Leah Hott David G. Bromley

John Edward

JOHN EDWARD TIMELINE

1969 (October 19):  John Edward McGee was born in Queens, New York.

1985:  Edward received psychic reading from Lydia Clar, who told him she had been sent to set him on the path to fulfill his psychic abilities.

1986:  Edward began communicating with spirits of the deceased while working at local “psychic fairs.”

1989:  Edward received a series of messages from his mother following her death.

1990s (early):  Edward struggled to accommodate increasing demands for private readings and jobs as a phlebotomist and dance instructor.

1990s (mid):  Edward decided to devote professional attention to his mediumship.

1998:  Edward published his first book, One Last Time.

2000:  Edward began producing and hosting Crossing Over.

2004:  Crossing Over was cancelled.

2006 (March):  Edward began producing and hosting John Edward Cross Country.

2008 (November):  John Edward Cross Country was cancelled after three seasons.

2011 (October):  Edward launched The Five , an interactive online forum, through JohnEdward.net.

2013:  The Five was renamed Evolve . Edward launched the web series Evolve With John Edward.

FOUNDER/GROUP HISTORY

John Edward McGee, Jr. was born on October 19, 1969 in the Queens borough of New York City. The only child born to John and Perinda McGee, an Irish-American police officer and an Italian-American secretary, Edward lived in an apartment in the middle-class Glen Oaks neighborhood until his parents separated when he was in the sixth grade. Reportedly identifying more strongly with his mother and maternal relatives, eleven-year-old John and his mother moved into his grandmother’s home in Glen Cove, Long Island. Thereafter, Edward was surrounded by his large, Roman Catholic, Italian-American family. His grandmother, Josephine Esposito, had eleven children; and shortly after Edward and his mother began sharing her home, Edward’s aunt (his mother’s younger sister) moved into the house with her husband and infant son. Moreover, Edward recalls frequent visits from aunts, uncles, and cousins, large family gatherings and meals every weekend, and despite being an only child, never feeling as such due to a multitude of cousins “looking after [him] like big brothers and sisters” (Edward 1998). Edward developed a close relationship with his uncle Joey, whom he has described as a free-spirited “‘60s-type guy,” introducing him to spiritual activities such as yoga and meditation. Joey and his second wife, Debbie, a tarot card-reader, introduced Edward to the concept of psychic energies. Furthermore, Edward’s mother possessed a profound interest in supernatural abilities, and throughout John’s teenage years she would visit psychics regularly and frequently invite them to the house for large gatherings that typically consisted of psychic readings and séances. Although having spent his formative years surrounded by paranormal ideologies and activities, Edward was hesitant to believe in their reality, despite the fact that he reportedly began to display psychic abilities at an early age. Edward recollects displaying abilities, such as predicting visits from family and friends, being able to “see” words in his head and spell them prior to his learning to read and write, and recalling family history that occurred before he was born. Furthermore, he recalls the feeling of having lived a previous life, remembering events which occurred “before [he] came down here” (Edward 1998; “Who Is Psychic Medium John Edward?” n.d.). However, Edward failed to interpret these events as having any supernatural significance until his teenage years.

At the age of fifteen, John was told that he was experiencing complications in his thyroid following a routine physical examination. He was referred to an endocrinologist who discovered what appeared to be a tumor in the gland. While further tests revealed that the tumor did not exist, the experience would prove a defining event in Edward’s life as it brought him into contact with psychic Lydia Clar. Upon receiving the news of her son’s potential ailment, John’s mother sought the help of Clar, whose reading she found to be strikingly accurate. Edward’s mother invited Clar to their home to conduct readings on the rest of the family, including John himself. A skeptic at the time, John reportedly entered his own reading with the intention of disproving her legitimacy. However, as Clar began to uncover events from John’s past as well as thoughts and emotions he was harboring, he began to question his own disbelief rather than Clar’s ability. The psychic then explained to Edward that he possessed a spiritual gift and that she had been sent to set him on the path to fulfill his psychic abilities. Following his encounter with Lydia Clar, Edward underwent a period of self-discovery in which he sought understanding of his abilities and how to channel them. His journey led him to Sandi Anastasi, who operated the Astrological Institute of Integrated Studies, an educational organization geared toward refining paranormal abilities. Under Anastasi’s instruction, Edward developed his psychic abilities and became skilled in numerology and tarot (“Astrological Institute,” n.d.).

