Psychics, 'Cold Reading' and Felt-needs in Religion
Last week I saw an interesting article on cold reading and how people can be manipulated into thinking another person has psychic powers (I think via metafilter.com). It reminded me a little too much of the many 'faith-healers' and charismatic preachers that I've seen in Christian circles.
I believe in the supernatural, but I always feel uneasy when I hear or see that type of thing being done in a church service. In any given room with several hundred people, a preacher 'sensing' that somebody has back trouble, or a heart problem doesn't prove divine inspiration - it's just playing the odds!
Anyway, here's another article debunking psychics, fortune-telling and the like. Perhaps some of that stuff is really evil supernatural forces at work to confuse people, but I think a healthy dose of skepticism will serve anybody well, including a Christian.
I'm also reminded about Glen Miller's discussion of felt needs in his thoughts on the relevance of Christianity today. Glen postulates that for a belief system to be relevant, it must meet our felt needs (it must have some effect on our life, or else it isn't relevent) and it must also meet our truth needs (if it only makes use feel good, but isn't logically consistent or sensical, then we're setting ourselves up for ultimate disappointment).
I see astrology, psychics, tarot readings, and to some extent the over-enthusiastic faith-healers and spiritual gurus in some Christian circles as dead-end appeals to felt-needs only. Unfortunately, so many people are not sensitive enough, soon enough to truth-needs to look past the showmanship and see the emptiness in these things.