Christianity: For entertainment purposes only?

On Monday May 26th 2008, new legislation that has been described as the biggest shake up in consumer law for over forty years came in to force in the UK.One of the laws is directly related to the spiritual side of life.Under the 1951 Fraudulent Mediums Act, prosecutors had to prove that the psychic, medium or faith healer had intended to be fraudulent in order to secure a conviction.But under the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive the onus is now on the person providing the service to prove that they did not intentionally mislead their customers.This is directly affecting Spiritualist churches in the UK, who now have to inform their congregations that everything they read of hear at their Church is “for entertainment purposes only”.Here’s the actual requirement in place at a Spiritualist Church. The information presented in these pages is for entertainment purposes only.
Litz cannot guarantee the accuracy of any reading and does not make 'predictions.'
Any assessments of possibilities and potentials for the future should NOT be considered to be precise and final.
Litz will not knowingly give readings to any person or persons considered to be 'vulnerable' or likely to be impressionable - readings are strictly available to over 18's only.
A tape recording of all private sittings will be kept by Litz for future reference and is no longer available to the sitter due to recent legislative changes.
All contact with Spirit must be considered to be an 'experiment' of a scientific nature and is not a substitute for medical, financial or legal advice. But, why should it only be Spiritualist churches that are affected by this? Surely all churches should carry this disclaimer as they have about as much proof about the information that they promote as the spiritualists do?So, should your local church have a “for entertainment purposes only” sign outside their building, and should the minister, priest, pastor, or whatever, inform their congregation that everything they are going to read and hear for the remainder of the service is for entertainment purposes only?

How long would the RC Church last?

Well, the onus should now be on Christian churches to prove that they are not misleading the people that they give Bibles and help to.For example, claiming that a book provides the answer to eternal life is a claim that the person promoting should be able to prove, if not, then how can that person claim that they aren't misleading the 'consumer'?I am seriously considering reporting the next Christian preacher who stops me in the street and rattles a collection tin under my nose, then goes on about Jesus. I will play along, get their contact details, then report them to the police for breaking the law. Then we will see how the courts deal with it.

It wouldn't be a 999 call.Who do you call when you witness someone breaking the law, the police or baby Jesus?

Some do, some don't. the one I went to doesn't, but there's a collection tray passed round if you wish to donate. Oh indeed they do charge!Funerals and weddings are 2 examples. Ministers expect a donation for these 'services'. Getting married before God and all that, well the onus now has to be that the minister should provide proof of this claim. Like indulgences?

So are you saying that ALL psychics, Spiritualists, Faith healers etc are ALL intentionally misleading people?If it was as simple as saying that you firmly believe that what you are selling is real then no one would be breaking the law. AS I read it, the onus has moved from having to prove the psychic (and others) are not providing a genuine product to the psychic etc now having to prove that what they provide is genuine. Since they cannot prove that they are passing messages on from the dead, then they now have to state that what they do is for entertainment purposes. Now, I do not see any difference between a tarot card reader charging a few quid for a reading and a church minister claiming that your dearly departed will now be skipping about the clouds with the baby Jesus. But that isn't the way it would go.I said I'd take the person's contact details, I would then go to the police, or phone them, and make a complaint. I would tell the police officer that I believe that a law has been broken and give them the details. Since a complaint has been made the police are obliged to interview the person that the complaint has been made about.If you are at a 'psychic night' and someone is claiming to give you a message from a dead relative and doesn't state that the information is for information purposes only, then who do you inform about this criminal offence?Edited by Brian, : spelling

I've never been to a free psychic night.I don't think you can charge, say 15 for a ticket, then give a reading without making the entertainment pronouncement, can't be as easy as that.But if Spiritualist churches, which is an established religion, APPEARS to be getting discriminated against here.Would Spiritualist churches be exempt if they just asked for voluntary donations?

Apart from being a teacher at a large secondary school in Scotland, I help out once a week at a local community centre to assist adults with their literacy and numeracy skills. I also have a Bible Study group at University where I help undergraduates to study the Bible and help with their coursework. I also help my ex students via email with their continuing studies. I have three different charities that I donate various amounts to every month. I also help out 3 lunch hours per week at the school's pupil support dept, and I run a successful archaeology club.The secodnary school teaching I get paid for, everything else I do because I want to.Christians help people because they want a reward when they die, I do it because I care about people and I know that sometimes a little bit of help can get you on the road to where you want to go.

How would a psychic medium prove that they weren't misleading a client? How can they prove that they get messages from dead people?This is my point. If psychics have to prove that what they offer is genuine then why don't Christian ministers? If psychics need to provide a disclaimer that what they provide is for 'entertainment purposes only', then why shouldn't ministers provide the same disclaimer?When a minister takes 50 donation or blessing fo rhis church for providing a funeral service, then why shouldn't that minister have the burden of proof that your loved one is indeed safe in the arms of Jesus? At funerals, Christian ministers always go on about Jesus victory over death, well let them proove this victory or make the statement "Jesus rose from the dead so that we can have eternal life, however this information if for entertainment purposes only".

This WAS the OLD law. Now the onus is on the psychic to prove they aren't misleading.I can only really comment on the wages of Church of Scotland ministers, who get around 23k a year plus free accomodation, which is usually a rather large manse.Not a bad living for providing a product that you cannot prove exists!Although this thread is partly tongue in cheek, when you stand back and think about it, what other industry would get away with being paid to represent something that probably doesn't exist, and if it doesn't your clients have no way of compensation! Edited by Brian, : added more info

Can you explain how I can be out of touch with reality when the thing I described happens all the time???????? So it could indeed be YOU that's out of touch with reality? perhaps it doesn't happen on your streets, perhaps it does, but your TV evangelists sure are raking in tens of millions of dollars from the gullible American public. Now THAT deosn't happen in Scotland. A tiny majority do Buzz. I perhaps see it more because Glasgow is such a big city, and the uni seems to be a happy hunting ground for some Christian and other religious groups. Yes, we have the freedom to tell the morons where to stick their collection boxes as well.But, depending on how I feel, I will have a chat with them, and I havent yet spoken to one that has a clue about the history and development of their faith. In fact, it is frequently very embarrassing at how little they actually do know about anything to do with their faith.However, there's no Scottish Benny Hinn or Peter Popoff or any of those other obvious fakes that crazy Americans give millions of dollars to.Popoff actually gets caught cheating, goes bankrupt, and now moronic Americans are giving him millions of dollars again! What a place to live, it must be like living inside a fairytale book.

Hoots mon!I am neither Celtic nor pure!And sometimes it is so cold here that you don't need to put woad on to look blue.

I never said this. I'm not changing anything.My initial post was regarding steert preachers in the UK,and obviously where I live in particular. Street preachers in the USA are not covered by the new UK law, so your mention of USA street preachers is irrelevant.Are you telling me that there are no ministers/preachers/priests/pastors etc that do not make a wage from preaching?

Can you prove this or is this information for entertainment purposes only? Edited by Brian, : No reason given.

And scripture is quite clear about what will happen if you do not reach out to others with love and kindness.Yahweh is very good at threatening people into doing what He wants them to, and Christians will do it because they know how evil and jealous yahweh is.