Edgar Cayce
From SkepticWiki
Edgar Cayce (March 18, 1877 – January 3, 1945) (pronounced 'Casey') was a self-proclaimed psychic and healer. He claimed to have a channeling ability and used this to glean hidden knowledge on subjects as varied as health, astrology, reincarnation, and Atlantis. Although Cayce lived before the emergence of the New age movement, he remains a major influence on its teachings.
Cayce was celebrated towards the end of his life in some quarters for his prophecy. Amongst other things, he predicted that California will slide into the ocean and that New York City will be destroyed in some sort of cataclysm. This overshadowed his work as a healer (the vast majority of his readings were given for people who were sick) and his theological interests (Cayce was a lifelong and devout member of the Disciples of Christ). Today there are thousands of students devoted to studying Cayce's teachings. Most are located in the United States and Canada, but Edgar Cayce Centers can be found in 25 other countries. The Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE), based in Virginia Beach, is the main organization promoting interest in Cayce.
[edit] Skeptical Response
Skeptics challenge Cayce's claim to psychic and healing abilities and conservative Christians question his unorthodox answers on religious matters.
Cayce had predicted that by late 2001 a great chamber beneath the Sphinx, by the Great Pyramid of Giza, should have been opened. He believed that inside the chamber is a magical library, the distilled knowledge of the residents of Atlantis. The fact that this did not occur has, along with other failures, not deterred Cayce's devotees.
Detractors have portrayed him as an attention-seeker, pointing out that many of his prophecies have not stood the test of time, or seem absurdly simple with hindsight. As a healer, a success rate of "over 85 per cent" has never been independently verified and many of his healing claims are regarded as unscientific since they could not be replicated.
[edit] Links and References
- Randi, James. Flim-Flam! (Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books,1982), ch. 9.
- The Fortean Times on Edgar Case
- The Skeptic's Dictionary on Edgar Case
- Edgar Case: American Prophet
