The Hope Angel

The Hope Angel in the picture above was given to me as a graduation gift by my grandmother. The angel came in a pretty white box and has a crystal angel inside. The crystal angel has a golden halo, golden laced wings, and golden laced hands together in a praying fashion. The angle also has a card inside that says “When you need some cheering up, You know just what to do: Peek inside this box to find An Angel just for you; Then remember you are special, And may you always understand That as you hold your angel, God holds you gently in His hand.” in the lid. 

My hope angel, like my painting of the Prodigal Son, also falls into the category of kitsch. Kitsch is the category of mass production to obtain low cost manufacturing. The guardian angel is not made by Tiffany, Zale’s, or by Jared so there is not an original that is being mass produced but there are other well-known artists that have made angels before. The angel also falls into the category of consumerism. I do not know if this angel was made “by Christians for Christians” but this does make a difference as well. If the angel is made for Christian but not by Christians the question becomes a question of authenticity and intent. Colleen McDannell’s has a chapter in her book Material Christianity entitled “Christian Retailing.” Christian Retailing is defined as “the selling of Christian goods and services to a buyer for personal or household use…” Recently there has been a lot of influence placed on not prostituting the Gospel. To prostitute the gospel is to sell the Gospel for financial gain. This was also discussed in the History of Reformations class taught by Dr. Turning of the Albright College History Department. The Catholic Church in early fifteenth century instituted Indulgences which brought salvation for loved ones in purgatory. This according to McDannell is “Christian Retailing” and also is selling the Gospel for financial gain.

Turning back to the Hope Angel one can rarely miss that there is a made in china sticker on the bottom of the box which means the angel definitely kitsch. However the question of does the Hope Angel prostitute the Gospel still remains. The Hope Angel is not selling salvation like the indulgence system of the Catholic Church nor does the Hope Angel offer any life changing alterations such as found in the theologies of Prosperity Gospel (Prosperity Gospel is a Gospel that states God wants you to be prosperous and after salvation there is large amounts of prosperity in the form of material wealth). But the Hope Angel is still falling into the category of Christian Retailing because there are persons, i.e. my grandmother, exchanging money for them in exchange for personal or household use. The angel does not transform your life or bring loved ones out of purgatory but because the angel is being exchanged for financial gain which means the angel is prostituting the Gospel.