Sylvia Browne...a Christian Psychic?

(All scripture quotes are from the NASB unless otherwise noted)

     If you've ever been channel surfing before and stopped on the Montel Williams show, you may have seen Sylvia Browne on there giving her psychic predictions or talking to members of the audience about their deceased relatives or friends. These things alone aren't bothersome to me at all, because these are the type of "worldly" things that you see on television everyday. The things that bothers me the most about this woman is that she is introduced as a "Christian" psychic wherever she goes, and tries to pass herself off as a believer in God and Jesus Christ. In this article, we will discover what is really meant when the word "Christian" is ascribed to Sylvia Browne and what her true beliefs are about God and Jesus Christ as well as her supposed predictions.

     First, let's take a look at how she accomplishes her task when members of the audience ask her questions. Sylvia Browne is known for talking to the deceased relatives and friends of the studio audience, but is that what we as Christians should do? Let's look at some scripture in the bible to see:

• 'Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God. (Lev 19:31)

• "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. "For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD; and because of these detestable things the LORD your God will drive them out before you. (Deut 18:10-12)

• He made his sons pass through the fire in the valley of Ben-hinnom; and he practiced witchcraft, used divination, practiced sorcery and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger. (2 Chron 33:6)

• When they say to you, "Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter," should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? (Isa 8:19)

• But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. (1 Tim 4:1)

• No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. (2 Cor 11:14-15)

• That is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. (2 Thes 2:9-10)

     As you can see by God's word...there are warnings and consequences to communicating with the dead as well as seeking out spirit guides and mediums. The bible definitely speaks against these things, so we would have to ask ourselves why a self professed Christian would disregard what the bible says and do the exact opposite? The answer would be because Sylvia Browne is probably not a Christian by faith, but only by name. Sylvia Browne seems to say the right things about God while she is in front of a TV studio audience, but if we were to ask her specific questions about her beliefs, what would she say? She would probably sidestep the question because that might mean that she would lose followers who have believed that she was a true Christian.

     Luckily, Sylvia Browne has a website on the internet that exposes what she really believes. I don't need to email her organization to find out what she is teaching people in her movement, it's all on her website right there for everyone to see. To build my case even further, let's go to her official website (click here). Once on Sylvia's site, you will notice a link on the navigation bar to the left that has Novus Spiritus printed on it. If you click on the link (or just click here), it will take you to Sylvia Browne's "spiritual organization" that she founded back in 1986 (Someone who creates their own religious/spiritual organization should be a "red flag" right away). This website has all the information that is needed to find out what she believes as compared to TRUE authentic Christianity.

     After I went on Sylvia Browne's website, I noticed that there were many glaring inconsistencies with her beliefs that went against Christianity. For the purpose of this article and for the sake of time, I will only be addressing one subject...Jesus Christ. The bible (through the Apostle Paul) warns us about preaching another Jesus or another Gospel:

• But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! (Gal 1:8)

     So what does Sylvia Browne believe about Jesus Christ? Here are some quotes from her website that will make it very clear what she thinks of our Lord and Savior:

"We do not hold that Christ was God, nor that he died for our "sins," nor that he rose from the dead". (source: here)

"We believe that Our Lord was crucified but did not die on the cross and went on to live out His life in France with his mother and Mary Magdalene, his wife". (source: here) 

     Let's take a look at the first quote. First they deny that Jesus was God, but is that what the bible tells us? Let's look at some scripture passages that show Jesus was indeed what we all believe he was...God in the flesh:

• In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

• "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." (John 8:24)

• Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." (John 8:58)

• By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He (God) who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory. (1 Timothy 3:16)

     The bible definitely identifies Jesus as God in the flesh. John and Paul both tell us so. Even Jesus, during his earthly ministry claimed to be the "I AM" of the Old Testament, but of course Sylvia Browne denies this truth. How can you be a Christian and deny that God came in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ?

