19 replies to this topic

[Kelly]

You may wonder why Project Jason takes such a strong stance against use of psychics in missing persons cases.

Popular media, TV Shows, and books continually plant the idea that there must be something to this business of psychics. With so many negative stories all around us of crime, wars, murders, etc, we, as a society, have a strong desire to believe in something good, something that seems miraculous. We want a quick fix for what ails us. We seem to latch any to anything that appears to offer one of these quick fixes, including the notion that psychics can solve missing persons cases. It would be wonderful if that were true, but it is not.

So far, there is not one single case that a pyschic solved a missing persons cases using paranormal means. They may have given the appearance that they did because of making guesses based on any knowledge of the case they obtained through various sources.

Use of psychics in missing persons cases wastes the time and resources of law enforcement and can cause prejudice in the case. (The pyschic claims the person is dead, which may cause people to stop searching, etc.) 

There is not one proven case in which a psychic, using special powers or abilities not given to the typical person, has located a missing person, whether dead or alive. It may be possible that some persons have an ability that defies science and logic, but there is no known scientific evidence of this. These persons re-victimize families by taking away hope where it should stand, and giving hope where there is none. No person has the right to do this to another.

Psychics and other users of purported paranormal phenomena, cause unnecessary and damaging pain and anguish to families of the missing. They can also add to financial stress if they charge fees. We're already on a roller coaster ride of events and emotions, and we should have no desire to add to it.

Understanding what goes on behind the scenes should decrease any guilt feelings for not accepting offers of "help" from these persons, whether it is fee-based or not. We want to lessen the pain already present in our every breath, and arm families with the information to defend themselves against these persons.

The evidence that psychics are not helpful and in some cases even harmful, is overwhelming.

We ask the media to stop the irresponsible reporting of these cases. You'll notice in news articles posted elsewhere that the psychic will make claims, which are then reported by the media. No one seems to ever challenge the psychic or go back after the fact and report that the psychic was wrong, but they should.  

In our mission to provide support and assistance to the families of the missing, we stand firm that it is not in their best interest to pursue the use of psychics in their case. We won't ride the status quo train of popular belief that it's ok and is not harmful.

Project Jason stands firm in their policies that since psychics play no proven part in solving a missing person’s case, we will not refer them to family members, family members to them, nor “advertise” their claimed services.     

For more information, please read my series "Psychics and Missing People".

http://voice4themiss...ychics-and.html

"Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather, expose them."  (Eph 5:11)

[Kelly]

Other links of interest:

http://www.livescien...y_psychics.html

http://www.livescien...ium_050204.html

http://www.livescien...ics_041109.html

http://www.livescien...d_psychics.html

[Kelly]

Debunking the popular Brian's Predictions:

http://www.ukskeptic.../prediction.htm
http://www.ukskeptic...hread.php?t=940
http://www.ukskeptics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=943

See for yourself how he really does it. It's not dreams, and it's not paranomal.

[Kelly]

Debunking the popular Sylvia Browne:

http://stopsylvia.com/articles/

Carla Baron:

http://www.iigwest.c...rla_report.html

[Kelly]

Divination and magic (From the Catholic Catechism)

2115 God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility.

2116 All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future.48 Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.

2117 All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural power over others - even if this were for the sake of restoring their health - are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another's credulity.

[Kelly]

The Proper Christian Viewpoint-Bible Verses to Aid in Understanding

"There must never be anyone among you who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire of sacrifice, who practises divination, who is soothsayer, augur or sorcerer, weaver of spells, consulter of ghosts or mediums, or necromancer. For anyone who does these things is detestable to Yahweh your God; it is because of these detestable practices that Yahweh your God is driving out these nations before you. You must be faultless in your relationship with Yahweh your God.

