace a traditional angelology because that feels too Catholicky.
I found the anecdotes generally uplifting and encouraging. They won’t convince any deists, so take them as they are. His take on angels follows standard systematic accounts. I will repeat that, since I am often accused of promoting wild views on angels: his account follows standard systematic accounts. If you want a robust, no holds-barred account of angels, read the late 19th century Dutch theologians. Bavinck, Kuyper, and Schilder make McKnight seem like a deist.
Every chapter focuses around Christ and is anchored in God’s love. I normally don’t say stuff like that because it is a cliche. Everyone intends to “point to Christ” or “be biblical,” so by itself that doesn’t mean all that much. McKnight’s arguments, though, always lead back to Jesus. It’s hard to fault him on that point. The thrust of his argument is thus:
McKnight begins with an excellent treatment of heaven: Heaven is superior to earth because “God chose to indwell heaven, to make decisions about earth from heaven, and to send his angels to earth from heaven.” As McKnight nicely puts it, it is “God’s throne room, God’s board room, and God’s courtroom.”
McKnight knows that you really can’t combine all good supernatural beings into the category of “angels.” A cherub, for example, isn’t an errand boy. On the other hand, the cultural river in which we float is so strong that we probably won’t get a good taxonomy across the popular level any time soon.
He has a good section on “guardian angels.” We have to avoid two errors. On one hand, we have no warrant to say with Rome that we each have a personal guardian angel (or even worse, an angel and a devil on each shoulder). On the other hand, we can’t simply dismiss the category altogether. Jesus said angels watch these children.
Granting that, do Jesus’s words mean that each human has a personal guardian angel, or do they mean that each Christian has a guardian angel? The text isn’t clear. I think the idea the text (and other texts where God sends an angel to his corporate people) promotes the general context of “guardian” without committing us to a personal guardian angel.
God’s use of angels is one way he communicates his presence to us. McKnight has a neat argument. Angels attend to Christ. Christians are in Christ. Therefore, sometimes (at the very least), we participate in the angels’ presence with Jesus. This makes sense of ancient (and some Protestant liturgies), “Therefore with angels and archangels….”
McKnight missed an interesting opportunity. Meredith Kline (I think) suggested that God’s glory could is filled with angels and that’s why it looks like a cloud. Could be. It’s a neat idea.
He covers other facets of biblical data: angels judging, angels harvesting, angel’s revealing, etc. This has been covered extensively in good (though not all) systematics.
He has a good appendix interacting with Ps. Dionysius’s celestial hierarchy. McKnight correctly notes that Paul gives no such hierarchy. On the other hand, Paul also doesn’t collapse all celestial beings into “demon” or “angel.”
Criticisms
I’m not so sure about his use of Barth. True, in those passages quoted Barth asserted a belief in angels. I always got the sneaky suspicion, though, that Barth was far more ambiguous on the topic than was presented here. It’s the same with any use of Barth: does Barth mean that the angels are in “historie” or “geschichte?” He never says (and I don’t think Barth really intended to say).
November 29, 2021
Having read mostly from Catholic sources, I wanted to see what the Protestant perspective would be on the Holy Angels. For the most part I found Mr. McKnight's writing informative and interesting although I did take exception to his dismissive view of Dionysius the Areopagite's The Celestial Hierarchy in the Appendix.
July 13, 2019
Companion content: Mike Heiser’s book on Angels, Bible Project content on spiritual beings.
December 24, 2018
I got this book as a gift and didn’t know what it would be like, but I really enjoyed it. I hadn’t given much thought to angels before reading this, but it gave me great food for future thought. An interesting addition to my morning quiet time. I appreciate the gift and the broader perspective I now have regarding angels.
February 23, 2017
"Too many angels near the ground they're buzzin' 'round like lovely killer bees. . ." These words begin the song "Too Many Angels" by Terry Scott Taylor. Throughout this song, Taylor questions and wrestles with what part angels play in our faith. He vacillates between believing in angels and wondering if we have twisted the purpose of these heavenly beings to our own desires. Later in the song, speaking of angels and how they are perceived in our society, Taylor sings, "They're tuned to amuse you and fill you with dread. They're beneath your feet and over your head. You see them hitchhiking and under your bed. They hang around gift shops pretending their dead." In all this poetry, Taylor lays it before us that we are a society that does not know what to make of angels. Are they magic, holy gift charms that grant our wishes? Are the holy beings we should fear as they fight celestial battles? Are they cute little cherubs? What are angels?