Edward began conducting card readings on his family members and friends and soon became involved in local “psychic fairs.” Still in high school and the youngest psychic present, he attended these events every Sunday for the next year. Although he initially had no intention of making a career of his abilities, his life would take another turn when one Sunday, in the midst of a reading, he was met with what he has described as a new energy. Until that point, Edward’s readings predicted future events, such as changes in occupation or relationships; however, this new energy brought a sensation he has likened to receiving transmission from two separate radio stations simultaneously. He began seeing names, which he recited to the woman for whom he was conducting the reading. She informed him that they were all names of relatives no longer living, but who had been very close to her in life. Edward initially interpreted this experience as a separate manifestation of the same ability; specifically, because the deceased had played an important role in the woman’s life, it would make sense that they would appear in her reading. However, as these visions became more frequent and refined, Edward became determined to understand them and began conducting research on communication with spirits. His research led him to a medium named Shelley Peck, who helped him to better comprehend his ability. Even as these communications grew stronger and surpassed his psychic abilities, Edward did not consider himself a medium until his mother died from cancer when he was nineteen. Following her death, Edward received a number of messages from his mother, both individually and through Shelley Peck, to whom he had become close. These communications had a considerable impact on how Edward interpreted his ability. He began billing himself as a medium at psychic fairs and holding private reading sessions, seeking to help other grieving family members and friends to reconnect with their loved ones as he was able to do.

Edward began to attract a considerable amount of attention as a medium throughout the early 1990s, receiving calls from clients and radio stations across the United States requesting private reading sessions and interviews. During this time Edward also took a job as a phlebotomist at a local hospital while earning a degree in Health Care Administration from Long Island University. In 1992, he began attending classes at a nearby dance studio where he would meet his future wife Sandra. By the time they were married in 1995, Edward had begun teaching courses in ballroom dance (Edward 2003; Gliatto 2002). He has reflected upon this period, recalling feeling as though he were leading two distinct lives: a “normal” life and one characterized by his mediumship (Edward 1998). However, as he struggled to accommodate the increasing number of requests for readings and media appearances, Edward made a final career change, deciding to direct his full attention to his work as a medium.

Edward’s first book, an autobiography titled One Last Time , was published in early 1998 and immediately attracted a considerable amount of media attention. He appeared on Larry King Live in October of the same year and a number of radio talk shows. In 2000, Edward began producing and hosting his own television show, Crossing Over , which aired through 2004 on the Sci Fi network. The program featured Edward conducting readings seemingly at random on members of a studio audience of about 200 individuals. Following the show’s cancellation, Edward continued to make media appearances, author books about his experiences as a medium, and conduct private reading sessions, which had accumulated a waiting time of several years. In March of 2006, Edward began hosting a second television program, John Edward Cross Country , which aired on the WE tv network until November of 2008. The program was formatted in a similar fashion to Crossing Over ; however, it also featured Edward revisiting and interviewing clients after their readings to ascertain how the session affected them spiritually (Logan 2006).

Edward currently resides in Long Island with his wife and two children, Justin and Olivia. In recent years, he has connected with large audiences through international speaking tours, which have made stops in Canada, England, Australia, and South Africa. He has continued to write and publish books, including a fiction novel titled Fallen Masters , which was published in 2012. He has made frequent media appearances on talk shows such as Dr. Phil, The Today Show, and Dateline.

