Yea, I've often found it funny (and yet an echo common to the Judeo-Christian element) that one's personal religious views, so long as they held to the more orthodox ideology, was completely different from Psychic type claim e.g. if you can speak and translate Tongues, Discern Truth from Falsehood, Decipher Dreams, Dowse for Water, Heal by Touch & Prayer amongst a few others things you do so by way of the "Holy Spirit" which is not the same as those who are obviously from some alternative mode of faith . . . for an example, a Christian looking at a Muslim or Catholic towards Protestants or . . . well, you get the gist.
This is, as I've stated, quite common and actually stems from an arrogance found early in church history, as the Orthodoxy became more and more politically situated. . . we do have to bear in mind just how well they used the ideas of Witchcraft against other Christians let alone the "heathens" of the world; many of which used forks & knives at a dinner table long prior to the good Christian folks that loathed all things outside their particular niche.
This double-standard is applied in many ways, not just in religious directions however. A great example is how it is considered normal, professional business to keep client files, to follow-up with birthday & holiday greeting cards, etc. and yet Psychics that do this very same thing are painted in a dim light because it's done for ulterior reasons. . . as if the dentists, relator's and lawyers who do this same thing aren't baiting folks for the same exact thing
A salesman that uses psychological and linguistic tactics in securing and closing a deal, even when their questionable deals (take a gander at our economy and how we got into this mess) is far more legit, at least to these "moralists" out to "debunk" psychics than those trying to help others overcome their personal issues; if we use those same tactics (which according to them, we do) we are again, in the wrong and not just frauds but dangerous predators. . . yet, the same scrutiny is not applied elsewhere in the world? The same "moral" and "ethical" rules aren't imposed across the board for some reason.
The Counter-Argument typically focuses on "claim" i.e.
Psychics claim to have certain abilities which is the misdeed. Though others, such as stock-traders who forecasts futures as well as fortunes; who have special training in order to do their job alongside "secret" knowledge don't fit this same niche for some reason. . . and who between the two vocations has done the most evil in our world, I wonder? Even when it comes to counseling, who has preyed on the public more and prolonged family agonies, the Psychic or the Mental Health & Pharmaceutical Industries? Last I checked Psychics weren't getting people addicted on pills or running scams on the insurance industry so as to double-bill on treatments, etc, etc, etc. But hey, the psychics are evil because we say they are. . .
Banachek the so-called "successor" to James Randi is an acquaintance of mine and I've tried to get him to help me understand why there are exceptions made around the miraculous when it comes to people's religious views and related testimony but why it is only the big money corporations for Jesus & Co. that are so exempt? We do not see the same type of leniency when it comes to those that follow Sai Baba, the Wiccan & Shamanic traditions, Science of Mind, or other such traditions. To date I've not been given anything other than more double-talk though there is a turn in the works. . . more and more so-called skeptics ignoring this long held taboo when it comes to attacking faith, much of this about face initiated from within the JREF and its kindred elements as well as the on-stage antics of people like Penn & Teller . . . admittedly, I've rolled on the floor when it comes to some of their bits, but at the same time I feel they've gone too far in certain cases and more so, by way of certain actions; actions and thinking that has now become "business as usual" within a new generation of "entertainers" that think it their right to walk out on stage and call everyone in the room that believes in anything that they are psychological unstable fools. . . of course, there are others that helped usher in this attitude, such as the late, great George Carlin and I'm certain we could trace this trend even further back. The irony (and brewing tragedy) is how these actions have emboldened the believers and brought about a new kind of religious fanaticism here in the U.S. especially that we now how an extreme right (fascist) political system perched to take greater hold on things and take the social & human rights gains this country is known for, back to Victorian times if not further back, by force if need be . . . if we are to believe the rhetoric of key players within or allied to the famed Tea Party.
I've rambled sufficiently. . . we live in a society rife with double-standards, everyone wanting their cake and the ability to eat it as well with few (it would seem) capable of realizing that can't be.