Scot McKnight does a worthy job in "The Hum of Angels" answering this question from a Biblical perspective. After raising some of the same concerns regarding society's misconstrued and often faulty understandings of angels, McKnight beautifully explores Scripture to give us a picture of angels that is Biblically accurate and clear to understand.
McKnight begins by defending the existence of angels, declaring that Scripture attests to their existence and so those of us who seek to be faithful to Scripture should acknowledge their existence and believe in them. McKnight declares that many people do believe in angels. Yet many people believe in angels in ways that come from popular culture and not in ways that are attested to in Scripture.
After defending the existence of angels, McKnight lays out a beautiful picture of who and what these heavenly beings are. They are messengers from God. They declare the Bible's main themes. They do God's work in the world. They bring about God's wrath. They are heavenly beings that point to God's redemption through Jesus Christ. They do indeed guard our lives, our nations, and our churches. They serve God. They lead the faithful in worship. They praise God, gathering around His throne, declaring God's holiness. They witness to God and God's full grace for all humanity.
Anyone with an interest in angels and a true portrayal of angels as documented in God's holy word should study this book. McKnight offers a readable text that allows the reader to understand the presentation of angels within the pages of Scripture. That readability is sometimes interrupted by humor. The flow of the text breaks because of these small humorous asides. The book is still a great read, but I feel these aspects could have been avoided to the benefit of the text as a whole.
Yet, do yourself a favor and read "The Hum of Angels: Listening for the Messengers of God Around Us."
I received this book as part of the Blogging for Books program with Multnohmah Publixhing Group.
Scot McKnight does a worthy job in "The Hum of Angels" answering this question from a Biblical perspective. After raising some of the same concerns regarding society's misconstrued and often faulty understandings of angels, McKnight beautifully explores Scripture to give us a picture of angels that is Biblically accurate and clear to understand.
McKnight begins by defending the existence of angels, declaring that Scripture attests to their existence and so those of us who seek to be faithful to Scripture should acknowledge their existence and believe in them. McKnight declares that many people do believe in angels. Yet many people believe in angels in ways that come from popular culture and not in ways that are attested to in Scripture.
After defending the existence of angels, McKnight lays out a beautiful picture of who and what these heavenly beings are. They are messengers from God. They declare the Bible's main themes. They do God's work in the world. They bring about God's wrath. They are heavenly beings that point to God's redemption through Jesus Christ. They do indeed guard our lives, our nations, and our churches. They serve God. They lead the faithful in worship. They praise God, gathering around His throne, declaring God's holiness. They witness to God and God's full grace for all humanity.
Anyone with an interest in angels and a true portrayal of angels as documented in God's holy word should study this book. McKnight offers a readable text that allows the reader to understand the presentation of angels within the pages of Scripture. That readability is sometimes interrupted by humor. The flow of the text breaks because of these small humorous asides. The book is still a great read, but I feel these aspects could have been avoided to the benefit of the text as a whole.
Yet, do yourself a favor and read "The Hum of Angels: Listening for the Messengers of God Around Us."
I received this book as part of the Blogging for Books program with Multnohmah Publixhing Group.
February 18, 2017
THE HUM OF ANGELS is very informative as it is about Angels from the biblical view and not all the popular misconceptions about Angels that people get from movies or other media. It reminded me somewhat of a book Billy Graham wrote on the subject in the 70's as far as the biblical view of angels goes. The two books were very different in presentation and so both are original in their own way. McKnight also cites Graham's previous book as a source so that is good.
I chose this book for review from Blogging for Books and got a free copy in exchange for a review. My copy of the book was an uncorrected copy. I chose the book to review because it fit in with the subjects from my blog and also it is a subject I am interested in. There are stories from real people in the book who believe they have received help from angels. The book seeks to answer popular questions people have about angels such as:
SHOULD WE BELIEVE IN ANGELS?
