Is using psychic ability a sin?

[GreggSchaffter]

So, this isn’t meant to be a silly question, but a serious question about how people claim to be able to use psychic ability. I have heard that it is the ability to use the brain to interact with your environment. I hear people talk about how people are able to form electric spheres in their hands with this ability. I was wondering if it a is a sin to do such things. If you want more information on the question, just ask.

 

[Gods_Peace]

So, this isn’t meant to be a silly question, but a serious question about how people claim to be able to use psychic ability. I have heard that it is the ability to use the brain to interact with your environment. I hear people talk about how people are able to form electric spheres in their hands with this ability. I was wondering if it a is a sin to do such things. If you want more information on the question, just ask.

Are you trolling?

 

[GreggSchaffter]

Are you trolling?

No I am not trolling. What is wrong with asking the question? I have two conflicting arguments that are that this ideal is a sin, and the other side says that it is not.

Is trolling wanting to know about the Catholic faith? I simply want to know if using psychic ability a sin or not. If you refuse to answer the question, then don’t answer the question. Thank you.

 

[Khalid]

There are no such abilities outside of mental illness, charlatanry, and, to what I suspect is an extremely rare degree, demonic influence or possession. For the charlatanry aspect of those who are either devious deceivers or are themselves the deceived, I suggest Father Mitch Pacwa’s Catholics and the New Age, although it is dated in parts (in that it deals with practices that even most heathens have deprecated, but were in vogue at the time of its writing).

 

[revert_jen]

So, this isn’t meant to be a silly question, but a serious question about how people claim to be able to use psychic ability. I have heard that it is the ability to use the brain to interact with your environment. I hear people talk about how people are able to form electric spheres in their hands with this ability. I was wondering if it a is a sin to do such things. If you want more information on the question, just ask.

I am completely guessing here, but here’s my take. I’m going to assume for the purposes of this discussion that psychic abilities actually exist–this does not mean that I think they do.

The following forms of psychic ability would always be sinful, primarily because the acts are sinful whatever the means used:

• Telling the future
• Reading other people’s minds without their express permission
• initiating contact with beings that are solely spiritual (how do you know whether they are angels or daemons?)
• Harming anyone physically or spiritually or harming their property
• using astral or mental projection or remote viewing or a crystal ball or whatever to spy on someone
• using psychic abilities to shock and distress innocent people

I believe initiating conversations with the dead is supposed to be sinful as well, but I’m not 100% sure. Not having either the power or the desire to do so, I haven’t done a lot of research on it.

Things like telekinesis would be fine as long as you didn’t do anything inherently wrong with it. Using it to transport your phone handset across the room to make it easier to answer would be fine, but using it to move an object in a shop into your pocket without paying for it would not.

I’ve never heard of people making energy balls, but as long as they didn’t throw them at anyone or use them to break other people’s property, I don’t know that there would be anything wrong with it.

But like I said, I’m no expert. I hope this helps.

–Jen

 

[SaintPatrick333]

yes it is a sin and a mortal one. Scriptures speaks adamantly against all kinds of witchcraft, fortune telling and communing with the deceased. It invites a great evil on you. It’s easier to fall under demonic attacks if not possession by dabbling in the occult and dark arts (which psychics fall under)

 

[Ysara]

yes it is a sin and a mortal one. Scriptures speaks adamantly against all kinds of witchcraft, fortune telling and communing with the deceased. It invites a great evil on you. It’s easier to fall under demonic attacks if not possession by dabbling in the occult and dark arts (which psychics fall under)

I agree … Deut 18 Expresses this better than I can as it is the Words of God reguarding all forms of divination… witchcraft adn necromancy… and psychics certainly fall under these categories… The so called New age is not new… Its centuries old and rooted in false religions and paganism… Satan is a deciever…a liar… and he knows that paganism and false religions won’t lure in even borderline Catholics… ( at least I hope not ) So he packages all these in a “new” way for the modern world… its called therapies of sorts… angel therapy… crystal therapy… “intuitive readings” There is even St Michael Angel oracle cards… ( scary ) And its all based on people opening up to their latent psychic abilities… and what’s clever about this new age “therapy” is that it appeals to ALL faiths… it contains elements of all religions… sort of like a chocolate box religion… all packaged beautifully and there to “help” you… Look beyond the packaging and see it for what it really is… the black arts… divination… necromany… witchcraft… and an abimination in the eyes of God Who is the one true God … Praise His Name for ever!!!