For these nations whom you are going to dispossess have listened to soothsayers and mediums, but Yahweh your God does not permit you to do this. From among yourselves, from among your own brothers, Yahweh your God will raise up a prophet like me; you will listen to him." (Deuteronomy 18:10-15)

"Prophets or interpreters of dreams may promise a miracle or a wonder, in order to lead you to worship and serve gods that you have not worshiped before. Even if what they promise comes true, do not pay any attention to them. The LORD your God is using them to test you, to see if you love the LORD with all your heart. Follow the LORD and honor him; obey him and keep his commands; worship him and be faithful to him. (Deuteronomy 13:1-4)

But if any prophet dares to speak a message in my name when I did not command him to do so, he must die for it, and so must any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods.' "You may wonder how you can tell when a prophet's message does not come from the LORD. If a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and what he says does not come true, then it is not the LORD's message. That prophet has spoken on his own authority, and you are not to fear him. (Deuteronomy 18:20-22)

But people will tell you to ask for messages from fortunetellers and mediums, who chirp and mutter. They will say, "After all, people should ask for messages from the spirits and consult the dead on behalf of the living." You are to answer them, "Listen to what the LORD is teaching you! Don't listen to mediums---what they tell you cannot keep trouble away." (Isaiah 8:19-20)

The LORD Almighty said to the people of Jerusalem, "Do not listen to what the prophets say; they are filling you with false hopes. They tell you what they have imagined and not what I have said. (Jeremiah 23:16)

I am about to punish you prophets who have false visions and make misleading predictions. You will not be there when my people gather to make decisions; your names will not be included in the list of the citizens of Israel; you will never return to your land. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD. (Ezekiel 13:9)

"If any prophets are deceived into giving a false answer, it is because I, the LORD, have deceived them. I will remove them from the people of Israel. (Ezekiel 14:9)

The prophets have hidden these sins like workers covering a wall with whitewash. They see false visions and make false predictions. They claim to speak the word of the Sovereign LORD, but I, the LORD, have not spoken to them. (Ezekiel 22:28)

Be on your guard against false prophets; they come to you looking like sheep on the outside, but on the inside they are really like wild wolves. You will know them by what they do. Thorn bushes do not bear grapes, and briers do not bear figs. A healthy tree bears good fruit, but a poor tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a poor tree cannot bear good fruit. And any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown in the fire. So then, you will know the false prophets by what they do. (Matthew 7:15-20)

"Then, if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Messiah!' or 'There he is!'---do not believe it. For false Messiahs and false prophets will appear; they will perform great miracles and wonders in order to deceive even God's chosen people, if possible. (Matthew 24:23-24)

Then many false prophets will appear and fool many people. Such will be the spread of evil that many people's love will grow cold. (Matthew 24:11-12)

"How terrible when all people speak well of you; their ancestors said the very same things about the false prophets. (Luke 6:26)

False prophets appeared in the past among the people, and in the same way false teachers will appear among you. They will bring in destructive, untrue doctrines, and will deny the Master who redeemed them, and so they will bring upon themselves sudden destruction. (2 Peter 2:1)

My dear friends, do not believe all who claim to have the Spirit, but test them to find out if the spirit they have comes from God. For many false prophets have gone out everywhere. This is how you will be able to know whether it is God's Spirit: anyone who acknowledges that Jesus Christ came as a human being has the Spirit who comes from God. But anyone who denies this about Jesus does not have the Spirit from God. The spirit that he has is from the Enemy of Christ; you heard that it would come, and now it is here in the world already. But you belong to God, my children, and have defeated the false prophets, because the Spirit who is in you is more powerful than the spirit in those who belong to the world. (1 John 4:1-4)

Those false prophets speak about matters of the world, and the world listens to them because they belong to the world. (1 John 4:5)

[Kelly]

How to Test a Prophet/Psychic

Jewish and Christian scripture are quite clear as to what makes a prophet and what constitutes prophecy.

