Buzz
Throughout history, numerous inventions and cultural phenomena have been attributed to the Devil, from rock and roll music to the Harry Potter series, Dungeons and Dragons, and even list-style online articles. However, some everyday objects have also been surprisingly labeled as creations of Satan.
10. Forks
While the ancient Greeks utilized fork-like tools for carving meat, the fork as a dining utensil emerged in the Middle East during the seventh century. Its introduction to Europe in the 11th century, when a Byzantine princess married the doge of Venice and used golden forks, sparked widespread fear and suspicion. According to the book Feeding Desire, many believed that food was a divine gift, and using an artificial tool to eat implied it was unworthy of human touch. When the princess later died of the plague, it was seen as divine retribution.
The fork’s resemblance to the Devil’s pitchfork, likely inspired by depictions of Greek and Roman deities, fueled further distrust. It took centuries for forks to gain acceptance in Europe, and even then, they were often viewed as suspicious or overly refined. Thomas Coryat, an early advocate for forks in England, was ridiculed for promoting their use as a more hygienic option. He earned the nickname “Furcifer,” a Latin term meaning “fork-bearer” that bore an uncanny resemblance to “Lucifer.”
9. Musical Instruments
Islamic tradition often attributes the invention of musical instruments to Satan, who was envious of Da’ud (biblical David) and his singing voice. Another narrative suggests that Tubal, a descendant of Cain, created the lute, tambourine, and flute. A Syrian legend claims that Cain’s daughters invented these instruments to celebrate Abel’s death. While some Muslims argue that the Quran and hadiths do not explicitly ban music and that it can glorify God, stricter interpretations deem all music as haram.
Certain Islamic teachings assert that music leads to ailments like ulcers, diabetes, and insanity, while also hindering spiritual and moral growth. Umayyad caliph Umar ibn Abdul-Azeez once declared, “Teach them first to despise musical instruments, which originate from Satan and lead to Allah’s wrath. Reliable sources inform me that frequenting places with music fosters hypocrisy in the heart, much like water nourishes plants.”
Christian tradition also portrays Satan as a skilled musician, referencing Ezekiel’s description of him as the cherub responsible for heavenly music before the Fall. Ezekiel 28:13 states, “The craftsmanship of your tambourines and pipes was embedded within you from the day you were created.” This implies that Satan’s essence included mastery over percussion and wind instruments. However, this interpretation remains speculative, as the Bible offers limited references to musical instruments in Heaven and Satan’s pre-Fall role.
8. Socialism
Although Christian socialism has a long-standing tradition, and many view left-wing ideology as aligned with Jesus’ teachings, some right-wing Christians argue that socialism originates from Satan’s influence. The hard-right website Canada Free Press claims that socialism stems from the heresy of Joachim of Flora, who divided history into the ages of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Joachim predicted the church’s decline to usher in a spiritual utopia, paralleling Marx’s belief that the state would dissolve to create a material utopia.
Those who associate socialism with the Devil point to the rejection of God in the works of anarchists like Bakunin and Proudhon, as well as the anti-religious poetry of a young Karl Marx. Bakunin famously declared, “In this revolution, we must rouse the Devil within the people, igniting their darkest desires. Our purpose is to demolish, not to build. The urge to destroy is also a creative urge.”
Proudhon, on the other hand, expressed his views even more bluntly:
Come, Satan, come, thou the calumniated of priests and of kings! Let me embrace thee, let me press thee to my bosom! Long is it that I have known thee, and long hast thou known me! Thy works, O blessed one of my heart! not always are they beautiful and good; but they alone give a meaning to the universe, and save it from absurdity. What would man be without thee? A beast.
Critics also contend that leftist ideology undermines the Ten Commandments. Communist regimes have historically rejected God, replacing divine worship with personality cults. They abolished religious holidays, encouraged children to spy on their parents, executed millions in gulags, and constructed economies rooted in theft and forced labor.
The Providence Foundation asserts that socialism is a tool devised by Satan to reclaim dominion over the Earth. Originally granted to Adam, this control was usurped by Satan until Jesus restored it to humanity. Satan’s strategy involves using the state, particularly welfare systems, to reassert his dominance, thereby enslaving mankind and postponing the arrival of God’s Kingdom.
