Paul,
We probably agree pretty much on this - yes I think it was child abuse too. Children have been known to commit suicide after less provocation than that.
I do think that any claim like that needs to be filtered carefully. If, for example, the 'seeing inside' seems to manifest itself as diagnosing serious illness, then that is what should be tested.
If some people really are psychic, that does not necessarily mean that they are scientifically knowledgeable. I remember a TV program about alternative medicine in which Richard Dawkins sampled various treatments. One female healer explained to him on camera that his DNA was the wrong shape and that she would perform a ceremony to fix the problem. My first reaction was to wince and react much like you or Chris might have done, but then I thought again. Suppose that woman really did have some healing ability (but absolutely no knowledge of science), and had endlessly heard the refrain "what is the scientific explanation" maybe she naively thought her explanation would make scientists accept her healing more!
It is important to test the effectiveness of the healing - not the 'theory' that may get proposed.
David  |