Confronted about abuse at a Pueblo, Colorado special needs center, the staff had a novel defense: “paranormal activity.” That’s right, ghosts scratched words like “die” and “kill” into people with severe disabilities.
Among the paranormal activities was a patient burned by a hairdryer.
The Department of Human Services oversees the Pueblo Regional Center which released a statement reading that it will “continue to improve staff training in a number of areas.”
Hmmm, I assume that would include not just the normal training but paranormal training?
peltonrandy – bet you have never been to an exorcism. That would make a believer out of you.
I’m betting he has never been married. Because some of Penelope’s male divorce clients swear up and down that their wive’s head can spin round and round while they cuss everything Holy and spew out venom and bile.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Well, that is a bet you lose. Been married 35 years.
You are correct. Never been to one. I don’t waste my time on superstitious nonsense, other than to challenge others when they makes factual claims based on superstitious nonsense. Closest I have ever come to an exorcism was watching one on T.V. many years ago when I watched the movie The Exorcist. Thought that even for a movie theme it was a preposterous idea. View hasn’t changed in the years since.
peltonrandy – the priest who really did the exorcism that The Excorcist is based on was the proctor on my floor in college. Really nice guy. Never spoke about his ‘sideline.’ He would just disappear for a couple of days and then he would be back, looking like he had done a 1000 mile hike. It would take him a couple of weeks to get back to normal.
Although all priest have the right to do exorcisms, only a few do them and fewer do them regularly. I wouldn’t be too quick to scoff.
No, you mean the priest who has self-deluded himself into believing he performed an exorcism. There is no credible empirical evidence that demons of any kind exist. So whatever that priest did he was not performing an exorcism on an actual demonic entity.. Perhaps you wouldn’t be too quick to scoff at such claims, but I don’t hesitate even a moment to do so. You are free to share in this delusional belief in demons but don’t bore me with your delusions. Trained as I have been in scientific skepticism and critical thinking, I do not take such claims seriously given that there is zero credible, scientifically verifiable evidence for their existence. So stop wasting your time talking to me about them unless or until you provide a credible, compelling, convincing body of evidence for the existence of demons. And if you do attempt this, please save yourself the embarrassment of quoting or using the Bible as a source of evidence for their existence. Also, don’t bother with anecdotal stories about priests who claim to have performed exorcisms or individuals who claim to have been possessed by demons. Such tales are not credible nor reliable evidence.
peltonrandy – since you have never attended an exorcism you are in no position to affirm or deny what the priest said or did. I have never seen a V-2 rocket fly, however I do believe they did fly and did do damage.
First of all I never said anything about what the priest said. I said that there is no evidence for the existence of demons, therefore whatever he was doing he was not expelling demons from someone’s body, even though he held the deluded belief that he was. It isn’t necessary to attend an exorcism to call into question the claim that a person is possessed by a demon. Without credible evidence that demons exist, there is no credible reason to accept the premise of an exorcism. But then given your complete ignorance on the various intellectual tools called skepticism, critical thinking, and argumentation, it is no surprise to me that you don’t get this.
As for V-2 rockets flying, I too accept that they did fly. But I do so on the basis of credible evidence — which, again, is lacking in any claims that demons exist. I’ve seen actual footage of V-2 rockets flying. The science of physics explains how it is that any rocket can fly. So when someone claims that rockets fly it is possible to accept this because the science of physics allows us to understand how this is possible. Combine this with the actual empirical evidence that V-rockets actually existed and were produced by the Germans during World War II there its rational and reasonable justification to conclude that they existed and that they flew — again because there is evidence for both of these conclusions. Have you gotten the point yet? It’s all about evidence. Simply stated, there is evidence that V-2 rockets existed and that they flew. There is no evidence that demons exist. Therefore, simple logic dictates that exorcisms don’t actually expel demons from a person’s body. I do acknowledge that there is evidence that priests perform what they call exorcisms. But there is no evidence — to belabor the point — that they are actually expelling demons from a person’s body during these rituals because there is no evidence that demons actually exist.
Again, I strongly urge you to sign up for one or more courses at your local university on critical thinking. In such a course, most likely to be found in the Philosophy program, you will learn about logic, skepticism, the concept of evidence and how to evaluate evidence. You are in great need of instruction on these subjects and concepts.
peltonrandy – got an A in my Critical Thinking and Analysis class in graduate school. The fact that you cannot accept the unseeable is not my fault. The fact that you cannot think outside the box is not my fault.
Several possibilities arise. (1) The course you took was not very rigorous or intellectually demanding. (2) The professor was a poor instructor and misinformed you. (3) You are the victim of an unrecognized cognitive bias that results in you failing to apply what you learned to the subject of religion. My guess is the third possibility. Many people fall victim to cognitive biases that result in the inconsistent application of critical thinking skills. No one who believes in demons is actually applying critical thinking and analysis to the issue. I accept plenty of things that are unseeable. Air for example. Atoms would be another But I do so because there is actually evidence for each of these things. There is no credible empirical evidence for demons. Believing in things that have no evidence supporting their existence is not thinking outside the box. It is an exercise in self-delusion.
peltonrandy – your problem, and it is a problem, is that you think that anyone who does not agree with the way you think is not thinking critically. That is faulty logic. However, you do think a lot of yourself.
There’s € 25K in it if they can prove it…. offer open to all!
http://skepp.be/en/sisyphus-prize-1000000-euro#.V_JoBLvr0uQ
Many caretakers of mentally disabled people are truly compassionate and caring. Others are desperate for any job. Caring for the disabled has been a serious challenge for centuries. Caring for the disabled can be mentally and physically grueling and should be among the most highly compensated jobs while sitting in a cushy corner office on the 65th floor, making decisions, and strutting around at cocktail parties, is a job that millions of people would do for no compensation at all. Our system for rewarding people is upside down.
Why is Turley stooping to National Enquirer standards? Where is the evidence? He expects his readers to swallow scandalous headlines on command?
It’s not paranormal – it is demonic and it is indeed real whether you want to believe it or not.
If you want anyone to believe in demons then provide the evidence that they actually exist. An impossible task given that there is no credible empirical evidence for the existence of any supernatural beings, including demons. You are free to hold such delusional beliefs in mythical creatures, but do the rest of a favor and don’t bore us with your delusions.
CALL GHOSTBUSTERS!