WHAT DO ANGELS LOOK LIKE?
WHAT ARE ANGELS ACTUALLY? ARE THEY PEOPLE?
I would like to go into this subject deeper but I don't want to give away the whole book. I also don't want to discourage anyone from reading the book as it may be a very important book for some people to read.
I chose this book for review from Blogging for Books and got a free copy in exchange for a review. My copy of the book was an uncorrected copy. I chose the book to review because it fit in with the subjects from my blog and also it is a subject I am interested in. There are stories from real people in the book who believe they have received help from angels. The book seeks to answer popular questions people have about angels such as:
SHOULD WE BELIEVE IN ANGELS?
WHAT DO ANGELS LOOK LIKE?
WHAT ARE ANGELS ACTUALLY? ARE THEY PEOPLE?
I would like to go into this subject deeper but I don't want to give away the whole book. I also don't want to discourage anyone from reading the book as it may be a very important book for some people to read.
July 1, 2017
If there was a topic I avoid like the plague it would be “angels.” Not because I’m not interested, but rather because I have read far too many books on cosmology which have left a bad taste in my mouth. Some of the books would stretch Bible texts about angels/demons to the max while others would simply bore me to death, and as a result I have no books on angels in my collection. But I thank Scot McKnight for filling this void in my library by providing a book which is both biblically-based and fun to read. Here are some reasons why I enthusiastically endorse The Hum of Angels.
A CHALLENGE TO "ENLIGHTENMENT-SENSITIVE" CHRISTIANITY
I find it interesting that around the same time that Adam and the Genome (co-authored by McKnight) is released, Scot McKnight comes out with The Hum of Angels; while Adam and the Genome deals with how Christians need not reject science if it contradicts their interpretation of the creation account, the Hum of Angels offers a serious critique of Christians who have given in to the spirit of the Enlightenment by not taking seriously the legitimacy angels.
“…many…people in this scientific age are afraid to talk about their experiences, thinking they won’t be believed. One man has seen angels hovering every Sunday during services at his church, but when he told his priest about it, the priest ridiculed him” (p. 7).
VERY BALANCED
While some books on angels seem to have their heads in the clouds and were written by non-exegetes, on the other side of the spectrum you’ll find books which seem to completely downplay the activity of angels. You’ll also find books which, though full of great exegesis, are for a more academic audience and will therefore go over the heads of many readers. McKnight’s book isn’t one of them: though full of Scripture and great exegesis, it is not at all a dry read.
In 2016 Reformed theologian R.C. Sproul commented on the fact that the word for angel occurs in the New Testament “more often than the word for sin and love-so there’s no excuse for not talking about angels” (see here for video; Sproul’s words are after the 3 minute mark). Interestingly McKnight points out that in the Reformation, Luther (weary of those with bizarre supposed angel visitations) gave angels a bad rap, and we are still feeling the effects of that. Now McKnight insists that Luther was reacting to bad theology, but simply points out that he (and his followers) over-reacted, swinging the pendulum hard in the opposite direction of imbalance. McKnight strives to not go too far in either direction.
PROMOTING OF EXPERIENTIAL CHRISTIANITY
Some may not like the sound of this, and yet the New Testament church was one that experienced God; we don’t find any Bible verses that state that angelic activity will decrease when we’re outside of the “Bible times.” The question then becomes, are we afraid of what the Bible teaches?
The Hum of Angels asks the hard question of Where Have All the Angels Gone? as McKnight points out that angels are disappearing and in the flocks. Now this may be expected of a culture becoming more and more irreligious, but why is this sentiment found within our churches too?
“If angels are absent from sermons and seminary education, a message is being sent loud and direct: angels are not for public discussion. We could call this the “de-angelification” of the Bible, the church, and the faith” (p. 8).
A RUGGED COMMITMENT TO WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS
McKnight insists that angels are more central to Christian theology than we think but points out that we seem to give mere lip-service to the idea of angels. Yet angels are so intertwined into the fabric of the Bible story that we risk tampering with the foundation of the Biblical narrative when we take them out of the picture. They are on more pages of the Bible than we realize, and though we try to outrun them them when we skip over such verses, this is simply something we can’t afford to outrun.
