Growing up in Christian house, this was a very important topic for me.
I always thought about it this way:
To be completely honest, these things *could* be evil. they could be creations of Satan himself, to convince you that God doesn't exist, as revenge towards God for creating you with a soul. At least that's what most Catholic officials would say. I don't hang out with God on the weekends, so it's hard to ask for verification.
But what are the chances that these things are evil? As we are being told that the Bible says that these this are evil, lets look at the Bible, ans assume that it is true..
Assuming we were made in God image, I can only assume that logic is part of His existence. If God is not a logical being, then we are not very close to him in "image", and therefore much of how we interpret the bible may be wrong. No way of knowing without talking to him directly. So probable assumption 1: God is logical.
God is omniscient. Given that the bible is used as the source of evidence as to the entire idea that these psychic abilities are 'evil', we must first be able to assume that the modern interpretation of the bible is correct. if it is wrong, then the entire idea of Satan and his evil goals may be wrong. Assuming that the modern interpretation of the bible is correct, then because it says that God is omniscient. So, probable assumption 2: God is omniscient
God is omnipotent. Again, given that for this argument, the bible must be correct, then because it says that God is all powerful, then he must be. So, probable assumption 3: God is omnipotent.
We now have the ability to logically assume that God is logical, he knows all, and can do absolutely anything.
Now, according to his Son (again, we are assuming that the bible is correct) he is a God of love and forgiveness. The hardships of life are there so that we can be tested as worthy or not to enter heaven.
We now have enough of a basis to speak on the validity of the idea that psychic abilities are evil.
What are the sources of psychic ability?
1)Satan – in this case, the abilities are evil, and only exist in an attempt to detract you from God and the message of Jesus.
2)God – in this case, God created the abilities, so they could be good or evil, depending on his goals.
2a)If they are made in his image, then they are good- things we have because we are connected to a living God.
2b)If he created these things, wanting us to not use them as a test of our faith, then they can be considered evil.
Number one is doubtful. To show people that something outside of the obvious world exists would undermine his entire mission of tempting people away from God. The easiest way would simply get people to believe in nothing outside of the physical. As Jesus himself said “A house divided cannot stand”. If he had created psychic abilities, then he would be hurting his own cause.
Number two-a is possible, and the abilities are not evil.
Number two-b is also possible, and the abilities are evil.
Given that Jesus himself performs acts of psychic ability (miracles), and he was without sin in any way according to the bible, the miracles he performed couldn’t be evil. There does not appear to be an innate difference between psychic ability and the miracles performed by Jesus (an idea additionally backed by the Bible itself, which suggests that John the Baptist was a miracle worker (healer) too. He was not the Son of God, yet worked miracles. He was blessed with the honor of baptizing Jesus for his actions. Certainly not the reward for a sinner, given that God is logical, as assumed above. And don’t forget about Joseph, who was a very good Jewish man, and who interpreted the dreams of the Egyptian Pharaoh to gain his freedom. Nothing in that story about either the dreams or the interpretation being evil. They were messages of the future from God, according to Joseph.) That God is loving and forgiving, even if we exersize psychic abilities that are evil, because we have no reason to assume they are evil, outside of listening to a church hierarchy frighteningly similar to the Jewish hierarchy Jesus came to earth to overthrow in the first place, it would seem that as long as we believe in him, we're good.
So given all the above information, if we assume that the bible is correct in order to first assume that God, Satan, miracles, etc, all exist, then the bible itself proves that the use of psychic abilities is not evil in Gods eyes. And most likely is not created by Satan.
I see no logical reason, given the information on the book central to the Christian religion, why psychic abilities would be considered evil. And if they are, then there is no reason for them to keep us out of heaven, as long as we also believe in Jesus, and follow his lead.
Historically, the first Christians believed in re-incarnation, celebrated Christian holidays on pagan holy days, used the pentagram to represent Christ’s five wounds, so on and so forth. The introduction of the idea that witchcraft was “evil”, as opposed to just “dumb” (you idiot, you’re not worshipping the right God, stupid), came late into the 1st millennium, when the Popes began backing the idea of active converting of the members of other religions. The word ‘Pagan’ specifically meant people who lived out in the wilderness, similar to the word “hick” today. It took on the meaning of “non-Christian” only after all good Christians were called upon by the pope to convert the pagans out in the wilderness. Because Christians were civilized people, only those who would live out in the forest in small villages, certainly weren’t real Christians. So the meaning of the word Pagan changed. The assumption also was that these hicks went around doing bad stuff all the time, killing babies as sacrifices to their non-Christian gods, changing from human into animal (forsaking their souls in the process, as animals don’t have souls), causing everything from pox to poor manners, they were obviously evil. The fact that there was no evidence that these people did any of these things didn’t seem to bother anyone. Given that they proclaimed psychic abilities (talking with animals and plants), those abilities were attached to the idea of evil, and suddenly, people who in the Bible are praised as miracle workers are being slaughtered as heretics, demons, etc.
If God exists, and he created you, then he gave you a gift. Don’t be as closed minded as the people who told you these things were evil; try out your gift, use it to help other people, improve the world, and spread the message of God while doing it, if you wish. You will be called names, ridiculed, laughed at, and told you will go to hell for th ethings you are doing. And you will be in good company; Jesus is in that group himself, don’t forget.
The modern Church, and the book they read every Sunday are two very different things.
edit:
and inresponse to anyone who says "you shouldn't be thinking about these things so much, just have faith", remind them of the story of the prodical son. To recover a lost sheep is twice as grand as having a sheep the entire time. go think and explore. if you find your back, you will believe twice as much. Jesus said so. and he's correct in everything, remember