The scriptures (both the Old and New Testaments) do support some of the traditional beliefs surrounding relics. In the Old Testament (2 Kings 13:20–21), a dead man was once resurrected after touching the bones of the prophet Elisha. In the New Testament (Mark 5:25–29), a woman was healed after she touched the hem of Christ's robe. Likewise St. Paul's handkerchief healed in Acts 19:11–12.

On relics, from 2 Kings 13:20–21 (New International Version): “Elisha died and was buried … Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders, so they threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb. When the body touched Elisha's bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.”

In all of these stories, the physical and spiritual are intertwined, so that the holiness of a person is not confined to his soul, but radiates throughout his body. This intermingling of the physical and spiritual does not end at death but continues even after the soul has continued on.