 

[loozcannon]

I think we need to remember, that just because one posesses a supernatural ability, it does not necessarily mean it comes from the devil or is inherently evil.

You can still follow the catechlism (sp?) and have supernatural abilities.

You must always be careful and if you think you do or indeed you do posess an ability, then I would strongly recommend contacting your confessor or spiritual advisor.

Peace and God bless.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I think we need to remember, that just because one posesses a supernatural ability, it does not necessarily mean it comes from the devil or is inherently evil.

You can still follow the catechlism (sp?) and have supernatural abilities.

You must always be careful and if you think you do or indeed you do posess an ability, then I would strongly recommend contacting your confessor or spiritual advisor.

Peace and God bless.

Padre Pio, as I understand it, could “read” a person’s sins without the person telling him what they were. There are reports of his circumlocution as well.

I have known people who seemed to have an uncanny ability to know what was going to happen. Possibly that is just a greater degree of intuition than most have. But in no such instance have I ever known the person to “try to read the future”. The events, or even the preparation for the events, just “came to them” without their trying.

Seems to me if we try to be a “seer”, we’re probably wrong in doing it. On the other hand, if we simply “know because it comes to us”, it seems more likely one of those human abilities which sometimes seep out of “this mortal coil” and into the greater power we have as beings possessed of souls.

 

[dean24us]

I think we need to remember, that just because one posesses a supernatural ability, it does not necessarily mean it comes from the devil or is inherently evil.

You can still follow the catechlism (sp?) and have supernatural abilities.

You must always be careful and if you think you do or indeed you do posess an ability, then I would strongly recommend contacting your confessor or spiritual advisor.

Peace and God bless.

I want to second this – if you believe you have some type of ability, it’s best to talk to your parish priest or spiritual adviser.

God bless,
Dean

 

[loozcannon]

Padre Pio, as I understand it, could “read” a person’s sins without the person telling him what they were. There are reports of his circumlocution as well.

Great example! I think there’s another saint, I forget his name, that was rumored to be in two seperate continents at once!

 

[Porknpie]

So, this isn’t meant to be a silly question, but a serious question about how people claim to be able to use psychic ability. I have heard that it is the ability to use the brain to interact with your environment. I hear people talk about how people are able to form electric spheres in their hands with this ability. I was wondering if it a is a sin to do such things. If you want more information on the question, just ask.

If you know someone with psychic ability, play 52 pickup and have them pick out the ace of diamonds. Seriously though, I always know when my children are going to ask for money. :coolinoff:

 

[thistle]

So, this isn’t meant to be a silly question, but a serious question about how people claim to be able to use psychic ability. I have heard that it is the ability to use the brain to interact with your environment. I hear people talk about how people are able to form electric spheres in their hands with this ability. I was wondering if it a is a sin to do such things. If you want more information on the question, just ask.

There is no such thing as psychic ability. People who claim such are frauds.

 

[COPLAND_3]

(name removed by moderator) posted the answer with the Catechism, and that pretty well answers it. There seems to me a difference between God given gifts that allow some people some abilties such as seeing signs and dreams and visions, and then there are those who have the dark side that allows them to experience unnatural things that are assisted by demonic forces, whether the person realizes its demonic or if they think they are doing it on their own. No doubt there are many frauds who claim either physcic powers or gifts from God, but that does not mean that those powers dont exist for real. Whenever a person experiences some supernatural sign that is not from the dark side, then that has some purpose that is to benefit them or someone else. But we need to avoid any contact with the dark side of powers because that could be opening yourself up to demonic possession.

 

[Nelka]

There is no such thing as psychic ability. People who claim such are frauds.

Most of them are but some have help from a certain fallen angel.

My sister saw a witch (fortune teller) when I was around 15/16 and she secretly recorded everything.

My sister was into that sort of thing.

This woman was so explicit about stuff that she had no way of knowing and none of that “you will meet a man in the next two years whose name starts with M” stuff.

She told my sister that she was a twin; my sister’s twin died in the womb, nobody knew but my parents.

There was scarier stuff too. Unfortunately my sister then fell into that world and away from the church.

Satan had won.

Psychic or influenced by someone invisible?

 

[Abba]

Hello GreggSchaffter and welcome to CAF.

If you want more information on the question, just ask.

Do tell. I would welcome more information about what exactly it is that you have in mind. Did you hear about this and are wondering about it or is it that you think that you are able to do this?