• Real prophets won't rely upon means, devices or accoutrements for their divinations. (Deuteronomy 18:20-22)
• Real prophets won't direct one to worship false gods or to convert to other religions. (Deuteronomy 13:1-4)
• Real prophets don't make mistakes. (Deut 18:20-22, Ezekiel 13:9, Ezekiel 14:9)
• Real prophets will be clear in their pronouncements and will never need to ask questions. of anyone. (Isaiah 8:19-20, Jeremiah 23:16)
• Prophecies, if they come from God will be imminent; they cannot be delayed a long time. (Ezekiel 12:21-28)
• A real prophetic gift is a result of a dedicated life of holiness, that is, good trees produce good fruit. If the prophet/psychic is of questionable morality, the gift they claim is a sham. (Ezekiel 22:28. Matthew 7:15-20)
• The followers of a real prophet/psychic will always conduct themselves in a morally upright manner. (Matthew 24:11-12)
• A real prophet/psychic will never claim special honors and abilities. They will always be humble. (Matthew 24:23-24)
• A real prophet/psychic will never be appreciated and praised as they are sent specifically to admonish and correct. (Luke 6:26)
• False prophets leave chaos and damage in their wake by spreading untrue doctrine. They are self-destructives and deny God's sovereignty. (2 Peter 2:1)
• Anyone who acknowledges Jesus Christ is God and came as a human being is a true prophet. Further, a false prophet will not be able to maintain a sense of calmness and civility like a person truly imbued by the Holy Spirit. (1 John 4:1-4)
• False prophets always speak about mundane matters of the world. (1 John 4:5)

This is not an alla carte menu where a psychic gets to pick a couple of items and eschew the rest or a game of chance where someone wins by getting best two out of three. This is a definitive list for Christian prophets. All of these requirements are necessary to judge the veracity of a prophet who claims his or her gifts are from God. If even one of these requirements is missing, the "prophet" is a scam artist, insane, or terribly confused.

With thanks to our friend, Angelo Stagnaro, Author of Smoke and Mirrors, Conspiracy, The Other Side, and Something from Nothing

[Kelly]

Online videos which demonstrate how psychics fool people:

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=UQ4uBqdLaXI

Psychic Scams:

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=IErIDQJc9JE

[Kelly]

http://news.yahoo.co...ilureofpsychics

Jaycee Dugard Abduction Case Highlights Failure of Psychics


LiveScience.com Benjamin Radford
livescience.com – Mon Aug 31, 9:02 am ET


Jaycee Dugard, the woman who was abducted at the age of 11 in 1991, was recently discovered living in a virtual prison in the back yard of a couple's come in Antioch, Calif., as has been widely reported. She had been there for 18 years, confined and horrifically abused, even giving birth to her rapist's children. They were kept prisoner and isolated, never having attended school or seen a doctor.

Amazingly, a Reno psychic is now claiming the case proves the accuracy of her abilities.

Dayle Schear, who was paid by Jaycee's parents to help locate their daughter, says she told Jaycee's mother not to give up searching for her daughter: "I looked her in the eyes and I said... eventually she'll walk through the door, you're going to see her again."

Schear also claims that she correctly described the general area where Jaycee was being held. The psychic's "information" is typical of what happens when missing persons are eventually found, dead or alive. Psychics come forward years later after the person was found to make retroactive claims about how they "knew" certain pieces of information.

Yet the psychics conveniently ignore the fact that their information was either wrong or so general and vague that it was useless. If Shear's psychic powers told her that this poor girl was being kept in the most horrific conditions - being subjected to continual sexual and physical abuse for nearly two decades - then it's puzzling that Jaycee was not found 18 years ago.

What police and searchers need is not general, vague "I told you so" information after the missing person has been recovered through police work, but accurate, useful information that leads police to the victim.

One common trick psychics use to make themselves appear accurate is to give very vague information open to later interpretation (most missing persons are likely to be found "near water," even if it's a lake, puddle, river, drain, etc.). When bodies are found it is always through accident or police work. Despite repeated claims to the contrary, there is not a single documented case of a missing person being found or recovered due solely to psychic information. In February 2004, Court TV launched a series about psychic detectives investigating cold cases "Haunting Evidence." The show was cancelled after three seasons, without having solved a single case.

