Mediumship demonstration

Derren Brown has done a couple of programs investigating mediums and explaining how they do it. He even, very convincingly, performs readings himself. He is the first to admit that he is not a medium or spiritualist.
What always annoys me about the ‘spirits’ that come through is that they never say anything of any consequence, just vague statements. Mediums often pray on vulnerable people who are at a low point in their lives and are therefore very gullible.

Prey not pray

Very many years ago, as a new graduate, I was on a train in South Wales to visit a friend in a mining village.
I noticed that the only other person in the compartment was an elderly man. I had spoken not one word to him and was eating my sandwiches in the opposite corner. I was carrying a rucksack and dressed in casual clothes.
As he got up to leave he looked directly at me saying '' Excuse me. Please listen to what I say without interruption. You work in a hospital far from here but are neither nurse nor doctor..... a young fair-haired man is interested in you but you want nothing to do with him''
I was doing research in a London Hospital and the project involved me and the young man, whom I found rather serious, working together
As he reached for the door out of the carriage I said
''How on earth do you know this''
''Because I was in spiritualism for 47 years''
He had made no forecast at all as suggested by other G,Netters but, for the record, it was all true. I had not communicated in any way with the old man apart from noticing that he was there..... and I married the young man a couple of years later.

I don’t believe these people and they so often prey on the vulnerable. I think you should be very careful - they have usually done their homework and know much about their audience beforehand. Don’t tell them anything.

Have always thought it unwise to 'dabble' in such things because there are forces we do not understand. However, I understand someone vulnerable wanting to contact a deceased loved one and being desperate enough to go to a medium. I have often dreamt of loved ones and get 'messages' from them in other ways.

Purple poppies - giving 10% in the Catholic Church is simply not true. Never have I heard this stated by any priest or speaker in church or anyone I know at church, or in my family or any printed material. I have been welcome all my life no matter what I do or do not give to the collection.

DiscoDancer1975
I am a spiritual person and I believe in the spiritual realms , we all go there when we Pass away . I believe that heaven is that spiritual realm where all Gods children return too when the material body deteriorates . The spirit or soul is what we really are , we are all part of this real home and call it what you like it’s a place where we are not judged like criminals in a court room , God loves and forgives everyone as we are all part of this existence on earth and we learn those lessons here where it’s often very tough and God allows us to make choices of our own , if they are good or bad as we as spiritual beings we can learn from our mistakes . There is no positive without a negative, no good without the bad , so we can know the difference. God made us in his image and gave us his spark of life to go forth and prosper , but to prosper we have to learn that our self’s . Love is the answer , whatever religion we follow it’s all the same beginning and ending . This is I believe wholeheartedly. I believe in the son of God , we are also his children but the bible does say to all of mankind to read his word and to Test the spirits to see if they are from God . We should always have an open mind as this is how we learn . ……….,..,. A spiritualist church is the best place to find proof of life after death , a medium does not talk to the dead , the dead talk to them . There are always charlatans and false profits , but having an open mind keeps on learning .

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).

In this verse believers are commanded to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” This same command is echoed in other parts of Scripture as well. For example, in 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 we find Paul exhorting the Christians to not “despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.”

AMF123 "Also there are many examples of mediumship within the Bible" I wasn't aware the Bible endorses mediums. What it does say is:

Mosaic Law states DO NOT have anything to do with mediums, spiritists, diviners, etc in several places. e.g. Deut. 18:11, Lev. 20:6, Lev. 20:27, 1 Chron. 10:13

Ancient Egyptians consulted mediums - the Bible clearly calls this evil and not of God. (Isaiah 19:3)

The witch of Endor raises the spirit of Eli who didn't have anything kind to say to King Saul. Basically told him about his forthcoming death! 1 Samuel 28

The apostle Peter got so annoyed at a female slave who kept shouting at him when he was preaching that he exorcised the evil spirit out of her. It was the evil spirit that was giving her the gift of fortune-telling. Interestingly her owners got annoyed when they found out their slave had lost the gift as they could no longer earn money out of her fortune telling - so took Peter before the authorities. (Acts 16:18)

As Isaiah 8:19 put it "Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?" He says we should inquire of the Lord.

Well said

Springchick

Well said

This is meant for the person who says they are a medium ?

First of all I would like to say i was given some good advice when i started out as being an hairdresser. The advice was to never speak of religion or politics as it will often offend some peoples beliefs.
I was born a Christian and feel that I have been let down a lot in my faith.
I now attend a spiritual church and my beliefs are my beliefs. I would never expect Christian's to stone me for my beliefs.
I have seen evidence of medium ship.
I do no that unfortunately there are fakes out there as there are in every establishment.
But please dont diss any religions or what people believe in as it isnt nice.
Incidentally when I watch all the earth's natural disasters and atrocities of war and suffering it totally beggars any belief of an higher power that can prevent this from happening. It breaks my heart and I would love to sweep up all of those poor children and feed and clothe and support them if I were in a position of which to do so. I suppose that it's the good Christian in me. X

Holy sox quick to judge – as soon as they see the word “medium” – which Jesus himself said in Matt 7:1… “don't judge.” It is sad.

