How do Catholics explain the paranormal?

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Bohm_Bawerk

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I’m not looking for a “scientific” explanation per se, but what do you think is behind the paranormal powers of some people? For instance, there is a documented case of a man who can allow electricity to conduct through his body. There is another case of a woman who can use her mind to turn off surrounding lights.

Is God behind this, and if so, for what purpose exactly?

Thanks.
 
I obviously can’t give you the “Catholic” explaination… only “A” Catholic’s (my) explaination… I’d guess that about 90% of the cases are frauds, 9% are simply “normal” things we either don’t understand or misunderstand, and the other 1% might be acts of God or Satan…

I have to state that my numbers are just my wild estimates and not based on anything…

That’s what I think… To learn what “Catholics” think, you’ll need to wait till the other 3 billion of us post 🙂

God bless
 
99 percent of it is absurd. In fact, that number might be a little low. If you believe in this stuff-even if you’ve seen it/read about it/are it-your deluded at best,and really, really stupid at worst.

That’s THIS Catholics view.
 
The biggest problem with these types of things is that you are assuming that they are real. They aren’t.

You can’t go by what you see on TV. It is all faked.
 
Most of it is fraud. Some of it is magic, which is evil and sinful to even play with.
Either way you look at it, it’s the work of the enemy.
 
I have a feeling that it may be a few things:
  1. Real, and the work of Satan. Someone makes a deal with Satan of some kind, or someone gets possessed and starts to have these ‘powers’.
  2. Real, but phenomenal in the sense that it is outside of our experience but not preternatural or paranormal. May be explained in the future.
  3. Fake, and the person is a fraudster.
  4. Fake, and the person believes it to be real but they and those around them are mistaken and/or it’s a case of confirmation bias and seeing what you want to see.
I think that most on TV are the fake kind. I don’t think Satan or those who have made deals with him would go on a pop-tv show. They would hide from TV attention.
 
Myqyl said:
I obviously can’t give you the “Catholic” explaination… only “A” Catholic’s (my) explaination… I’d guess that about 90% of the cases are frauds, 9% are simply “normal” things we either don’t understand or misunderstand, and the other 1% might be acts of God or Satan…

I have to state that my numbers are just my wild estimates and not based on anything…

That’s what I think… To learn what “Catholics” think, you’ll need to wait till the other 3 billion of us post 🙂

God bless
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I think that’s a fair way to look at it, though I’d probably estimate a higher percent being cases of fraud – like 99.5% being fraud, 0.4% being something natural we don’t understand, and 0.1% being an act of God or Satan.

But, my numbers are also wild estimates not based on anything. 😛
 
Joe_5859 said:
I think that’s a fair way to look at it, though I’d probably estimate a higher percent being cases of fraud – like 99.5% being fraud, 0.4% being something natural we don’t understand, and 0.1% being an act of God or Satan.

But, my numbers are also wild estimates not based on anything. 😛
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Upon reflection, I like your wild estimates that are not based on anything better then I like my wild estimates not based on anything 🙂 You’re probly closer to right

God bless
 
It depends upon the particular instance. Miraculous healings, levitations, carrying on conversations in unlearned tongues (as opposed to babbling nonsense), and other marvelous events documented in the lives of the Saints are all “paranormal” and considered to be God-at-work in our world.

Meanwhile, paranormal evils are the work of devils. The Church would take a “wait and see” approach to apparently neutral paranormal activity. That is, wait until it shows its fruit and then make judgement.
 
NewsTheMan said:
I have a feeling that it may be a few things:
  1. Real, and the work of Satan. Someone makes a deal with Satan of some kind, or someone gets possessed and starts to have these ‘powers’.
  2. Real, but phenomenal in the sense that it is outside of our experience but not preternatural or paranormal. May be explained in the future.
  3. Fake, and the person is a fraudster.
  4. Fake, and the person believes it to be real but they and those around them are mistaken and/or it’s a case of confirmation bias and seeing what you want to see.
I think that most on TV are the fake kind. I don’t think Satan or those who have made deals with him would go on a pop-tv show. They would hide from TV attention.
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This is sufficiently close to what I was going to write that I’ll just give a 👍
 
Rascalking said:
99 percent of it is absurd. In fact, that number might be a little low. If you believe in this stuff-even if you’ve seen it/read about it/are it-your deluded at best,and really, really stupid at worst.