The fact of the matter is that right now - as you are reading these words - it is virtually certain that somewhere in the world, one or more children are being held in exactly the same unimaginable conditions as Jaycee. Some may die in captivity and be disposed of like trash; others will eventually be freed after untold physical and psychological damage.

Yet there are thousands of self-proclaimed psychics and psychic detectives in the world who claim to be able to find missing persons. Some are rich and famous, such as Sylvia Browne, Allison DuBois (inspiration for the NBC show "Medium"), Noreen Renier, and Carla Baron; others are known only locally. If they have the powers they claim, perhaps they should take a break from their TV appearances and lucrative lecture circuits to actually help find these and other desperate missing persons.



Benjamin Radford is managing editor of the Skeptical Inquirer science magazine. His books, films, and other projects can be found on his website. His Bad Science column appears regularly on LiveScience.

[Kelly]

What an excellent piece: http://www.insideedi...ng-persons.aspx

[Kelly]

Excellent article by a free-lance writer in Canada:

http://www.fims.uwo....1/psychics.html

Playing with hope

By Alex Ballingall
4/13/2011

Even though Jason Jolkowski has been missing for nearly a decade, his mother still receives regular phone calls from people who claim to be psychic. They tell her they can find out what happened to her son, that they can reveal the answers she so deeply craves.

“This one said he's alive. This one says he's dead. This one tells you these visions of a brutal murder,” says Kelly Jolkowski from her home in Omaha, Neb. Once, a psychic even guaranteed he could tell her what happened to Jason – but only if she paid $25,000.

Continue to read at the link above....

[Kelly]

http://www.miller-mc...t-record-35601/

Psychic Detectives Have a Perfect Record
The idea that legions of psychics are helping police solve crimes around the world is based on, well, nothing.

By Peter M. Nardi
8/27/2011

Psychic detectives often show up in stories about missing children, unsolved murders and cold-case crimes. But how effective are they? Not at all, and it takes critical-thinking skills to divine that — but you knew that already.

The afternoon of June 7, The New York Times sent out a news alert: “Up to 30 Dismembered Bodies Found Near Houston, Reuters Reports.” CNN also reported that the home near Houston involved “at least 20 bodies, including those of children.”

The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant for the house in Hardin, Texas, and despite some conflicting information related to blood found on a door and strange odors, Texas Rangers were unable to locate any bodies or graves on the site.

Please read more at the link above.

[Denise Harrison]

http://news.discover...aby-111202.html

DiscoveryNews article about recent failures by psychics to help missing children investigations.

Psychics and Missing Babies -- Dissecting the Phenomena

Police said that this is not the first bogus psychic information they have gotten about Baby Lisa; all the others provided bad information as well. This is the second time this year a Texas woman claiming to be psychic has given false information about a murder or crime. In June, a psychic called police describing a horrific scene of mass murder at a ranch outside of Houston, Texas. Police, the FBI, and the Texas Rangers investigated, and it all turned out to be a false alarm. There were no dead bodies; the psychic was wrong.

High-profile psychic failures are nothing new. One of the most recent cases involved Holly Bobo, a young nursing student abducted in rural Tennessee. Bobo was last seen April 13 being led into the woods near her home by a camouflaged individual. Despite extensive police searches and dozens of self-proclaimed psychics offering hundreds of incorrect, vague, and often contradictory tips, neither Bobo nor her abductor have been found. (In fact, police complained that psychics were actually harming the investigation.)

Despite claims to the contrary, there is not a single documented case of a missing person being found or recovered due to psychic information. And despite Almaguer’s obvious failure in finding Baby Lisa, she insists she is doing a public service and will continue to provide psychic information about missing persons.

To read the entire article, click the link at the top of this post.

