'Spirit, not science:' Psychic Challenge to announce criteria on 11/12—weigh in with your criteria

November 5, 5:22 PMPhoenix Spiritual Pathways ExaminerMaryEllen O'Brien

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‘I see dead people.’  Do you? How would you prove it? And if not, what sort of proof would you need to believe that someone did just that?

On November 12, the criteria for the Eddie Benitez $50K Psychic Challenge will be announced on Eddie's website, eddiebenitezmusic.com.  Between now and that date, an invitation to the public to weigh in with what it would take to be convinced of the supernatural is extended. Keep in mind suggestions must be outside the scientific realm.  We've been there, done that. This is a spiritual discernment — what is real, what is good, and what is charlatanry or even consorting with spirits of ill intent?

This new psychic challenge is being constructed on a spiritual basis, not scientific, and that alone has caused its premise to be hotly debated among skeptics and those who insist on applying a scientific method to something that is spiritual in nature. 

So far Benitez has hinted that the criteria may actually be fluid, adapting to the individual challenger on a case by case basis. That would mean the testing would vary each time. That, of course, is the antithesis of the repeatable, rigidly controlled, scientific method. 

What will the testing look like? It’s been said it will be filmed, it will be public. Will it be some feat of spiritual showmanship on the part of Benitez to prove his gifts are real while others are not?

Benitez says there will be no Carnac the Magnificent tom-foolery, and no psuedo-scientific  side-show stunts with sealed envelope guessing games.  In his view, the type of psychic challenge offered by James Randi and his Million Dollar Challenge has no place in this new, alternative challenge. I agree that the idea of testing psychic abilities by placing a playing card or a picture of some simple object or scene, something  of that nature — in an envelope for the psychic to discern — is an absurd test. Where "science" comes into such shenanigans is questionable in the first place. Psychic abilities, spiritual gifts, healing, and things of that nature are an art, not a science, and they delve into the realm of the spiritual, both good and bad. They are arts that, if authentic, would read the energy or spirit of a situation, of lives, of places and things — not the meaningless contents of an envelope with a card or a stick figure drawing. This is to be a test of gifts that are meant to aid humanity, not card tricks or other parlor tricks.

So what is Benitez up to? How can psychic or spiritual claims be tested?  How can it be verified that someone sees the dead and talks to them? How can the supernatural in general be tested? Whether it is a psychic or mediumship claim, miraculous healing, or the existence of God or an afterlife, what could the test be, and what would serve as proof?

To be sure, even when the historical Jesus of Nazareth walked the earth performing miracles — healings, exorcisms, and multiplication of loaves and fishes — there were those for whom seeing was believing, and those who saw and refused to believe. So what is proof? Jesus referred to those who demanded signs as proof of God as being of an evil mindset. He healed some, not all. Performed miracles when and where he chose, and noted that faith was a major factor in even the ability to do so.  Remember he did nothing in his hometown, where there was no faith. To them, he was the kid next door.  He couldn’t be a healer or a teacher. Nazareth was full of skeptics. Religious leaders feared his power and assigned it evil origins. Jesus simply followed his path, one he said his Father in heaven had set out for him.

Consider that for some, even historical certainties with all the proof in the world, such as the occurence of the Holocaust during World War II, are steadfastly denied by those who deny the undeniable. Some refuse to believe that the Moon Landing took place, saying it was a hoax.  So what is proof, and to whom? If history in our own time can be denied by "skeptics," what can we hope for in the realm of supernatural proof?

What would proof be to you?

Weigh in! What would you need to see in the Eddie Benitez Psychic Challenge to be convinced that a supernatural or paranormal claim was real?

Think about various psychic and spiritual claims, and share your thoughts on what would be proof to you that the supernatural, or paranormal, was authentic?  What about those who might be communicating with low level or demonic entities, believing them to be “angels” or “guides”? How would the real be separated from the fake? What if there is real spirit communication going on, but it is with evil, not good, entities? Should a medium who is communicating with dark entities win the $50K if they really are dealing with the dark side?

Consider things like: healings of terminal illnesses, hauntings, psychic knowledge, mediumship—communication with spirits of the dead and other entities; angels and communication with them; and the existence of God.

And if you have psychic or paranormal gifts, how would you authenticate them for others? Would you take the challenge?

Share you thoughts here, and visit eddiebenitezmusic.com on November 12th for the release of Eddie' Benitez's $50K Psychic Challenge details.  If you see dead people, angels or spirits, or if you believe you have psychic gifts, consider taking up the challenge!

Photos:

Psychic storefront — www.readersandrootworkers.org/

Etta DeCamp, from ladylavona.blogspot.com/ 2007_12_01_archive.htm