McKnight utilizes Karl Barth who says that we cannot take God and then proceed to dismiss angels; both are taught by Scripture, and therefore we cannot have one without the other.
“The Bible challenges the flat cosmology of the moderns with a thick cosmology. … If our flat modern cosmology says, There is no god because I can’t touch God or There are no angels because I can’t demonstrate them in a laboratory, the Bible’s cosmology says, God made it all and there’s more than you can see. Open your eyes to wonder!” (p. 59).
CLOSING THOUGHTS
While some authors with a PhD under their belt have forgotten how to think, speak, and write like a non-academic, this has not happened to McKnight who doesn’t write from the clouds in an “unintelligible tongue,” but rather he has shown us once again that he can navigate both the world of the academy as well as that of the layperson.
Scripture never tells us that God will do away with frequent angelic activity after the cannon is closed. Therefore the book at hand provides a much-needed critique of the notion that angels are a thing of the past, a thing for “Bible times,” a thing that humanity has outgrown its need for.
McKnight has skill, yes, but he also cares very much for the state of the church, and this new release seems to overflow from this desire. How we think about God (and angels!) will spill over into our mundane everyday life, and that’s why this book is important.
The Hum of Angels has made me feel excited about angels, something that no book or sermon has ever really done. Dr. McKnight, thanks for making angels “fun” again.
*I received my copy from WaterBrook Press in exchange for an honest assessment.
July 8, 2017
Scot McKnight is the author of more than 50 books, including the Jesus Creed, Jesus Creed is also his blog name. In the Hum of Angels he opens you mind to the true nature of angels as reported in the Bible and through history. I had no idea there were so many times that angels were present throughout the biblical story, I agree with Joshua Butler, it opened not only my eyes, but my ears to the beautiful hum of angels surrounding us. The book is divided into 4 major sections 1. In defense of angels 2. God’s loving presence in angels 3. God’s loving advocacy from angels and 4. God’s loving transformation through angels. Scot maintains that “If you believe in God, you also believe in angels” Angels are not to be considered supernatural beings but rather an important moment that the person depicted it as an encounter with a messenger of God. Most of us believe in the angels that announced the birth of Christ, and made their appearance at the death, but this book will show you time and time again the special moments in scripture throughout.. He does include some personal narratives of visitations with angels but by and large this is a detailed retelling of all the Biblical accounts.
God does become present with us in special ways I the Angel of the Lord. He does it to communicate his presence, his love for us and his concern for our redemption. He repeats off the core teaching of God and the angels for us.
”God is love Angels are sent to express God’s love
All that God does is loving. By being God’s presence with us,
God sends angels to us because God loves us. By being God’s presence for us, and
Love is a rugged commitment to be With to lead us into the redemption of Christlikeness.”
To be For us so that we can
Progress Unto Christlikeness.
I thoroughly enjoyed his book and the exploring of the history of angels. The various types of advocate, guidance, announcement, temptation and warrior angels, to mention a few of the various types was spiritually uplifting as was the exploration of the Catholic and Episcopal church histories was great.
February 7, 2025
This book sits pretty mildly within much tradition about angels. The books exegesis is modest and McKnight is happy to rest upon tradition rather than delve into exegetical issues and questions that arise with much tradition. I found Graham Cole’s “Against the Darkness: the doctrine of Angels, Satan, and Demons” to be a more sober exploration, and, both more theologically and exegetically considered.
McKnight does acknowledge the concern that sometimes “angelology” can tend to eclipse the centrality of Christology and Pneumatology for the Christian life. I personally don’t think the personal accounts of angelic encounters that he included did much to help him avoid this same imbalance.
McKnight does “say” our view of angels needs to be Jesus-centric. However Christology and anthropology don’t really feel like they sufficiently frame how we might assess and benefit from both modern-sighting-accounts and church traditions on this topic
McKnight does acknowledge the concern that sometimes “angelology” can tend to eclipse the centrality of Christology and Pneumatology for the Christian life. I personally don’t think the personal accounts of angelic encounters that he included did much to help him avoid this same imbalance.