[Kelly]

http://www.dailymail...l-audience.html

What a load of crystal balls! As Diana's former psychic is accused of cheating on stage, a TV illusionist exposes how trickery can fool any audience

By Paul Zenon
Last updated at 12:17 AM on 22nd September 2011


Picture the scene. ‘I’m getting a Derek, a Donald… no, it’s a David,’ the middle-aged woman on the stage announces to ripples of excitement from the packed audience. ‘Does that mean anything to anyone? Does someone know a David who’s passed recently?’

Nervously, an elderly woman in the stalls raises her hand. ‘My late husband was called David.’

Bingo! The psychic has found her target.

A member of the audience claims otherwise, saying that she could hear a man’s voice relaying information, presumably via a microphone and hidden earpiece — such as ‘David, pain in back, passed quickly’ — to the psychic superstar on stage who, 10 seconds later, claimed to be talking to the spirit of David.

The voice only stopped when it was heard by a theatre usher, who closed an internal window.

Read more: http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz1nipwy655

[Kelly]

Presentation given at Cue Center conference in 2011: http://projectjason....UEPsychics1.pdf

[Kelly]

http://abcnews.go.co...53#.UYmqOspNqPU

Psychic Who Said Amanda Berry Was Dead Silent After Berry Is Found Alive


By COLLEEN CURRY
May 7, 2013

A year after Amanda Berry disappeared in Cleveland, her mother appeared on "The Montel Williams Show" to speak to a psychic about what happened to her daughter.

Psychic Sylvia Browne, who has made a career of televised psychic readings, told Louwanna Miller on a 2004 episode of the show that her daughter was dead, causing Miller to break down in tears on the show's set.

"She's not alive, honey," Browne told Miller on the show, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper. "Your daughter's not the kind who wouldn't call."

Miller told the newspaper that she believed "98 percent" in what Browne told her. Miller died a year later from heart failure.

On Monday, Berry was found alive after she broke free from a home in Cleveland where she says she has been kept for the past decade.

Browne did not return phone calls seeking comment today by ABC News. The Montel Williams show, through syndicator CBS, also did not return calls for comment. The show no longer airs new episodes.

It's not the first time that Browne, and other psychics, have come under fire for their involvement in law enforcement cases.

In 2003, Browne incorrectly told the parents of missing teen Shawn Hornbeck that their son was dead, and his body could be found somewhere near "two jagged boulders," according to her premonition.

Nearly four years later, Hornbeck was found alive, and Browne was widely criticized in the media for causing the Hornbecks additional grief.

A website called "Stop Sylvia Browne," dedicated to cataloguing Browne's purported failures at prediction, sprang up in 2006.

Last year, Dwayne Baker told ABC News that after his son went missing in 2007, he was flooded with calls from psychics offering potential leads into the whereabouts of Travis Baker.

"It's very hard,' Dwayne Baker said. "I went through everything. My son was missing for two years, two months and 12 days. "Psychics called me. I even received a DVD in the mail that a guy claimed he could talk to the dead and this was Travis' voice, with no return address. I don't understand why people would want to do that."

"The psychics…" said Baker, 45, before pausing to let out a long sigh. "I hate to say how many of those called me and said they knew where Travis was. My mother and wife went to one and paid them $100."

Travis Baker's remains were located in 2009.

Brad Garret, a former special agent with the FBI and ABC News consultant said that alleged tips from psychics rarely help solve a case.

"As far as finding a victim, finding remains, finding evidence or in any way helping to solve the case, it's never been my experience," he said. "So, it's really a disservice to victims."

"We've never had a psychic lead that turns out to be correct," said Lt. Dave Parker, of the Anchorage, Alaska, police department, after 18-year-old Samantha Koenig went missing in February, 2012.

Today, Brown faced backlash on social media for her incorrect prediction about Amanda Berry. It is unclear whether she has helped to solve a crime with her psychic predictions.

