By James Randi. 20 Major Aspects of Liars, Cheats, and Frauds.

Following are the 20 major hallmarks of paranormal chicanery, per James Randi, from his book Flim Flam, ps. 37-41, ISBN 0-87975-198-3. Just read them and see how well and often they appear in [your own church's claims.]

1. It is claimed that the subject does not seek money or fame, and thus no motive to deceive exists.
2. The subject (a child, peasant, or sweet little old lady) is said to be incapable of the techniques required; lack of sophistication precludes deception.
3. It is said that the subject has failed to pass tests designed to determine if the necessary skill (that which would be necessary to fake it, etc.) is present.
4. Faults discovered in the story or performance tend to prove the phenomenon real, it is agreed, since a clever trickster would not make such basic errors.
5. If a phenomenon is consistent with previously reported ones, this is cited as strong evidence that it is genuine.
6. It is claimed that critics give poor or insufficient reasons for doubting reported paranormal events and are therefore not to be taken seriously.
7. Prominent personalities lend their support to the claims and are considered unassailable because of prestige, academic background, and so on.
8. Similarly, supposed experts are called in to verify the claims.
9. The findings of experts who are critical are minimized or ignored.
10. Those who allege paranormal events are equivocal and evasive, allowing investigators to assume facts and fill in details in support of their claims.
11. Conflicting versions or details of a paranormal event are ignored.
12. A subject's ability to perform trickery is de-emphasized or ignored.
13. Any controls that seem scientific are used to provide authentication, whether applicable or not.
14. It is said that the subject cannot produce phenomena on command or on a regular basis, since such abilities are ephemeral and sporadic.
15. It is claimed that conditions that make deception possible are also those that allow the miracles to take place, and miracles are the more probably explanation.
16. Unless the critics can explain away _all_ the reported details, the residue is considered an irreducible basis for validation.
17. We are told that subjects do not do well when persons with "negative vibrations" are nearby.
18. It is claimed that when money is paid for the services of a psychic, or the psychic powers are used to earn money, the powers are defeated. On the other hand -- since parapsychologists like to have it both ways -- money rewards, they also claim, tend to encourage performance.
19. It is argued that too many controls on an experiment cause negative results.
20. Any trickery detected by the investigators may be attributed to the subject's desire to please, and therefore there is a compusion to cheat.

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