McKnight does “say” our view of angels needs to be Jesus-centric. However Christology and anthropology don’t really feel like they sufficiently frame how we might assess and benefit from both modern-sighting-accounts and church traditions on this topic
December 22, 2020
I really liked the subject matter of this book and the way that McKnight provided a Scriptural and theological support for angels. Angels are so often either completely dismissed by many American Christians or else they treated in a very theologically unsound, sappy and kitschy manner. McKnight challenges both approaches and does a good job using Scripture the various roles angels have played. What I didn't like so much was that, at times, I felt as if McKnight was targeting his book for a young adult audience and I often felt as if I was being written to as a child. Maybe McKnight was trying to be relatable to the average American Christian, but I found the writing style to be off-putting. That quibble aside, I would heartily recommend this book for its sound coverage of an important, but often ignored, issue.
February 5, 2021
This book was well written, well researched and includes wonderful stories that confirm and strengthen what he has set forth. I did have some question as to the line that seems to be blurred at times between the prompting of the Holy Spirit as opposed to angels whisperings, which caused me to rate it with 4 stars rather than 5.
All in all a good book that I think readers would find both fascinating and inspiring.
All in all a good book that I think readers would find both fascinating and inspiring.
June 15, 2018
Fascinating topic that loses steam in the execution. To me, it read like a research paper: this source says. . . ., here's an anecdote that has been relayed to me . . . , here's a Bible verse . . . . Nothing compelling and honestly not that interesting.
Full Disclosure--Net Gallery and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.
Full Disclosure--Net Gallery and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.
October 6, 2025
I subscribe to Reformed theology, and this book felt solidly in my camp. If you've ever had a visit from an angel, or are hoping to have a visit from an angel, I highly recommend it. It's a very accessible description of the role that angels have always played in human history, and the role they play in our lives today.
September 4, 2018
This is a fascinating view of angels discussed in the Bible and other works. It goes into detail about types of angels and their mission. As someone who has had encounters with at least two angels, I enjoyed reading this book and hearing the author's point of view.
June 13, 2017
Really wanted to like this book, but found it repetitive and contradicting in some sections. McNight provides some good Biblical examples and explanations for those looking for sources.
November 22, 2017
Definitely worth the time. A lot of interesting things here. Sometimes I think he attributes to Angels what I would more comfortably feel attributing to the Spirit.
August 24, 2021
Excellent as an easy and orthodox introduction to the topic of angels. I appreciate McKnight’s frequent repetition of what is most important. That helps us to see things in perspective.
May 14, 2025
This started out well, then became repetitive.
March 17, 2017
I love this book, so well written! I will definately be seeking out more of Scot McKnight's books he has so much wonderful insight. I don't know why some people have trouble believing in Angels, they just have to open their hearts and listen and trust in the Bible, the greatest book on Earth! If you are questioning the existence of Angels read this book along with the Bible!
February 14, 2017
We do not understand the first part of the book, as it talks about believing in angels versus not believing. We were bored and do not understand how that's overly relevant. For those who do not believe, we would gently ask you to move on. We would do so not out of kindness, but, we sometimes tire of defending our beliefs. And, really, if you didn't believe in angels, would you even pick a book of this title up, off of a shelf? Would you thumb through it? If you did, would you be looking for substance, maybe?
The second part of the book provides plenty of real-life and Biblical examples of the presence of angels. However, the retelling is without emotion. Tepid.
Section three details some of the major angelic tasks. Again, there is plenty of back-up.
We like the name of the book. We like that it was written. We were frustrated with the fact that we wanted more. Instead, we were given lot of quotes. We just felt that it was a bit much.
The second part of the book provides plenty of real-life and Biblical examples of the presence of angels. However, the retelling is without emotion. Tepid.
Section three details some of the major angelic tasks. Again, there is plenty of back-up.
We like the name of the book. We like that it was written. We were frustrated with the fact that we wanted more. Instead, we were given lot of quotes. We just felt that it was a bit much.
