"Do You Have ESP?" (pdf)
This module from the James Randi Educational Foundation is designed to allow students to come to their own conclusions about the validity of ESP claims through the use of carefully designed and controlled experiments. Students will also learn how to accurately evaluate the significance of the results guarding against, experimenter error, bias, and intentional fraud. Students will explore concepts of critical thinking and the scientific process.
TESTING PSYCHIC CLAIMS:
Video of James Randi on The Dave Patterson Show
Psychic Epic Fail - It really doesn't get any more definitive than this, especially on television. Prepare to feel really embarrassed for the psychic when she starts making excuses.
Even though the psychic fails miserably, it's worth noticing how in each of the 3 questions she needs to answer, she managed to either double her odds of success or in one case even quadrupled her odds at least with regards to audience perception. Despite being told she had to pick one and only one answer, for every question, she made sure to have another answer out there in the public consciousness. Should that second answer have happened to be right, even though she would have failed the official challenge, she would have been able to then seize that as validation of her amazing psychic powers.
But in the end she believes in her powers despite the evidence that shows that she has no powers. This is the power of faith. You simply CAN'T ever be wrong. Based on her perception of what a psychic vision is, it seems we all have psychic visions. Only we call it imagination and we know that it doesn't necessarily come true.
And for those alleged "psychics" who consider themselves to be Christians, let's look at what the Bible says about psychics:
“If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.
- Leviticus 20:6
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world."
-1 John 4:1 ESV
"There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you."
-Deuteronomy 18:10-12 ESV
"Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."
-Galatians 5:19-21 ESV
“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you."
-Deuteronomy 18:9-12 ESV
“Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God."
-Leviticus 19:31 ESV
"And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs."
-Revelation 16:13 ESV
"The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,"
-2 Thessalonians 2:9 ESV
"If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
-Romans 12:18-21 ESV
"Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
-Romans 12:17-21 ESV
"And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver."
-Acts 19:17-19 ESV
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves."
-Matthew 7:15 ESV
"And say, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive?"
-Ezekiel 13:18 ESV
"And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger."
-2 Chronicles 33:6 ESV
"For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.”
-1 Samuel 15:23 ESV
“You shall not permit a sorceress to live."
-Exodus 22:18 ESV
"But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
-Revelation 21:8 ESV
"Envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."
-Galatians 5:21 ESV
"But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed."
-Acts 8:9-13 ESV
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."
-John 14:26 ESV
"And when Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” He answered, “What peace can there be, so long as the whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many?”
-2 Kings 9:22 ESV
"But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him."
-Deuteronomy 18:20-22 ESV
"For whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you."
-Deuteronomy 18:12 ESV
“A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them.”
-Leviticus 20:27 ESV
"So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs."
-Exodus 7:10-12 ESV
"Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood."
-Revelation 22:15 ESV
"Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates."
-Revelation 22:14 ESV
"Having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal."
-Revelation 21:11 ESV
"And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."
-Revelation 21:2 ESV
"For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty."
-Revelation 16:14 ESV
"For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt."
-Hebrews 6:4-6 ESV
"And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad, 12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar, 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed."
-Revelation 7:4-8 ESV
"Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?"
-Hebrews 1:14 ESV
"And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ."
Acts 8:1-40 ESV
