The Pink Elephant in the Pews: Christianity & the Supernatural

The Pink Elephant in the Pews: Christianity and the Supernatural

Reading time: ~4 minutes

“The supernatural is the manifestation of events attributed to forces beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature.”
— New Oxford American Dictionary

What does the supernatural have to do with Christianity?

Everything.

Without the supernatural, there is no God. No miracles. No answered prayers. No angels or demons. No resurrection. No afterlife. No parting of the Red Sea or plagues in Egypt. Remove the supernatural, and you’re left with a shell of spiritual tradition—fairy tales dressed in Sunday clothes.

So why do so many Christians hesitate to say they believe in it?

It’s like caring for a beloved pink elephant and then denying it exists the minute someone asks.
“What pink elephant? I don’t believe in pink elephants. That’s absurd!”

But supernatural experiences didn’t end thousands of years ago, did they?

Some argue, “The age of prophets is over.”
Others say, “Only Jesus could perform miracles.”
Still others cite Scripture’s warnings against sorcery, divination, and necromancy—as if these verses deny supernatural reality. In fact, they confirm it. You can’t be warned about something that doesn’t exist.

Remember when Saul summoned the spirit of Samuel from the dead? He didn’t imagine it. Samuel appeared and spoke. That’s not symbolism. That’s a ghost. It’s right there in the Bible.

So why the discomfort?

Why do some Christians shut down when the supernatural is brought up—as if faith in the unseen doesn’t require belief in the unexplainable?

Here’s the truth: If you don’t believe in the supernatural, you can’t fully believe in Christianity.

Spirituality and the supernatural are intertwined. Without one, the other crumbles. The Bible isn’t just a collection of moral stories. It’s a chronicle of the extraordinary breaking into the ordinary. A burning bush. A virgin birth. Water turned to wine. A man raised from the dead.

In fact, the more literally you take the Bible, the more you must embrace the supernatural. It’s not just the foundation of the faith. It is the faith.

U.S. Catholic magazine affirms this in Tim Townsend’s article, “Paranormal Activity: Do Catholics Believe in Ghosts?” It states:

“Ghosts confirm, rather than refute or disturb, Catholic theology of the afterlife.”
Belief in the seen and the unseen isn’t optional—it’s essential.

And yet, in conversations, I’ve heard this:

“Of course I’m a Christian. Jesus died and rose again for my sins.”

“So you believe in the supernatural?”

“No, absolutely not. You don’t really believe in that stuff, do you?”

Sigh.

Why are we hiding our light under a bushel? Is it fear of judgment? Of being called foolish or irrational?

It can’t be fear of God—because without the supernatural, there is no God to fear.

If we deny the supernatural, we deny the very core of our faith. No resurrections. No divine interventions. No hope for eternal life. No visions, no visitations, no burning hearts stirred by an unseen presence.

Without it, there is no mystery. No wonder. No awe.

In the same article, theologian John Newton reflects on those who claim to see ghosts:

“I certainly see no good reason, all other factors being equal, to deny that someone who claims to have seen a ghost has not had a genuine experience of some sort. The question then is: what sort of experience has occurred?”

Exactly.

Should Christians run from the supernatural? If we did, we’d have to throw out half the Bible and all of our hope.

Without it, there’s no revival. No being born again. No faith healing. No dreams or visions. No heaven. No hell. No divine purpose. Just Sunday routines, stripped of spirit.

And if we deny it out of fear or pride, are we not like Peter when the rooster crowed?

So I’ll ask you plainly:
Do you believe in the supernatural?

Maybe the language feels uncomfortable. Maybe it’s easier to say “God” than “spirits” or “angels” or “miracles.” But that doesn’t make them any less real. We’re ants trying to comprehend the foot that built the stars. And if God could create the laws of nature, DNA, time, and consciousness itself—how arrogant are we to say what can’t be?

We don’t have to understand the supernatural.
But we do have to acknowledge that it’s always been part of the story.

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Call to Action:
If this stirred something in you, share it. Start a conversation. Acknowledge the pink elephant. And most importantly—don’t be afraid to believe in what you cannot see.
🕊️ Faith lives there.