April 11, 2017
Starting off, Scot McKnight has become one of my favorite authors to read over the past 8 years. It all started when I picked up his book "The Jesus Creed" as an optional read for a class, but ended up just reading it for fun during a summer. That being said, I have read a total of 4 books that he's authored (including this one). Overall 'The Hum of Angels' is a decent read. It's not my favorite book that I've read by McKnight, but it's certainly not 'bad' by any stretch of the imagination. As he did with his book 'The Heaven Promise" McKnight sets out to look at the subject at hand (in this case, angels) from an informed and Biblically-backed perspective. I did find myself not fully convinced by a few of his conclusions in the book, but nothing that I would say I have to stop reading him altogether for. (The specific incident that I'm thinking of is him concluding that the angel present in one narrative in the O.T. [which is identified as THE angel of YHWH] is the exact same as an angel that presents itself in another narrative in the O.T. [which is identified as AN angel of YHWH]. Can these angels be the same one? Sure. However I'm not convinced that they necessarily HAVE to be. I know I'm splitting hairs here, but I figured if I were to create the most helpful review about this book, I should include it in my review.)
Overall, I would say this is a solid effort contribution to an area of study that can super weird, super fast. I personally haven't read any other books that have been specifically written about angels, but I can say that I'm thankful that this is the first one that I've read. As I mentioned earlier, with his balanced and conservative approach to the subject matter, McKnight's 'The Hum of Angels' has positioned itself as an excellent introductory book that anyone seeking to study angles more in depth or simply become a little more informed, should give it a read.
"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."
Overall, I would say this is a solid effort contribution to an area of study that can super weird, super fast. I personally haven't read any other books that have been specifically written about angels, but I can say that I'm thankful that this is the first one that I've read. As I mentioned earlier, with his balanced and conservative approach to the subject matter, McKnight's 'The Hum of Angels' has positioned itself as an excellent introductory book that anyone seeking to study angles more in depth or simply become a little more informed, should give it a read.
"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 23, 2017
Marvelous book about Angelic Beings, those who are loyal to God…
Scot McKnight teaches how to be in defense of Angels: why do we actually believe in them? Can we trust them? Why do we need Angels? He talks about God’s loving Presence brought through them; they express His love, they confirm God’s presence. Angels send to the Redeemed. They teach from the Beginning. They bring God’s comfort. They come with important messages and assignments… They serve God, thus they serve the Kingdom Kids…They guard, guide, teach the true worship, announce important world events, see through tough times, come to the rescue, act on the Word of the Lord, protect, report on our spiritual growth to the Father. They have a will, display emotions, and have a vast character traits, intellectual, strong, beautiful, and fierce in the battle. Some carry fire of God, some lightning power of God, some even become a mighty weapon used to pull down the strongholds and platforms of the darkness. They fight on behalf of Children of God… They speak, have wings sometimes, sing over the broken-hearted, minister healing, rejoice over the new saved ones. They throw the biggest Heavenly parties for the new born and newly departed… They are curious about the redeeming work of God, but they are not responsible to spread the Good News, and salvation commission is on us.
Scot McKnight teaches how to be in defense of Angels: why do we actually believe in them? Can we trust them? Why do we need Angels? He talks about God’s loving Presence brought through them; they express His love, they confirm God’s presence. Angels send to the Redeemed. They teach from the Beginning. They bring God’s comfort. They come with important messages and assignments… They serve God, thus they serve the Kingdom Kids…They guard, guide, teach the true worship, announce important world events, see through tough times, come to the rescue, act on the Word of the Lord, protect, report on our spiritual growth to the Father. They have a will, display emotions, and have a vast character traits, intellectual, strong, beautiful, and fierce in the battle. Some carry fire of God, some lightning power of God, some even become a mighty weapon used to pull down the strongholds and platforms of the darkness. They fight on behalf of Children of God… They speak, have wings sometimes, sing over the broken-hearted, minister healing, rejoice over the new saved ones. They throw the biggest Heavenly parties for the new born and newly departed… They are curious about the redeeming work of God, but they are not responsible to spread the Good News, and salvation commission is on us.
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