"Psychics make me sick. Here's an example: Sylvia Browne told Amanda Berry's Mum (now dead) her daughter was dead," wrote Twitter user Chris McBriarty.

[Kelly]

http://www.huffingto..._n_4317470.html

Sylvia Browne: Dead Psychic's Legacy Riddled With Failed Predictions, Fraud

The Huffington Post | By David Moye 11/21/2013

When celebrity psychic Sylvia Browne died Nov. 20 at the age of 77, it marked the end of a career of immense fame marked by inaccurate predictions -- including one she made about her own death.

In May 2003, Browne predicted to Larry King that she would die when she was 88. She was off by 11 years.

Browne rose to fame in part because of her frequent appearances on the Montel Williams Show between 1991 and 2008, where she would claim to speak to the dead and offer information about missing people.

One of her most infamous predictions came in 2004, when she told Louwana Miller, the mother of Amanda Berry, that her kidnapped daughter was dead.

“She’s not alive, honey,” Browne said at the time, according to NBC affiliate WKYC's report on the segment. “Your daughter’s not the kind who wouldn’t call.”

In May, it was discovered that Berry was still alive and had been held captive by Ariel Castro for nearly a decade. Miller died in 2006 and was not alive to hear the good news -- or the news that she was exploited by Browne.

Browne responded to media questions with a prepared statement that included this line: "Only God is right all the time."

Although Browne claimed to have a psychic success rate between 87-to-90 percent, a 2010 analysis of of 115 predictions she made on "The Montel Williams Show" by Skeptical Inquirer magazine put her success rate at zero.

In some cases, she charged a police department $400 for her services.

In 2002, Browne told the parents of missing 11-year-old Shawn Hornbeck on the Montel Williams Show that the child was dead and kidnapped by a dark-skinned man with dreadlocks.

Hornbeck was found alive in 2007 and his accused kidnapper, Michael Devlin, was Caucasian and short-haired. Hornbeck's stepfather, Craig Akers, told Anderson Cooper that Browne offered to do a more extensive psychic reading off-camera for $700. She denied the claim.

When she was asked about her inaccurate prediction, she responded with the same sentence, "Only God is right all the time."

Browne's behavior was criticized by many, including The Amazing Kreskin, a mentalist who has done hundreds of performance art shows similar to magic for more than 40 years.

Kreskin said he has helped the police with 84 crime cases, but acknowledges that he was only helpful one-third of the time.

"I can help potential witnesses uncover information they didn't realize they had," Kreskin told The Huffington Post in May.

He also said that any mentalist, psychic or medium who suggests someone is dead without physical evidence is on shaky ethical ground.

"It's the height of irresponsibility and it indirectly aids the criminal because the people who believe the psychic may have less of a reason to continue to search for the victim," he said.

Failed predictions weren't Browne's only legacy. In 1992, she and her then husband, Kenzil Dalzell Brown, were indicted on several charges of investment fraud and grand theft.

She eventually pleaded no contest to securities fraud and was indicted on grand larceny.

D.J. Grothe, of the James Randi Educational Foundation, an organization that works to stop paranormal and pseudoscientific frauds, has long criticized Browne's activities, but sent out condolences to her family.

"No one celebrates her death, but skeptics do criticize how she lived. Her dismal track record at predictions -- she confidently predicted she would die at 88, not 77, for instance -- would only be laughable if they did not hurt so many people," he said by email. "The number of people she hurt with her pretend supernatural abilities is nearly as high as the number of her failed predictions. It is sad that it took death to stop Sylvia Browne."

Psychic Craig Weiler said Browne's memory in his community will have mixed reviews.

"Some of the people in the intellectual community who lean toward the psychic side of things did not think much of her," he told HuffPost. "But in order for a psychic to rise to the level of fame she did, they have to be good. In the beginning, she had to be good enough to distinguish herself from the others.

"That said, people are complicated. Skeptics aren't all evil and she's not all good."