The Ancient Superstitions of the Bible

There are many references in the Bible to ancient pagan superstitious practices such as divination, witchcraft, and necromancy. In the book of Deuteronomy, God commands the Israelites, “Let no one be found among you. . . who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or a spiritist or who consults the dead” (18:10-11). The fact that God had to explicitly command the Israelites not to practice these pagan superstitions shows that these superstitious practices of the surrounding pagan nations were a real temptation to at least some ancient Israelites. Atheist John Loftus asks, “If these nations were so superstitious, and Israel regularly joined them in their beliefs, then how do we know that the beliefs of the Israelites, and later the Christians, weren’t based upon superstitions, too?”^[1]John W. Loftus. Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity, Revised and Expanded Edition (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2012), 258-9. Well, we know this because the Bible explicitly condemns and forbids such superstitious practices.  We know this because these ancient pagan superstitions have died out, while the Church continues to live on. And we know this because there is good evidence, including miracles taking place in the name of Jesus in the modern period and the historical evidence for Jesus’s resurrection, that Christianity is true. 

There are a few references in the Bible to magicians apparently having real magical power (Ex 7:10-12, 19-22; Acts 8:9-11), which has been criticized as superstitious and unscientific by skeptics. However, if, as the Bible teaches, demons really do exist, then there is nothing unreasonable about believing that demons might sometimes form a relationship with an evil person and do supernatural works on their behalf. So, there is nothing unreasonable about believing that, on rare occasions, a “magician” who communes with demons might appear to have real magical power.

Similar things can be said about biblical references to people being demon-possessed. Skeptics often argue that demonic possession is merely an explanation given by prescientific, superstitious people for what we now know are merely physical and mental illnesses. There probably have been numerous cases in history when physical or mental illnesses were misdiagnosed as demonic possession. However, there probably have also been numerous cases when demonic possession was misdiagnosed as a physical or mental illness. Demonic possession is distinct from physical and mental illness; it involves a supernatural being taking over a person’s body and speaking through them. If demons really do exist, there is nothing unreasonable about believing that they might sometimes possess human beings in this way. 

There are a few cases in biblical narratives of people performing miracles through physical objects (Elijah’s cloak in 2 Kng 2:8-14; handkerchiefs that had touched Paul in Acts 19:11-12) or gestures (Moses’s raised hands in Ex 17:10-12; Elijah stretching himself on a dead child in 1 Kng 17:21-22). Skeptics have argued that these themselves are examples of superstitious “magic” (compelling a deity by physical means). But these are not examples of magic; they are not examples of someone discovering a technique to manipulate supernatural reality according to their own will. Rather, they are examples of God working miracles through particular individuals He has specifically chosen as His messengers. These miracles are sometimes associated with physical signs simply in order to make clear to witnesses that these miracles definitely are happening through these messengers. 

There is a single instance in a biblical narrative of a medium successfully calling a dead person from the realm of the dead to communicate with the living (1 Sam 28:3-25). However, it is not made clear in this story whether the medium accomplished this through her own actual magical power, or if it was God who sent the spirit of Samuel to speak to Saul. So, we cannot conclude from this one story that the Bible teaches that magically communicating with the dead through a medium is possible. 

There are a few cases in the Bible of God communicating His will through people casting lots, including the (somewhat mysterious) “Urim and Thummim” (Ex 28:30; 1 Sam 14:41; Acts 1:15-26). This is to some extent similar to divination. However, this is limited to very particular lots which God specifically ordained to communicate His will. It is not an endorsement of the superstitious practice of divination (which the Bible explicitly forbids). 

There are numerous references in the Bible to God communicating with people in their dreams. Atheist John Loftus argues that “it is unreasonable and superstitious, in the light of brain science, to consider dreams as any communication from God.”^[2]John W. Loftus. Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity, Revised and Expanded Edition (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2012), 272. But why should we think this is the case? Just because we now know that most dreams are the result of brain activity, this does not mean that God is incapable of communicating with people in their dreams. If God is omnipotent, then there is no reason He cannot communicate with people any time He chooses, whether they are awake or asleep.

While the Bible contains descriptions of ancient pagan superstitions, there is nothing superstitious about the teachings of the Bible.