That’s THIS Catholics view.
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Aw c’mon. You don’t believe *Ghost Adventurers *when they start screaming, “Dude! Dude! Did something just scratch me???” :rolleyes:
 
Bohm_Bawerk said:
I’m not looking for a “scientific” explanation per se, but what do you think is behind the paranormal powers of some people? For instance, there is a documented case of a man who can allow electricity to conduct through his body. There is another case of a woman who can use her mind to turn off surrounding lights.

Is God behind this, and if so, for what purpose exactly?

Thanks.
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  1. I do believe that paranormal is possible. Jesus simply looked at people and knew things about them. The same with people who have what we call ESP. Therefore I do believe these gifts can come from God. It is however, up to the receipient of the “gift” to use it for good. Look at Padre Pio.
  2. In terms of specifics you mentioned, there are mysterys of the human body and mind that we do not fully understand yet. Things such as those may not come from God per se, but from how our own minds and bodies were made.
 
Bohm_Bawerk said:
I’m not looking for a “scientific” explanation per se, but what do you think is behind the paranormal powers of some people? For instance, there is a documented case of a man who can allow electricity to conduct through his body. There is another case of a woman who can use her mind to turn off surrounding lights.

Is God behind this, and if so, for what purpose exactly?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Usually, demons help people out to do amazing things. For example idk if you have heard of the famous “Criss Angel”, he has made escape acts, has levitated, made other people levitate, walked on water, etc. He for instance (in my personal opinion) does this with the help of demons (and id say I have good reasons for it). People that practice witchcraft and are involved in the occult obtain help from demons.

But sometimes, (in the case of Saints), God is usually behind their miracles, gifts etc
 
ChrisRedfield47 said:
Usually, demons help people out to do amazing things. For example idk if you have heard of the famous “Criss Angel”, he has made escape acts, has levitated, made other people levitate, walked on water, etc. He for instance (in my personal opinion) does this with the help of demons (and id say I have good reasons for it). People that practice witchcraft and are involved in the occult obtain help from demons.

But sometimes, (in the case of Saints), God is usually behind their miracles, gifts etc
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Criss Angel is an illusionist. I believed he has actually said he does not believe supernatural or paranormal abilities exist.
 
There is an obvious problem of definition, namely: what is ‘normal’? I won’t speak to what is shown on TV, etc., because I don’t know anything about that, but to insist, as some seem to do, that there can’t be anything in the world but what can be understood in terms of phenomena, e.g. scientifically, except for those things we already know about, i.e. the ‘cataloged’ supernatural, is, I think, a bit narrow.

I believe that C.S. Lewis talks about this somewhere in That Hideous Strength.
 
Aelred_Minor said:
Criss Angel is an illusionist. I believed he has actually said he does not believe supernatural or paranormal abilities exist.
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No im serious, he actually works through demons. I cannot post all that ive investigated here, but I can try explaining a couple of things.

1- Criss Angel Levitates. He has done this with tons of people watching him doing it live. How is this an illusion? Well let me explain this. If you read the “Acts of Peter and Paul” Which is an apocrypha book, you will find a magician or sorcerer called “Simon”. Now Simon proclaimed himself as the messiah. He is the same Simon found in Acts 8:9-24. Many Church Fathers wrote about him, and how Peter and Paul were martyred because they prayed for Simon (the sorcerer) to fall while he was levitating. And it happened, Simon fell and died. For such reason Nero ordered the execution of Peter and Paul. Read Acts of Peter and Paul:

newadvent.org/fathers/0815.htm

Just because it is an apocrypha book, doesn’t mean its full of lies. It just means its not divinely inspired, and many Church Fathers wrote about things that happened in it or related to Simon Magus (Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Hippolytus, Epiphanius and the Clementine homilies also speak aboutthis simon). If you read it, you will find how Simon levitates with the help of demons.

2- Criss (which is a name close to “Christ”) does not directly proclaim himself as the messiah, but always looks at the sky and after finishing doing an amazing magic trick, he always says something like “My Father in heaven is looking at me”. Simon the sorcerer proclaimed himself as the messiah. Criss doesn’t directly but his way of speaking is inappropriate. God is our Father yes. But God is the Father of Jesus in a special sense (both have the same nature and thus are both God, and God is one).

3- Criss claims to have the ability to see through items (for example a ball in a box) and to predict future results (for example in a Car Race). When he does so he not only predicts who wins, but who places 2nd and 3rd. This also happens through demons.

For these and some other things I myself have investigated about him, I simply conclude he receives help from demons. I know some tricks he has revealed, but some are simply for real (make people levitate in front of hundreds of people from one building to another, you kidding me?). This is my personal opinion.
 
Ironically, there’s a video game called “Simon the Sorcerer”
 
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