Psychics

[Excerpts]
 
Sabrina knew she had "the gift" from the time she was about 9 years old.
 
It was while a couple and their teenage daughter waited in Sabrina's home for her mother to return and give them a psychic reading. To pass the time, Sabrina asked if she could give the daughter her own reading.
 
The couple agreed and watched as the child accurately told them things about the teen's life and her issues.
 
"I wasn't completely accurate, but I have gotten better with age, with practice," said Sabrina, now a young mother to her own daughter and a professional psychic in Northeast Mississippi.
 
Sabrina, who asked that her real name and exact location be kept secret, said she inherited psychic abilities from her mother, who had received it from her grandmother. They are of Romanian descent, as are many of the psychics here and across the country.
 
In all, at least five psychics practice in Northeast Mississippi. While some advertise, other rely solely on word-of-mouth to be found.
 
Despite the secretive nature of the business, the psychic industry is booming here as it is elsewhere with its increasing popularity in mainstream media.
 
Television shows like CBS's "Medium," Court TV's "Psychic Detectives" and the SciFi Channel's "Crossing Over With John Edward" have helped normalize the paranormal by bringing it into the light.
 
These programs' success arises perhaps because three in four Americans believe in at least one form of paranormal activity, according to a 2005 Gallup poll.
 
The largest-held belief - 40 percent - was in extrasensory perception, or ESP. Between 20-37 percent of others polled believed in one or a combination of other things like ghosts, telepathy, clairvoyance, astrology, communicating with the dead, witches and reincarnation. Nine percent said they believed one could channel the dead into their own body.
 
Some scholars claim that the more religious the person, the more likely they are to believe in the paranormal since they're already open to the possibility of miracles and unexplained phenomena.
 
Communicating with God through prayer is one thing, but communicating with the dead through psychic powers is another. Conservative Christians - like those in the Mid-South - are less likely to believe in anything outside the religious norm, said Michael Harrington, chair and professor of religion and philosophy at the University of Mississippi.
 
"I found that the more conservative the believer, the less receptive they are to this," Harrington said. "They tend to write it off to the work of the devil."
 
That's not true of Betty or her clients. The Verona psychic, who also asked that her identity be kept secret, said everything she does with her gift reflects God's will: He is the one who gave her the powers and He is the one who guides her visions.
 
A devout Christian, Betty does not advertise nor does she charge for her services because she says she's doing the work of the Lord. If she got greedy with her gift, she said, God would take it away.
 
(Le Coz, Mississippi "Daily Journal," 6/11/06).
 
[TBC: The Bible expressly forbids communication with the dead or dabbling in the occult. Consequently, one simply cannot be a "devout Christian" and a psychic.]