A 'last word' guru.

Crikey

Gosh, what a lot of comments.
Evidently a good discussion topic!!

30 years ago, just after my first husband died aged 36 I went to see a clairvoyant. She asked for a piece of my jewellery to hold and I gave her the chain I was wearing, which had been my husband’s, but I didn’t tell her that. On taking it, she said she felt stomach problems, my husband died from pancreatic cancer. She said a few other things about my home, garden and said he was with a young boy, we had lost a son at 28 weeks pregnant and he would have been 13 when my husband died. She then said my husband was asking did I think he was taking up jogging and she smiled. I had buried my husband in the new tracksuit I had bought him for our anniversary just before he died, that he had never worn, no one knew this except me and the undertaker, no one knew I had made an appointment with the clairvoyant so she had no access to any information prior to my visit.

I've been to a few mediums over the years, when experiencing difficult times in my life, but always had private sittings. Some of the personal things they have told me have been very accurate and could not have been simply 'made up'. I have received a lot of comfort from theses visits, believing life will get better again. I agree that some of those who appear in theatres etc. in front of large audiences are likely to frauds as their messages are so vague. I see myself as 'spiritual' rather than 'religious '. Over the years I have explored many religions, trying to find out which one is the 'real thing' but none of them are. I believe there is a loving being who guides us to be better people, but this is the same being irrespective of which religion you believe in. The followers of the 2 main religions, Christianity and Islam, who proclaim their God to be the only one, have done nothing for centuries but kill each other. Surely no God asks us to do that? And as for the Christian Church (both Catholic and Protestant) who tell us they are doing God's work ... please tell me why these 'religious ' people have raped, abused, killed and mistreated so many innocent children over the last century in their various children homes and unmarried mothers homes and shipped them across the world, often to be abused as child labour? Anyone working through a genuine loving God would not allow that to happen. So when the Christians amongst you are warning off spiritualism and mediums, by saying satan is behind it all, I think you need to look at your own followers to see where satan really is.

Alot of mediums are charlatans that cold read people, but I do think that we have a foot in both worlds, because I have had dreams that have come true and one time I was on holiday and a vision popped into my head about the attic window in my house blowing in and when I arrived home that is exactly what happend. I have known when I am going to get a letter and who it is from. When my dad died I used to send text messages to his phone but on Christmas Day his phone number had disappeared from the contact list, so I do think some things cannot be explained.

#fuseta I had a similar experience to you a long time ago with a medium in Croftamie - relatively near Stirling and Glasgow. I went with my best friend and the medium chose whoever she wanted to see first. She mentioned one of my middle names and my friend just looked at me as she didn't even know it. She told me a lot that was true but not a lot about the future as she said I was so surrounded by hate it made it difficult to see my future. I was going through a very acrimonious divorce at the time. I didn't know her personally, in fact I didn't know anyone in the village as we lived about 20 miles away. A lot of what she told my friend came true.

I am so cross about the Christians foisting their beliefs on others, especially the needy and vulnerable not to mention the suggestible and gullible
Thank you to the others who have put it so clearly and distinctly that this is not the place for shoving yet another set of made-up fantasies on to those who may be seeking some comfort when they are feeling sad and lost
Any more of this and I shall not be looking at Gransnet any longer

Springchick

Holy sox quick to judge – as soon as they see the word “medium” – which Jesus himself said in Matt 7:1… “don't judge.” It is sad.

Wasn't aware I had judged anyone directly.
In my first post I acknowledge the existence 0of 'spiritual' things and in answer to the OP I would, as a Christian, advise against getting involved with mediums.
In my second post I quoted the Bible to justify this point of view, really as another poster loosely used 'the Bible' to sanction the use of mediums. I don't think it does as the verses I quoted show.
The Bible is a large book and often mis-quoted so if I am interpreting it incorrectly feel free to point out where the Bible gives a positive view of mediums.

As a child my grandmother took me to a spiritualist church near her for several years as I had made some statements which had greatly upset the rest of the family.

I also did ‘cold readings’ as a young woman.

Cold reading is absolutely a skill you can learn without difficulty. I also have seen via the spiritualist group things that I could not explain via cold reading.

I have not done cold readings in a long number of years and I would not attend the spiritualist group again. I am extremely slow to dismiss others’ beliefs about this matter though and generally avoid the topic.

I choose not to be involved in it any further but there are certain ‘bad vibes’ I don’t ignore in myself around places or objects in particular. That behaviour doesn’t affect anyone except me.

Chewbacca

^It's scamming the desperate for personal gain^ as opposed to the £10-15 billion the Catholic church has stashed in its coffers from donations, whilst knowing that it's devotees in, for example, Central America, are starving to death. Hmmm, yes, I see your point.

I'm not excusing any Church. They all sit on funds that they should be using to help others. But at least the people who put the money in the collection plate aren't being conned. The priests as well as the congregation genuinely believe. Cold reading scammers know they are exploiting the vulnerable and desperate and play on their needs and fears.

Cold reading scammers know they are exploiting the vulnerable and desperate and play on their needs and fears.

In your opinion vq.