DOCTRINES/BELIEFS

While John Edward was raised in the Roman Catholic tradition, he reportedly began to question his religious identity from an earlyage. Throughout his childhood, he attended weekly mass and was encouraged to participate in church activities; however, he recalls approaching religion with a sense of skepticism, conducting independent research on religious traditions outside of his own. This sense of separation was, to an extent, both fueled and intensified by Edward’s psychic abilities. As his abilities began to play a larger role in his life and he started to interpret them in a paranormal sense, he felt distanced from the faith of his childhood which renounces the paranormal. While Edward never fully dissociated himself from the Catholic faith and continues to identify himself as a Catholic, his professed religious beliefs diverge from traditional Catholicism and Christianity in several fundamental respects, primarily in that he does not consider Jesus Christ to be the son of God (Edward 2001). While he does affirm the existence of a God, he regards the divine to be impersonal. Edward’s experiences with the supernatural have led him to adopt a pluralistic stance toward religion, considering different religious traditions to be different paths to the same ultimate reality. Therefore, while he does consider Jesus a prophetic figure, he proclaims Christ to have been “‘one of many’” (Quoted by Hallowell 2013).

Furthermore, Edward has incorporated Eastern and Native American religious ideals into his personal belief system. Edward began alluding to belief in reincarnation as a child, claiming not only to have lived multiple lives, but to have retained memories and knowledge of his past lives. In addition, Edward has professed a belief in Spirit Guides, or evolved spiritual beings, which he claims have played an influential role in spiritual matters and growth throughout his life. According to Edward, while he had been aware of the presence of these guides since he was a child, he failed to interpret their identity until age sixteen when he underwent a past life regression under the guidance of Shelley Peck. Apparently the regression went in an unexpected direction, and Edward’s spirit guides appeared to him. He claims to have a total of six guides: five “regular” guides, including a teenager and a monk, and a “master guide,” who appeared to Edward as a Native American. Master guides, as Edward has described, are assigned at birth to follow someone throughout the course of his or her life until crossing over into the spiritual realm (Edward 1998). According to Edward, every person has Spirit Guides and is capable of communicating with them; however, most people must first undergo training in order to become sensitive to their presence and able to understand their messages.

Similarly, Edward, unlike many mediums and psychics, does not consider his ability to be a unique gift. Rather, Edward insists, with practice any given individual has the ability to communicate with spirits (Hodges and Ulsperger 2005). According to Edward, communication with spirits depends almost entirely on the altering of energy levels. All beings are comprised of atoms and molecules, and the fundamental difference between spirits contained within bodies and those which have “crossed over” lies in the speed at which these particles travel. While contained within a body, a being’s energy moves much more slowly than does after it has left the body. In order to contact the spiritual realm, the spirit and medium must both undergo a change in energy levels. Edward has likened this process to the blades of a helicopter. Spirits outside of the body travel as do blades at full-speed, so quickly that the individual blades are undetectable to the eye and before communication can take place, they must slow down considerably. Likewise, a medium must increase his or her own energy level in order to “bridge the gap” between the physical and spiritual realm (Edward 1998). While this ability is not unique to a select few, Edward notes that differences at the individual level do exist. Just as certain individuals are seemingly born with athletic, academic, or artistic ability, others are innately more adept at altering their own energy levels and are thus able to communicate with spirits more easily. Edward has used this notion to explain how he was able to recognize his own ability at an early age. Although Edward has attributed much of the ability to communicate with spirits to an individual effort, he identifies God as the ultimate source of all paranormal abilities (Walker, 2003).

Edward has defined the parameters of mediumship, emphasizing that the medium is merely the messenger between the spirit and the person with whom the spirit is trying to communicate. By the nature of his ability, Edward asserts with certainty the existence of an afterlife. However, he has drawn a distinction between receiving messages from and personally crossing over into the spiritual realm. According to Edward, his ability has not allowed him to personally experience the afterlife; therefore, while he is often asked to describe it, his knowledge extends only to what spirits have communicated to him. Edward claims that when a person dies, the spirit leaves the body and remains in a state of pure energy. According to Edward, crossing over involves entering this spiritual state and existing on a separate wavelength than that of the physical universe. Furthermore, the spirit realm is comprised of different levels; which level a spirit enters immediately upon crossing over is dependent upon earthly experiences and spiritual growth.

