As I said, I have had my abilities since birth, only enhanced since my NDE’s. People make think I’ve had it fairly well with using my abilites. The actual effect has been the opposite. My abilities scared the heck out of my parents. I am not even going to begin to try and count the number of beating (and I mean that, I’m not lying, I have no reason to lie) I have gotten for doing what came natural. I was told as a child that I was in league with the devil for having my abilities. It wasn’t until I was older that I began to fully accept them as gifts from Heavenly Father. It has taken me years to build up my self-esteem in regards to who I am and what my gifts are.

I do appreciate each and everyone of your comments. I don’t doubt my abilities, that I am very sure of. I just don’t need nor want to have that kind of recognition. I just don’t understand how helping the “less fortunate” comes into this. People turn to me when the police have no where else to go. I sense things the police haven’t checked or missed in their first examination of a case. In many ways I’m a private person, that is why I haven’t put my last name down. As I said, I don’t hide my abilities under a bushel, the Lord guides the people who need my abilities when they need it and not before. I don’t seek out cases, people bring them to me.

Intuitve abilities, like I said are extremely hard to put statistical evaluations to, just like NDE’s. To many variables. There are people in the world that don’t even realize they are intuitive. However, using your abilites is like playing the piano, it takes practice and keeping journals. It’s not something someone is going to wake up one morning and say, “I’m Psychic”, I’m going to go predict the future today.” This is something they have known their whole life and many times didn’t talk about because of the negative “press” that it can cause from non-believers. Now if this starts another big conversation, Arthur you may have a bigger article than you started with.

I am an individual, a child of God. I’ve been gifted with what I have. I use it in the way Heavenly Father wants me to use it and to help those that need it. A true intuitive is this way and not one that hangs a sign over a door that says: “Psychic” Let me tell you past, present and future.” That is what I consider to be Bull-hocky. That is a fake, not a real intuitive. I’ve tested them and they got nothing right. I have only had one intuitive I tested and I instinctly blocked her. I knew she was an honest intuitive because the first thing she asked me was why I was blocking her. She actually got quite a bit right and sensed other things I needed to know. This lady didn’t have a shop or own a “psychic” business, she didn’t want it. She used her abilities for other things, in the way the Lord guided her. Just as I do.

I’ve written another tome, again, thank you for the comments and suggestions. Please understand I don’t care to go that direction and never have had that desire.

Unless you think that he was some sort of demon. I guess you could believe that too if you wanted.

I’m glad you enjoyed the post.

I agree to disagree with you. I would advocate ignoring them both.

Did Jesus not command Moses to commit genocide? Did he not command Moses to kill all the Midianite boys no matter how young? Did Moses not, at Jehovah’s request, command his generals to kill all the boys (after they spared them) and all the non-virgin women and to take all the young girls as slaves?

Anyway, we are getting off topic. Despite our differences on speaking for god and such I really enjoyed the NDE post.

Kuri, you might find a certain book interesting (it’s not philosophical, I promise). It’s called Outside the Gates of Science by Damien Broaderick. He’s a committed atheist, but he presents a pretty good case for psi (in this case remote viewing and precognition amongst other things), and cites many scientific studies that have been done with significant results. In addition, since he’s a “vulgar materialist” as you say you are, he devotes several chapters to naturalistic explanations of psi, and how it increases chances of survival in the wild, etc. Pretty good book, and his references and statistics are quite rigorous. It’s entertaining too.

Well, I was thinking more along the lines of telekinesis — either the spoon bends or it doesn’t — but of course that’s not relevant to what William does.

So I guess what I’m saying is, I’m not sure what you mean by “a positive result” in terms of scientific testing, and I’m not sure how that would translate into a test. For instance, in William’s case, if William were to try to guess the circumstances of an event he was previously unaware of. If he got 6 out of 10 facts correct, would that be enough? You have to have some kind of statistical likelihood of getting it right.

Now, as far as William is concerned, I respect his comments as well. But I won’t congratulate him. And I never compared his actions to those of the hijackers. My comment about the hijackers was more to the general issue of the dangers that can arise from those who maniulate god when teaching others. I don’t think William is doing this at all. But approving of people teaching the will of god in one sphere is a tacit approval that others can teach whatever they want in the name of god in other spheres. I think it is immoral in any sphere.

I wouldn’t think so. I’d think it would get sporadic or subtle “positives.” So far, it’s gotten only “negatives.”

Scientific trials usually set an alpha level (0.05 or whatever), and calculate how likely a result could be obtained by chance, and I think that’s a better (though still flawed) system.

That’s only statistical trials, though. There are other types of science experiments that expect uniformly positive or negative results.

For instance, antidepressants work for some people, but not others, and not too much more than a placebo in many cases. Randi’s challenge would “fail” every antidepressant we’ve ever developed.

Randi’s method only requires one positive (or two, since they now require a preliminary test), so (although they wouldn’t test them, because the method is inappropriate) I think it would generate many positives, some true and some false.

The problem as I see it with Randi’s challenge is that so far, the challenge hasn’t been necessarily scientific. If psychic intuition is real but sporadic or subtle, the challenge will never find that out and will always prove it “false.” Scientific trials usually set an alpha level (0.05 or whatever), and calculate how likely a result could be obtained by chance, and I think that’s a better (though still flawed) system.

For instance, antidepressants work for some people, but not others, and not too much more than a placebo in many cases. Randi’s challenge would “fail” every antidepressant we’ve ever developed.

More immediately, I appreciate William’s comments on the site, and think that he’s doing what he thinks is right. I appreciate your comments too. I just don’t feel like what William is doing is somehow morally equivalent or even comparable to the terroristic murder of thousands of people. Sorry, I just can’t make that leap. I don’t even know how what William is doing (trying to aid the police solving crimes using “intuitions”) is a stepping stone to flying a plane into a building full of thousands of people.

Sorry if you’ve interpreted my posts as dismissive. I’m not intending to be dismissive, I just think we can have a civil discussion with one another without constantly comparing each other to the 9/11 hijackers.

I think the comparison with your songwriting is a bit apples and oranges. I mean no personal offense, but unless your songs are tremendously brilliant, unless you’re another Mozart or Beethoven, it simply doesn’t matter much to society as a whole if they go unheard. A talent such as William claims, on the other hand, would be world-changing if it could be proven to exist.

That said, having pointed out the existence of the JREF offer, I do intend to leave William alone. I doubt he can do the things he thinks he can, but I worry that it would be cruel to force him to confront this fact through a test such as JREF’s. We’re all entitled to our own illusions, as long as we keep them private.

I agree that evil and danger has been peformed by believers and non-believers alike. But I think when people are manipulating god’s will to motivate or persuade it can be more dangerous than a man simply using his power or stating his own opinion.

Put shortly, the 9/11 hijackers wouldn’t have done what they did without the component of faith in doing god’s will and an after life. To me, this is a perfect example of how manipulating god’s will can be more dangerous than those who try to motivate or persuade without invoking god.

But all I’m saying is relax, dude. It’s just the Internet.