7. Smoking
The Spanish were initially bewildered and alarmed by tobacco. Columbus, unimpressed when natives offered it as a gift, later noted that some of his crew couldn’t resist the habit. The first Spaniards to witness natives smoking were reportedly interpreter Luis de Torres and sailor Rodrigo de Jerez, who quickly adopted the practice. In 1498, Jerez brought six crates of tobacco leaves to Barcelona, but his smoke-breathing habit terrified locals, who believed it was the Devil’s work. Jerez was subsequently arrested by the Inquisition and imprisoned for several years.
King James I deemed tobacco a creation of the Devil, penning a critique titled “A Counterblaste to Tobacco,” where he condemned it as a filthy practice of godless savages—and worse, of the French and Spanish. Smoking was labeled a grave sin in Russia and the Middle East, and Pope Clement VIII warned that anyone caught smoking in sacred spaces faced excommunication.
6. The Telephone
Ambrose Bierce humorously described the telephone as “the Devil’s invention that removes the benefit of keeping unpleasant people at a distance.” While his remark was satirical, many early observers of the telephone suspected it had sinister origins. In Sweden, rural communities feared it was magical, believing telephone wires attracted lightning or evil spirits. Preachers condemned it as a tool of the Devil, and angry farmers frequently cut or destroyed the lines.
The Amish and Old Order Mennonites in Pennsylvania shared similar concerns. Their communities were guided by gelassenheit, a philosophy emphasizing separation from the outside world through dress, language, tradition, and nonverbal communication. They saw new communication technologies as threats to their social order, which relied on face-to-face interaction. One Mennonite recalled an elder solemnly declaring, “There go the Devil’s wires.”
Ethiopian journalist Paulos Gno Gno recounted the introduction of the telephone at Emperor Menelik’s court:
The first telephone was installed in Menelik’s palace in 1889, sparking outrage among clergymen who viewed the technology with suspicion. Their grievances eventually reached the Emperor, prompting eight clergy representatives to approach his throne. They argued that the telephone was the work of SeyTan—the Devil—and demanded its removal from the palace and public destruction.
Menelik acknowledged their concerns as “legitimate” and promised to address them the following day. Privately, he summoned his nobility and the Patriarch, expressing frustration that the clergy’s opposition to the telephone was hindering his vision for Ethiopia’s progress. He accused the priests of sabotaging his efforts and even contemplated abandoning the Orthodox faith to distance himself from their backward views. Shocked by his declaration, the nobility and Patriarch swiftly assured the Emperor they would pacify the clergy and urged him to remain faithful to Orthodoxy.
5. Dice
Gambling was widely condemned as a grave sin during the Middle Ages, often linked to blasphemy and idolatry. Some gamblers were accused of invoking Decius, the god of dice, instead of God in their prayers. According to writer Bernadette Paton, Sienese friars believed dice games were a form of satanic worship, with gamblers prioritizing the will of the dice over divine will.
John Mirk, a 14th-century English prior, echoed this sentiment, stating, “What can be said of a priest who, while rolling dice on a gambling table, simultaneously surrenders his soul to the Devil? He transforms the gaming table into an altar, offering the Church’s wealth and that of others to Satan. Through deceitful oaths and tricks, he strives for ill-gotten gains.”
Dominican preacher Gabriel de Barletta declared, “Just as God created the twenty-one letters of the alphabet, the Devil created dice, marking them with twenty-one points.” A 14th-century French poem titled “Du Jeu de Dez” claimed the Devil persuaded a Roman senator to invent dice. These objects symbolized humanity’s fall, with each pip representing disdain for sacred elements—one for God, two for God and the Virgin Mary, three for the Trinity, four for the evangelists, five for Christ’s wounds, and six for the six days of Creation.
4. The Smurfs
In the 1980s, rumors circulated among Jehovah’s Witnesses that the Smurfs were satanic. In 2008, a self-proclaimed former Witness shared on Yahoo! Answers that Smurf dolls allegedly cursed and came to life to bite children. Similar claims appeared in a Reddit thread, along with the baseless rumor that the word “Smurf” translated to “demon” in German.