Edward claims that once spirits have crossed over, they are no longer able to communicate as they did within their earthly bodies; rather, they convey messages symbolically. Furthermore, spirits no longer experience emotions as we understand them, but rather experience on a more universal level. While Edward asserts that spirits remain highly involved in the lives of loved ones still in the physical realm and that they are capable of providing guidance, they are not subject to the rapid shifts of situation-dependent emotion experienced by earthly beings. Rather, according to Edward, “it’s more looking the bigger picture rather than in the mix” (Edward 1998). Finally, Edward has rebutted what he considers to be a Hollywood-created notion that spirits often experience confusion and difficulty in crossing over to the spiritual realm, asserting that, on the contrary, this rarely occurs.

RITUALS/PRACTICES

Prior to making contact with the spiritual realm, Edward must first raise his energy level, which he claims is achieved through meditation and prayer to the rosary. According to Edward, this ritual allows him to meet the spirits in a space between the physical and spiritual realms once they have, in turn, decreased their own energy levels. Edward has likened the experience of first making contact to watching a photograph develop: while the image is initially unclear, as the reading progresses, more pieces become visible until a full picture is displayed. Edward’s readings typically correspond with this metaphor, often beginning rather vaguely, with a name or simply a letter, and becoming increasingly specific. According to Edward, spirits typically communicate symbolically, either through a series of images or by communicating thoughts to him, which he must then attempt to interpret in the correct context. Therefore, rather than taking a conversational tone, readings consist of Edward posing a series of questions to the client, or sitter, regarding the series of images or thoughts he is receiving and asking for validation. If the sitter does not understand the message Edward is trying to convey, he will either attempt to reinterpret the images being shown to him or move on to another message. Throughout the reading, the spirits remain in control of the communication and recede when their messages have been conveyed. Before departing, sprits will often leave the person seeking contact with a message of reassurance, communicating that he or she has successfully crossed over and is still present in the lives of his or her loved ones (Edward 1998; Pierleoni 2014).

Edward sets forth a uniform set of guidelines, recommendations, and rules for attending his events and reading sessions, which were also used in the filming of his television programs. Although those attending larger group sessions, seminars, and filmings are not guaranteed to be read by Edward, he notes that by attending one of these events, all persons are subject to a reading. Therefore, if an attendee feels as if he or she may not be emotionally prepared for a reading, would be made to feel uncomfortable by the experience, or is simply uninterested, Edward requests that he or she refrain from attending. Furthermore, he requests that all audience members familiarize themselves with their family trees before attending the sessions in order to ensure the most accurate and effective reading possible. While audio and video recording devices are not permitted in any of Edward’s events, he recommends that attendees bring a pen and paper to record messages. According to Edward, while not all messages seem relevant initially, after a period of time or contemplation, they often become more meaningful.

Despite the fairly uniform process of communication, Edward organizes reading sessions in several different formats, including private sessions, private group sessions, and small intimate group sessions. Private sessions take place either over the phone or in person, with the latter being held in a private office owned by Edwards in Long Island. A fee of $850 will admit one person to a private session, and up to three more people can be admitted for an additional charge of $100 per person. Edward requires that all individuals attending a private session must be related either biologically or circumstantially and seeking to communicate with deceased members of the same family (“Private Reading” n.d.). Private group sessions consist of a maximum of fifteen people. A fee of $650 admits one person to these small group readings, which typically last about two hours, although Edward notes that the session may run longer depending upon the amount of communication received from the spirits contacted (“Private Reading Groups” n.d.). Larger group readings, typically held in the meeting rooms of conference centers and consisting of a maximum of one hundred sitters, are also available for a charge of $350 per person. These sessions, which Edward has termed “Small, Intimate Group Readings,” also run about two hours in length and include a short question and answer segment prior to readings (“Small, Intimate Group Reading” n.d.). In order to schedule one of these reading sessions with Edward, the interested client must first subscribe to Edward’s weekly online newsletter from his website ( johnedward.net). Several interest boxes appear on the request form, including those for private, private group, and small, intimate group sessions. Once the client has checked one or more of these boxes, he or she will be placed on a waiting list and contacted at random to schedule a session. According to Edward, due to a high demand for these sessions and limited time in which to conduct them, certain clients are contacted within hours of submitting a request and others remain in waiting for up to two years (“A Letter From John” n.d.).

