There is no doubt that there are con-artists who take advantage of human desire to believe in a spiritual realm where those who have died continue to exist and watch over those of us still living.  Likewise, there is no doubt that there are those among us who are desperate to experience a connection with the other side, desperate for a message of comfort.

Contrast that with the fact that the Bible is filled with stories of those who claim to have a special connection with the spirit realm,. Yet, when we are confronted with contemporary prophets or mediums, we are skeptical.

We are confronted with two opposing realities.

Over the course of centuries, the prophets of the Bible have become accepted because – well, because it is in the Bible, so it must be true. Few of us have paused to consider that those who recorded these biblical tales might have had their own agenda. Perhaps some of these tales were exaggerated or distorted to prove a point. Perhaps the subject of some of these stories had their own type of profit in mind.

When we are exposed to tales of contemporary psychics or mediums, we tend to immediately assume that there is fraudulent intent. In today’s culture, we have become aware of too many con artists who go to great lengths to capitalize on desperate human emotions. So, we immediately assume those people are faking it. We are immediately skeptical.

So, why do we accept at face value, the tales from the Bible, while, at the same time, instinctively reject contemporary psychics or mediums?

While healthy skepticism protects us from being deceived, it might also prevent us from receiving legitimate messages from the realm beyond our earthly existence.

It is another reality that there are people who demonstrate that they have a special talent or ability. There are those who have a photographic memory that allows them to recall specific details of a particular date in history, up to and including the weather on that date. There are those who can perform complex mathematical calculations without the use of a computer or calculator. There are those who can create lifelike illustrations with a brush and paints and those who can compose soul-stirring music.

In many of these cases, those with these special abilities are using the same tools or skill sets that are available to us all, yet they are able to multiply their effectiveness beyond what most of us are capable of doing.

The Bible, and the stories in the Bible are undoubtedly inspired. But the Bible is not the whole story of our existence. It does not reveal the secrets of chemistry, biology, or physics. Those secrets have been revealed over time by humans with enhanced abilities.

The fact is – there is more to our existence than most of us are capable of witnessing on our own. Those with that special gift of seeing beyond our earthly reality have now, and in the past, helped us see the greater reality.

Perhaps we need to be more open to today’s psychics and mediums. Critical and skeptical – yes. But, when the messages they provide are clothed in love and hope, when the provider has little or nothing to gain from relating these messages, perhaps we need to be prepared to incorporate these experiences into our blended belief system.