In 2011, televangelist Dorothy Spaulding was questioned about whether the My Little Pony cartoon had satanic undertones. She responded, “I kinda think it is, but I’m not sure,” before launching into a tirade about the Smurfs and their alleged association with Satanic symbols. She recounted a story of a child who struggled with sleep until their family removed all Smurf-themed bedding and curtains, burned them, and cleansed the room with holy oils while invoking angels for protection.
A creation science website claims Papa Smurf symbolizes Karl Marx, citing his red attire as evidence of communist ideology. It also suggests the Smurfs’ self-contained economy mirrors communist systems. The site further alleges that Papa Smurf’s white hat resembles a Ku Klux Klan leader’s headdress and that the Smurfs revere Gargamel, who is portrayed as deeply immersed in occult practices.
3. Theater
In 1632, Puritan William Prynne authored *Histriomastix: The Player’s Scourge*, condemning theater as a diabolical creation. He was especially outraged by the use of high-quality paper for printing plays instead of religious texts: “Some playbooks have expanded from Quarto to Folio, selling at such high prices that it pains me to report they are now printed on superior paper compared to most Bibles. Shakespeare’s works are published on the finest Crown paper, far exceeding the quality of most Bibles.”
Actors and playwrights were labeled as “immoral, violent, drunken, and godless,” accused of engaging in Devil worship. Prynne went too far by calling actresses “whores,” especially since Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I, had recently performed in a pastoral play. A handwritten note in a copy of Histriomastix states, “For writing this book, Prynne was fined £5,000, disbarred, and sentenced to have his ears cut off in the pillory.”
In 1910, Pastor Isaac M. Haldeman placed an ad in The New York Times, declaring theater a creation of Satan and proudly stating he had never attended a play. He said, “They are excluded from my life, along with dancing and card games. All are worldly and cause harm.” This aligned with his beliefs; he also feared the corrupting influence of a nearby subway stop and claimed women’s suffrage would bring “a flood of ignorance, superstition, and chaos, driven by foreign forces.”
2. Soccer
Nigerian evangelist Evang Fumilayo Adebayo claims that soccer, or football, was devised by the Devil as a form of idolatry. After humanity’s attempt to reach Heaven via the Tower of Babel, God scattered them and confused their languages, as the Bible recounts. Soccer, she argues, unites people across classes, nations, and religions, leading them to idolize players and teams. This, she believes, is part of a plan to establish a one-world government and pave the way for the Antichrist.
She asserts that a soccer spirit or deity, worshipped in a Brazilian temple, is actually Satan in disguise. This spirit is believed to bring wealth and victory but harbors a sinister truth. She states, “Your love for football stems from being possessed by the football demon. Nearly everyone worldwide has fallen under its influence—only a handful remain untouched. Many are possessed from birth or early childhood.”
Soccer fandom, she argues, promotes idolatry, immoral conduct, and diverts attention from God. It fosters sins like profanity, violence, rage, gambling, intoxication, witchcraft, animal sacrifices, and homosexuality. She cites the testimony of Emmanuel Agyarko, a Ghanaian teenager, who claimed to witness football fans and national teams using occult charms, oils, and rings, guided by grotesque demons through a tunnel to eternal damnation.
1. The Cross
Followers of the Church of the Great God argue that the Cross is not a Christian symbol but a deceptive ploy by the Devil, rooted in ancient pagan practices. They claim the Babylonian letter “T,” resembling a cross, symbolized the nature god Tammuz. The cross, they note, wasn’t widely adopted as a Christian emblem until Emperor Constantine’s era, suggesting his famous battlefield vision was inspired by Satan, not God.
The followers argue that the Romans employed two crucifixion techniques. One used a stake with a crossbar, the most recognized form. The other involved binding prisoners to a stake and flogging them with leather strips tipped with metal until their flesh was torn or organs exposed. They were then made to carry the stake to the execution site, where they were either fastened or impaled on it. They contend that the Bible does not specify which method Jesus endured and question why an execution tool should become a sacred emblem. They believe the Cross was promoted by Satan to deceive humanity into venerating a misleading symbol.