In addition to these private reading sessions, Edward also holds seminars and large group readings that are generally more accessible to the public but do not guarantee a reading to every audience member. Seminars and group readings are held in large stadiums and auditoriums in cities across the world and typically admit 700 and over 1,000 people, respectively. Admittance fees to these events vary depending upon location and demand, ranging from $39 to $150. Group readings and seminars typically run two hours in length and consist of a question and answer segment at the beginning, followed by readings. Furthermore, Edward occasionally offers what he has termed “VIP Events,” which are group readings limited to 250 attendees. A $300 ticket purchase grants admission to the three-hour event consisting of a brief introduction and explanation of Edward’s ability, followed by a question and answer segment, a lengthy reading session and, after a second question and answer period, a short “meet and greet” gathering in which attendees may converse with one another and have their picture taken with Edward (“VIP Events” n.d.). The purchase of a ticket also includes a one-year membership to Edward’s online interactive forum, Evolve.

Although Edward’s television programs, Crossing Over and John Edward Cross Country , are no longer in production, having been cancelled in 2004 and 2008, respectively, they attracted a considerable fan base throughout the years in which they aired. The program was filmed in a studio in Queens, New York before an audience of about 200 people. Prior to the show, attendees were asked to remain in a waiting room and review a lengthy release document, which reportedly included clauses confirming no prior contact with Edward or his staff prior to the show. After release forms had been collected, audience members were invited to enter the studio, where they were divided between three sections of about seventy seats. Edward would typically begin the reading sessions within the program by addressing a section of the audience, stating that a spirit was coming through seeking to communicate with someone within that area. He would then provide a name or another vague piece of identifying information to narrow down the potential attendees. Edward would communicate increasingly specific information until one person had been identified, after which he would continue the reading in the same fashion in which he performs private, individual readings. He would communicate progressively personalized messages, requesting only validation from the audience member being read. After the spirit had receded, Edward would repeat the process throughout the remainder of the program (Underdown 2003; Nickell 2001).

ORGANIZATION/LEADERSHIP

John Edward serendipitously began his career in the paranormal as a teenager in the mid-1980s, performing tarot card readings on family members and friends and spending his weekends working as a psychic at local supernatural “fairs.” According to Edward, when he was sixteen and conducting a reading at one such event, he spontaneously began communicating with spirits of the deceased. Edward struggled to understand his ability for the next several years and did not consider himself a medium until after his mother’s death when he was nineteen. Edward began conducting readings from a room in his grandmother’s house, quickly attracting considerable attention as a medium. Soon he was receiving calls from across the country from interested clientsseeking readings and radio stations inviting him to appear as a guest. Edward decided to turn his full professional attention to his mediumship in the mid-1990s, following years of struggling to fulfill a growing number of requests for private readings. In 1998, the celebrity status he had accrued grew exponentially following the publishing of his first book, One Last Time. The book was quickly earned a place on the New York Times best-seller list and landed Edward a series of television appearances on talk-shows such as Larry King Live and Dateline . Less than two years later, Edward began producing and hosting his well-known television program Crossing Over. At its peak, Crossing Over was the highest-rated program on the Sci Fi Channel . However, with the success of his television show, Edward found himself with very little time to fulfill private reading requests. He accumulated a waiting-list time of over eight years, which he was only able to resolve after he show’s cancellation in 2004 (“A Letter From John,” n.d.; “About John,” n.d.; Edward 1998). Throughout the next few years, Edward conducted private readings, appeared on television and radio talk shows, and published two more books, before producing a second television program, John Edward Cross Country in 2006. The program aired on the We tv network for three seasons before being cancelled in 2008. While episodes of both of his syndicated programs continue to be shown on various television channels, neither holds a regularly-scheduled spot on air (Logan 2006; “Frequently Asked Questions,” n.d.).