To my knowledge supernatural experiences are either from the devil and his demons or from God. As far as an individual due to his/hers physical make up being able to do something out of the ordinary - well - I am open to the possibility .0000000001% and it would depend on the situation and for it not to be explained by the two major explanation which are God or Satan and it, of course, not being fake or an entertainment act. A lot of entertainers use tricks and it is part of their profession and there are others who are simply fake because they want to pretend seriously that no tricks nor lies were involved and claim some power. So, entertainers and fakes would need to be eliminated.

The reason I remain open to the possibility of a physical explanation for a particular inexplicable occurence is that I once read about a lady, I think she is still alive, that lived in maybe Virginia. Well, this lady keeps getting hit by lightning. Her and her husband I think moved somewhere in Georgia or Florida to a place where not much lightining happens but she would still get hit every once in a while during thunderstorms. There are physical things that we have not yet been able to explain so there is a very thin possibility and again it depends on the case and the occurence and the elimination of God or Satan and fakes and entertainers as the cause.

 

[kompaz]

So, this isn’t meant to be a silly question, but a serious question about how people claim to be able to use psychic ability. I have heard that it is the ability to use the brain to interact with your environment. I hear people talk about how people are able to form electric spheres in their hands with this ability. I was wondering if it a is a sin to do such things. If you want more information on the question, just ask.

There is one James Randi, who offers a million dollars for anyone who would demonstrate psychic abilities in a controlled manner. So far, nobody was able to claim (and it wasn’t for the lack of contestants…). This is very telling, because it means we are dealing with one of two things:

1. Psychic abilities are not real, and hence a psychic is an individual who is simply self-deluled. Self-delusion is not healthy.
2. Psychic abilities are real, but a psychic is not in control of them. That would give support to the theory, that psychic is simply controlled by external entities. This is also not healthy, because there is no way of knowing what kind of agenda such entities might have. In other words, how about letting ME use YOU for MY purposes?

 

[Abba]

Most of them are but some have help from a certain fallen angel.

Yes. Although, I like to add about the gift of the Holy Spirit which of course would be being put to bad/incorrect use when used to provide for a charged service and divination.

I find it useful for people to become more aware of the fact that some people are born with a gift of the Holy Spirit because the sad fact of the matter is that people from let’s say the other side are aware and they seek these individuals from infancy to train them and use them as their own.

People who were born with a gift of the Holy Spirit who were mislead into a misuse of the gift either due to pure ignorance (not even knowing that it was a gift of the Holy Spirit) or taken by the lures of the world and demons when they leave those ways and return to the Church what they are stripped of is the influence of demons but their gift remain if indeed and when indeed a gift was part of the influence.

Btw, about the fakes, I understand it is a trade that is past down in some gypsy families for generations like pick pocketing. There are tricks to the trade like reading people’s posture and psycholocigal make up, etc…

My sister saw a witch (fortune teller) when I was around 15/16 and she secretly recorded everything.

My sister was into that sort of thing.

Is she still now?

This woman was so explicit about stuff that she had no way of knowing and none of that “you will meet a man in the next two years whose name starts with M” stuff.

She told my sister that she was a twin; my sister’s twin died in the womb, nobody knew but my parents.

There was scarier stuff too. Unfortunately my sister then fell into that world and away from the church.

Satan had won.

And you think it is because a psychic told her her future that Satan won? How did he win? I gather from what you have written that she left the Church or is no longer a practicing Catholic. If so, how exactly is that a ‘psychic’ / a ‘demon possesed person’ telling your sister some of her future the only or ultimate cause of her demise? Did she become addicted to psychics? Some people become very dependents to the point that they ‘need’ to consult a psychic or their psychic in order to make major decisions in their lives etc… or every so often to check up on things much like people see doctors. Is this what you mean, that she became addicted or is it that the way she began to live her life was not the way of a Catholic and you attribute it all to her visit to a psychic?

Psychic or influenced by someone invisible?

I do not understand what you are saying here.

 

[Abba]

Unfortunately my sister then fell into that world and away from the church.

Aaah, I think I understand now. The psychic told her that she had powers of her own. Correct? That she was born in ‘su ron’?

Satan had won.

He has not won. It is not over until it is over. Pray for your sister and I will too. Remember, he looses at the end. He is a big looser.

 

[Khalid]

Satan already lost when Christ descended in to Hell and was resurrected, although he might not know it yet - this is a lot more clear when viewing the atonement through the classical Ransom (“ye have been bought with a price”) and Christus Victor views than the more modern satisfactionary one.