Why are we humans such a gullible species?  Our thought processes have advanced exponentially over the last thousand years.  Yet we continue to cling to beliefs without simple evidence.  We're not just talking about religion either.  There are many other areas of human belief where people just turn off their minds and blindly accept claims on faith alone.  It's truly a flaw in the human design.  Why don't we ever see any of the headlines below?  Because so-called psychics cannot see the future.  News flash, right?!  Surely these would be simple acts if they had any powers of predicting the future.

"Psychic Wins Lottery" (Credulous Press, 7/1/2003)- After winning the largest PowerBall jackpot ever, a New Jersey psychic says, "Gosh, I don't know why I never thought of doing this before!"  He continued, "Now, I'm going to play all the state lotteries!"  If anyone needs some extra money, just write me.  I'll have more than I can spend."  After a moment of thought, he continued, "Never mind.  You don't need to write!  I already know who is going to write me, so I'll go ahead and send the money."

"Psychic Barred from Casinos" (Gullible Sun Times, 7/4/2003) - After posting huge quarterly losses, casino owners in Las Vegas, Reno and Atlantic City all blamed a single Paris, Texas man who appears to be a legitimate psychic.  After reviewing video surveillance tapes, they discovered this man had won in every throw of the dice.  He only lost occasionally at the roulette wheel which he claims was on purpose, so as not to draw attention to himself.

"Thousands Saved from Volcanoes Wrath" (Daily Naiveté, 7/21/2003) - An estimated 237,000 people are living today in the outskirts of Mexico City because they listened to a local psychic.  Back in April, the man warned residents to evacuate the city by 4:23 p.m. on 7/20/2003.  He correctly predicted that Mount Popocatepetl ("the smoking mountain") would erupt and bury parts of the city.  In an interview, the man stated, "I only wish more people had listened to me."

Others in our society live wealthy lives at the expense of other gullible people.  People market fad diets, faith healing, knife-less surgeries and stock market predictions (to name a few).  And, we continue to buy their video tapes, books and newsletters.  Haven't we learned anything?  In many areas, we apply the time-tested methods of science.  The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) regulates new medicines and requires that they are carefully studied before being released.  Do we need similar government agencies to "protect us" in other areas?  How about the Predictive Review Board which requires individuals to win a dozen lotteries prior to becoming a certified psychic?  Or, Investment Advice Panel which requires stock market analysts to earn no less than a 50% return on their investments before marketing their advice.  Clearly, we would benefit from a Religion Certification Administration which would review the various scriptures for facts.  Shouldn't there be interview panels, tests or court proceedings for religious leaders prior to allowing them to teach our children?  We require this in our public schools.  Yet, we allow religious teachings without even requiring the teacher to show up and sign the paperwork... or teach the class - whether they be God, Allah, Jesus Christ, Zeus, Jehovah, Patecatl, Imhotep, Apollo, Ganesh, Anshar, Thor, Kokopelli or the Tooth Fairy.