In October of 2011, Edward launched an interactive online forum titled The Five from his website (johnedward.net). An annual fee of $75 grants members access to “an exclusive online community” in which they may communicate with one another and John Edward’s staff (“A Letter From John,” n.d.). Furthermore, each month five members are chosen at random to receive privatereadings, another five receive the opportunity to personally ask Edward a question, and all members are granted access to a private question and answer session following Edward’s seminars and events. In 2013, Edward renamed the forum Evolve , simultaneously launching a web series titled Evolve with John Edward. The program is filmed from Edward’s theater studio with the assistance of television producer and director Paul Shavelson and broadcast weekly from Edward’s online forum. According to Edward, his goal in creating Evolve was to provide an interactive experience for its members. They are invited to attend live filmings of the internet program, occasionally called for over-the-phone readings which appear on the show, and offered access to interviews and materials unavailable to nonmembers (“What Is Evolve?” n.d.). Edward has been asked on several occasions whether he plans to return to television broadcasting; however, he has expressed a preference for the current organizational structure provided by Evolve . Specifically, he has voiced satisfaction with the “community feeling” he believes his forum has created over the “entertainment based” television programs of his past (Quoted by Holzer, 2013). Aside from his online community, Edward continues to reach fans through his books, speaking tours, seminars and events, and media appearances.

ISSUES/CHALLENGES

John Edward has been met with criticism and controversy throughout the entirety of his career, the majority of which has revolved around claims against the legitimacy of his ability. Critics have accused Edward of utilizing “hot” and “cold” reading techniques. The former involves the gathering of information about clients prior to readings. An early hot reading conflict occurred following Edward’s appearance on the television program Dateline . During the course of the program, Edward conducted several readings on members of the audience and was apparently shocked when the spirit with whom he was communicating directed him to one of the cameramen on the set. However, after reviewing footage from the show, Joe Nickell, a paranormal investigator associated with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, noted to Dateline reporter John Hockenberry the possibility that Edward had interacted with the cameraman prior to the filming. In a follow-up interview after the show had aired, Hockenberry questioned whether Edward had any contact with the camera operator, Tony, prior to the show. Edward admitted that Tony had worked alongside him on a separate shoot earlier in the day and the two had engaged in a conversation. However, Edward denyied that he had used any of the information he obtained throughout the course of that conversation in his reading (Nickell 2001).

Cold readings, on the other hand, are those in which a person simply makes a series of guesses while appearing to be receiving information from a paranormal source. While cold reading often results in a substantial percentage of incorrect guesses, Edward’s critics have argued that his television programs have been edited to exclude his “misses.” In 2001, TIME Magazine published an article recanting one audience member’s experience at a filming of Crossing Over, in which he claims both hot and cold reading techniques were utilized by Edward and his staff. According to the article, Michael O’Neill, who had attended the event hoping to make contact with his grandfather, had been singled out by Edward during the filming for a reading. As O’Neill recalled, the reading consisted of several erroneous messages interspersed with a few correct pieces of information, such as names of family members. However, after the show on which he appeared aired, O’Neill noticed that the program had been edited considerably, claiming that footage had been removed or spliced to show him nodding in response to statements with which he had disagreed. Furthermore, O’Neill claimed to recall members of Edward’s staff engaging audience members in conversation prior to the show, obtaining information that was used during the readings (Jaroff 2001). In another instance, Center for Inquiry director Jim Underdown attended and recorded footage from a filming of Crossing Over, later comparing it with the version of the program which was aired. Underdown concluded that the show had undergone a substantial amount of editing in order to emphasize successful readings. However, Underdown also noted that he had not witnessed any signs of hot reading occurring throughout the filming (Underdown 2003). In response to these allegations, Edward asserted that while the raw footage from the filming of his programs is cut down considerably, it is edited for time, not content (Nickell 2001; Endersby 2002). Furthermore, Edward asserts that errors in communication are a natural and common part of the reading process. Citing the different methods of communication between beings in the physical and spiritual realms, Edward remarks that “it is not a conversational language, though many believe it is… What I am actually doing is delivering and interpreting symbolic as fast as I can keep up with it” (Edward 1998). Edward also claims that many times messages that appear to be “misses” during the course of the reading are actually accurate and meaningful, but the sitter either fails to realize the connection immediately or an event bringing about the connection has yet to occur. For this reason, Edward advises that those with whom he conducts readings come prepared to record the messages communicated throughout the session (“About the Show” n.d.).

