Following are the 20 major hallmarks of paranormal chicanery, per James Randi, from his book Flim Flam, ps. 37-41, ISBN 0-87975-198-3. Just read them and see how well and often they appear in [your own church's claims.]

• 1. It is claimed that the subject does not seek money or fame, and thus no motive to deceive exists.

• 2. The subject (a child, peasant, or sweet little old lady) is said to be incapable of the techniques required; lack of sophistication precludes deception.

• 3. It is said that the subject has failed to pass tests designed to determine if the necessary skill (that which would be necessary to fake it, etc.) is present.

• 4. Faults discovered in the story or performance tend to prove the phenomenon real, it is agreed, since a clever trickster would not make such basic errors.

• 5. If a phenomenon is consistent with previously reported ones, this is cited as strong evidence that it is genuine.

• 6. It is claimed that critics give poor or insufficient reasons for doubting reported paranormal events and are therefore not to be taken seriously.

• 7. Prominent personalities lend their support to the claims and are considered unassailable because of prestige, academic background, and so on.

• 8. Similarly, supposed experts are called in to verify the claims.

• 9. The findings of experts who are critical are minimized or ignored.

• 10. Those who allege paranormal events are equivocal and evasive, allowing investigators to assume facts and fill in details in support of their claims.

• 11. Conflicting versions or details of a paranormal event are ignored.

• 12. A subject's ability to perform trickery is de-emphasized or ignored.

• 13. Any controls that seem scientific are used to provide authentication, whether applicable or not.

• 14. It is said that the subject cannot produce phenomena on command or on a regular basis, since such abilities are ephemeral and sporadic.

• 15. It is claimed that conditions that make deception possible are also those that allow the miracles to take place, and miracles are the more probably explanation.

• 16. Unless the critics can explain away _all_ the reported details, the residue is considered an irreducible basis for validation.

• 17. We are told that subjects do not do well when persons with "negative vibrations" are nearby.

• 18. It is claimed that when money is paid for the services of a psychic, or the psychic powers are used to earn money, the powers are defeated. On the other hand -- since parapsychologists like to have it both ways -- money rewards, they also claim, tend to encourage performance.

• 19. It is argued that too many controls on an experiment cause negative results.

• 20. Any trickery detected by the investigators may be attributed to the subject's desire to please, and therefore there is a compusion to cheat.

  Helping  \/tian
  To Stop  /\tortion
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  Richard Smith