Psychic Kids and Prophetic Gifts

In the documentary, Jesus Camp, children's pastor Becky Fischer teaches children to practice their "prophetic gifts" and to see heavenly visions.

"I can go into a playground of kids that don't know anything about Christianity, lead them to the Lord in a matter of, just no time at all, and just moments later they can be seeing visions and hearing the voice of God, because they're so open," she says, "They are so usable in Christianity."

The negative reactions to Jesus Camp have resulted in the camp being shut down and in heavy criticism of Pastor Fischer and the alleged psychological damage that the children in her care suffer. In the film, Fischer even drew criticism from other Christians.

However, Fischer is not alone in her belief that children have some sort of special ability to see heavenly visions or otherworldly beings. A&E's Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal focuses on children who can supposedly communicate with the spirits of the dead. I've personally known many people who believe that children are gifted with special abilities to see ghosts or to predict the future. One of my closest friends believes that her childhood imaginary friend was actually a poltergeist. When she was a child, she was "open" enough to see it.

Scientific evidence shows that children are not any more "open" to paranormal experiences than adults. They are more impressionable, more easily manipulated, and more vulnerable to the power of suggestion. If anything, these traits suggest that they have less insight than adults, and that they are in need of our protection. For exhibit A, let's look at television commercials aimed at children.

If you have kids, you've probably noticed that toy commercials and breakfast cereal ads are not aimed at the parents. You never hear "buy this for your kids; it'll make them like you more!" Instead, the message is, "Hey, kids! Ask your parents to buy our product for you!" Why would it make any logical sense to appeal to the children rather than to the parents, who ultimately make decisions about what to buy? It's because children are more vulnerable to sensationalist advertising. Advertisers know this, and they also know that if a child wants something, he'll beg Mom and Dad to buy it for him. Children's ability to distinguish the real from the fantastic is still developing during early to middle elementary school. This is one reason why there has been proposed legislation to limit the amount of commercials that air during television shows aimed at children.

Now, think about this same concept in terms of seeing visions, ghosts, fairies, or other things beyond the realm of the visible world. Children's natural imaginations combined with encouragement from adults can easily cause them to believe that they are "seeing" something otherworldly. This is nothing more than the power of suggestion.

Adults have mature, rational minds. If they participate in psychic readings or other New Age services, it can be harmless fun. Although adults are capable of being duped and manipulated, they are not intellectually helpless.

Paster Fischer describes children as "usable" without realizing the implications of this term. She may not intend to do psychological damage to the children in their care, but it seems likely that this will be the ultimate result. At best, she is discouraging their critical thinking skills and impressing her world view on them. Because of children's inability to distinguish the fantastic from the real, it is unlikely that they are capable of seeing any real phenomena that adults do not.