CHAPTER 5 - DEALING WITH SKEPTICS AND DISBELIEVERS
- It is very interesting how Coffey attempts to frame
the discussion concerning skeptics and disbelievers. (He knows who manages the discussion
often wins the outcome of it.) Coffey paints those who are skeptics as being uninterested
in the truth, which belongs to only those who think as he does. To him, you
either think in the same way he thinks or else you are someone who is not interested
in learning the truth.
- Coffey presents numerous stories from mothers (observe
that few episodes ever feature a child with both a mother and a father),
concerning a psychic kid going to a mental hospital. It has been my experience that
when it comes to events in peoples' lives that there are two sides to the story,
and then there is the truth. It appears that the tales presented in the book
paint schools and doctors as evil and psychic kids and their parents as good.
CHAPTER 6 - GOD NEVER HAD ANYTHING AGAINST PSYCHICS
- One of the realities that psychics like Chip fail to
deal with when it comes to psychics and crime is that there is not one
documented case of a psychic helping police solve a crime. This phenomenon has
not happened to date.
- Coffey chooses to start this chapter with yet
another anecdotal story we cannot document as true. Then he turns to a former
police officer to praise the show while the chapter supposedly focuses on God and
psychics. So why trot out the police officer in this section?
- Father Bob Bailey is used as proof that God endorses
psychics. All the proof we receive from Father Bailey is that he is open to people
that are psychic. There are no bible references given whatsoever. Note that Father
Bailey and Coffey are linked to the same paranormal reality show, namely "Paranormal
State". This is another show that has many questions raised concerning its
credibility as the same production company that produced it also produced "Psychic
Kids: Children of the Paranormal".
- Coffey states that if you are using the bible to
address apprehension concerning his show, this means that you are a bigot. Again,
he tries to frame the discussion to focus on him being right while everyone who
disagrees with him is wrong.
- Chip chooses a bible passage that is often used by
new age supporters to back their beliefs. John 3:7 "Ye must be born
again." This quote serves as a pillar for the reincarnation debate. But if
you read the full passage there is no way that it could mean what they want you
to think it does. "Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again."
Coffey also turns to a much used passage "Judge not, that ye be
judged." If we take it to the extreme, as Coffey suggests, this would mean
that all judges who oversee a court are headed for hell. Furthermore, anyone
impacted by a criminal is bad because they judge the criminal for inflicting
pain and suffering.
- Nor does Chip address the various passages in both
the New and the Old Testaments that raise issues with being psychic or talking
to the dead.
CHAPTER 7 - MOVING INTO ADULTHOOD
- This chapter should have been labeled LOOK AT ME! I'M
A FREAK, MOM! We receive no real information about how to help a psychic kid
move into adulthood. We read more self-promoting of Coffey's life which as I continued
reading, more doubts began to form about being told the truth.
We come to the end of the main text and I feel the
book falls short on the promises made by the publisher on what the book was
supposed to provide the reader. Let's take a look and see what we get:
* Determine if a child is really psychic—as opposed to
simply imaginative or seeking attention
Not done.
* Identify the different kinds of psychic abilities
kids (and adults) might have
Done but we are never told where the information came
from. The International Psychic Association?
* Gain control over when and how psychic information is received
Not done.
* Safely connect with others in the psychic community
Not done.
* Deal with skeptics and disbelievers:
Done but the only advice given is to call them bigots.
But most concerning is this passage:
NO one knows more about psychic kids than Chip Coffey,
and no expert on psychic kids is better known throughout the world. These kids
are widely misunderstood, misjudged, and misdiagnosed. In Growing Up Psychic,
Chip Coffey offers indispensable information for anyone who interacts with
these extraordinary youngsters—parents, educators, medical professionals,
mental health clinicians, members of the clergy, paranormal investigators—and
adults who faced the challenges of growing up psychic.
Where did Chip Coffey get his degree?
What level of degree did he receive?
What training and research has been done concerning psychic
kids?
What type of license or certification does he hold?
Has he taken part in any training or schooling since
he allegedly received his degree back in the nineteen-seventies?
Does he belong to the A.P.A. or any other professional
psychological organization? Has he taken part in research into any
psychological topic?
Has he been published concerning his psychic kids work
in any peer review publication?
EPILOGUE
There is no need to cover it.
GLOSSARY
We are presented with a list of terms and most of them
were not used in the book. There is no reason given for listing them and we
find at the end that his research into these terms from two websites: Wikipedia
and the Free Online Dictionary.
PRAYERS OF PROTECTION
My demon experts list that all of these prayers are easily
found online and offer the reader no insight.
TRUE TALES I NEVER TIRE OF TELLING
This section reads as though the book was falling
short of the length that his publisher was expecting so these were tacked on to
make the book longer. They read like the earlier tales he shares for more self-promotion.
The last story is troubling as it seems to me he is
profiting off the victims and the dead of 9/11. This is a date where many of us
lost loved ones and friends. Events concerning that day then and now should be
treated with the utmost respect.