In addition to criticisms regarding his legitimacy as a medium, Edward has also faced scrutiny involving ethical concerns of his work. Edward was the subject of negative media publicity in 2001 following an announcement that Crossing Over planned to air a special featuring Edward contacting victims of the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. According to a spokesperson for the show, the special had begun to take shape following a series of phone calls to Edward from the grieving family members of victims. However, before the program filming was completed, Edward’s representatives and the television station hosting the special were flooded with calls, labeling the impending program distasteful and exploitive of the tragedy. While the show’s producers initially expressed their intention to continue filming, the project was eventually abandoned. An official statement stipulated that the readings requested by the families of victims would be held privately by Edward and would not be aired on Crossing Over (de Moraes 2001).

Other critics of Edward have accused his work to be exploitive of grieving individuals in itself, claiming that the cost of his reading sessions and events is unduly high and challenging Edward to prove that communication with the deceased is at all possible. While Edward has acknowledged that the cost of his services may be “prohibitive for many,” he maintains that the current price is necessary to fund the events and maintain his staff. Additionally, he claims that through his Evolve forum, he has sought to make his work more widely-available (“A Letter From John” n.d.). Edward has, over the course of his career, adopted an increasingly stringent policy of not responding to scrutiny. He has stated that obtaining proof of contact with the spiritual realm is impossible, but rather is entirely dependent upon belief (Nickell 2001). Furthermore, Edward has explained his apparent resistance to test his ability against critics and skeptics, remarking that “as soon as you have to defend something, then you’re admitting that something needs defense” (Edward 2009).

REFERENCES

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Hallowell, Billy. 2013. “Heaven, Hell and Talking With the Dead: Psychic John Edward Describes Discovering His Alleged Abilities and His Spirit ‘Mafia’.” The Blaze. Accessed from http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/05/06/famed-psychic-john-edward-tells-theblaze-about-connecting-with-the-dead-seeing-the-future-and-his-views-on-god/ on 17 March 2014.

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Holzer, Alexandra. 2014. “Five Is The Magic Number: Evolve With Famed Psychic Medium John Edward.” OmTimes.com . Accessed from http://community.omtimes.com/profiles/blogs/five-is-the-magic-number-evolve-with-famed-psychic-medium-john on 17 March 2014

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Pierleoni , Allen. 2014. “Books: The Medium Has a Message.” The Sacramento Bee. Accessed from http://www.sacbee.com/2014/01/12/6060147/books-the-medium-has-a-message.html on 17 March 2014.

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“Small, Intimate Group Reading.” n.d. JohnEdward.net. Accessed from http://johnedward.net/events/descriptions/small-group on 17 March 2014.

Underdown, Jim. 2003. “They See Dead People – Or Do They?: An Investigation of Television Mediums.” CSICOP.org. Accessed from http://www.csicop.org/si/show/they_see_dead_people_-_or_do_they_an_investigation_of_television_mediums/ on 17 March 2014.

“VIP Events” n.d. JohnEdward.net . Accessed from http://johnedward.net/vip-events on 17 March 2014 .

Walker, James K. 2003. “John Edward.” Watchman Fellowship. Accessed from http://www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/johnedwardprofile.pdf on 17 March 2014.

“What Is Evolve?” n.d. JohnEdward.net. Accessed from http://johnedward.net/evolve on 17 March 2014.

“Who Is Psychic Medium John Edward?” n.d. JohnEdward.net. Accessed from http://johnedward.net/about on 17 March 2014 .

Post Date
:
30 March 2014

 

 

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