112233 said:
The ouija board was only used in the very first channelings, and never again once Jane learned to channel. She sat in a room while her husband took dictation.
I understood that. But it does put a dent in the credibility of all else that follows, if you agree that it has been debunked, which I understand you do not.
"As far as Houdini "debunking" the ouija board, come on, dude. He went in with the idea that it was all fake, and so his results matched his expectations. Do you think Houdini also "debunked" the existence of the afterlife since he said if there was one, he would make contact? I didn't check out the penn and teller thing, I don't really care what professional skeptics are paid to say, anymore than I care what professional "psychics" like Sylvia Brown has to say."
Well, like any good sceptic, I respect your scepticism - try the experiment yourself then. Place a few friends all the way around a table and use a ouija board according to the instructions. Then blindfold them. Still works, as your participants have a memory of where things are placed on the board (see Penn and Teller video). Then without telling them, turn the ouija board any way you like, but at least 90 degrees, so that it is in a different position. Have your friends try it again. Their hands will guide the indicator to the place the "yes" or "no" or appropriate letter USED to be, and where the participants remember them to have been. And it's not the case of spirits not being able to read UPSIDE DOWN or SIDEWAYS, because there are people all around the board, so for some of them what was upside down for the first 2 iterations is now right side up. If this does not convince you, I don't know what will!
Incidentally, I am not saying spirits, from the afterlife or other, don't exist. What I believe , or you or anyone else believes, has no relevance. All I am saying is that this does not prove they do and that it is false to claim that ouija boards allow communication with spirits.
And I repeat that I understand this has little bearing on what the videos expound, except that their credibility has been indelibly stained when what follows is the result of a session with a ouija board!
It's healthy to ask questions and challenge the claims and ideas of others. This is how we learn and progress.
Cheers,
JBArk