The Exorcist's Bestiary

Does the Bible give us the space to believe that objects can be cursed? If so, how do the metaphysics work? Is a demon put in the object? Is it infused with some kind of spiritual power? Or are demons just using the object for show and doing all the work in the background?

Let’s Start with Blessed Objects

It’s hard to find an exact verse to answer this question, but we do find blessed objects in Scripture that we can build a theory around. Take Moses’ wizard-like staff for example, sometimes known as “God’s staff.” God granted Moses the power to use this staff to turn it into a snake, turn the sea into blood, manipulate the weather, summon locusts, split the sea open, extract water from rocks, and win wars. Furthermore, Aaron’s staff could also turn into a snake and had the power to summon frogs and gnats. And though this staff was a dead piece of wood, it blossomed.

So let’s return to our metaphysical questions, but ask them from a more holy perspective. (1) Are these staffs blessed by God with spiritual power, like how Jesus felt power go out of him? (2) Is the Holy Spirit or an angelic presence inside or appointed to these staffs? (3) Or is God using these staffs for theatrical reasons and doing all the work in the background?

While many would likely opt for the third option, there are at least two stories that might point us toward one of the first two options. In one of these stories, while fighting a war against the Amalekites (who occasionally had giants living among them), Israel would start losing the battle any time Moses lowered his staff. To win the war, others had to help Moses keep his arms up, as though the supernatural abilities of the staff played a crucial role in the scenario. In the other story, Moses greatly displeased God with the way in which he brought water out of a rock with his staff.

This is admittedly a confusing story, and it’s hard to tell how much the staff played a role in God’s displeasure. But might it be that God’s staff carried semiautonomous power and Moses misused it? Theologian Greg Boyd theorizes that while such “power itself does not exist independently of God, the way it is used is, to one degree or another, up to the agent it is given to, not God” (The Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Vol. 2, 1196). Elijah demonstrates this theory well when he fearfully and needlessly calls fire down from Heaven to burn up armies that wanted to ask him a simple question. Is Moses possibly in the same boat here? Again, this story is confusing, so it’s a bit hard to tell.

What Does This Tell Us About the Possibility of Cursed Objects?

Moses and Aaron were not the only ones to turn a staff into a snake—the sorcerors did it, too. Indeed, the Bible says that several sorcerors recreated the event. The modern person would assume these were cheap magic tricks—an illusion created by a quick sleight of hand. But most kings in the ancient world had a group of supernaturalists at their disposal. While these sorcerors eventually could not match Moses and Aaron’s power, proving that Yahweh is greater than their Egyptian gods, they did put up a fight at first.

So how do the metaphysics of the sorceror’s tricks work? (1) Are there demons in their staffs? (2) Are their staffs infused with some kind of spiritual power? (3) Or are demons just using the object for theatrics and doing all the work in the background?

In my time as an exorcist, these are the kinds of specific supernatural questions that I find the Holy Spirit is not overly concerned with answering because I don’t need to know. But from these Bible stories and others, I can understand that certain objects can be used for good or evil. I’m also fine with assuming that they can house evil spirits, since I know that humans, animals, and idols can house them. Should I happen to come across an object that seems as though it’s been used or is being used for evil, I might as well toss it out like the early Christians did with their magic arts.