     Now, let's look at the biblical evidence for whether Christ died for our sins:

• "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." (Mat 1:21)

• For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. (1Cor 15:3)

• And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. (1Pe 2:24)

• For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. (1Pe 3:18)

     As you can see...Matthew, Paul and Peter all proclaimed that Jesus died for our sins. Since the Apostles themselves contradict what Sylvia Browne believes, we should then conclude this is to be more proof that she is NOT a true Christian. Sylvia and her followers would definitely be considered non-Christian in my opinion, but let's look at some more evidence.

     The last part of the first statement from Sylvia Browne is that Jesus Christ was not raised from the dead. Really? Well, I am sure that we can find more proof from the bible where this statement will be disproved. First, Jesus Christ himself told the Jews that he would be raised from the dead:

• "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up." (Mat 20:18-19)

• Then Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, 'I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP OF THE FLOCK SHALL BE SCATTERED.' "But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee." (Mat 26:31-32)

     Even by the words of Jesus Christ we know that he predicted his resurrection, but let's see what was written down about Jesus being raised from the dead to see if it came true or not:

• This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. (Act 2:32)

• That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rom 10:9)

• And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. (1Cor 15:14)

• And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. (1Cor 15:17)

     Once again, it seems as if Sylvia Browne has misled her followers into believing that Christ was not raised from the dead. Obviously, she is not aware (as Paul stated in 1 Cor 15:14 & 17) that if Christ did not die and rise from the dead, our faith is in vain and our sins still remain, which means we have no heavenly hope. Oh I forgot, Sylvia Browne doesn't believe Jesus died for our sins anyway. I wonder how she accounts for our sins being forgiven. I guess I might have to send an email to her organization after all.

     Now that we have completely refuted Sylvia Browne's first quote, Let's take a look at the second quote: "We believe that Our Lord was crucified but did not die on the cross and went on to live out His life in France with his mother and Mary Magdalene, his wife". This one struck me as very odd from the beginning. I asked myself, "Why would a true Christian and follower of Jesus Christ even make a statement like this?" The first thing that popped into my head when I read this statement was the book/movie, "The DaVinci Code". This kind of thinking comes directly from this resource, but what was the origin of this thinking? If you have seen the movie or read the book, you will know that this is from Gnostic teachings. The Gnostics believed that they were Christian and had "secret knowledge" about God and Jesus Christ. To read more on my refutation of the DaVinci code go here, and for more information about Gnosticism go here.

     Now that I knew the line of thinking that Sylvia was employing, I began to search her website for any evidence of this belief, and of course she did not disappoint me. If you click here it will take you to a section on her website that has the following statement:

Since the earliest times the Gnostics (from the Greek word gnosis - meaning knowledge) have espoused the primacy of intellect over faith. Novus follows that idea. Indeed, we find that you may directly experience God's wisdom. One such way is through Sylvia Browne, yet any person may also reach into the mind of God, thereby finding great truths. And never forget, every person is part of God. This means anyone can be an agent for the Divine, and reveal great wisdom from Him (and Her!).

Novus Spiritus regards understanding as more important than faith. We find that people today need to satisfy their intellect, in addition to their beliefs, where traditional religions do not address this issue.

     Well, there you have it. Gnosticism at it's finest. Novus Spiritus admits that they are Gnostic in their beliefs, and therefore are not regarded as Christians by this ministry at all, nor should Sylvia Browne be regarded as one since she is the founder of this organization. Gnosticism was a heresy that was fought against even back when the apostles were writing their Epistles. Colossians (written by Paul) was one of these Epistles. I would suggest that any Christian who chooses to follow this woman should really consider what she claims to be versus what she actually is.

     If the things that were quoted from her website doesn't bother you as a true Christian and follower of Jesus Christ, take a look at some other quotes from her organization that go against what we believe:

X - Let no one convince you that you are less than a God. Do not let fear imprison your spiritual growth. (Wow...I didn't know that we were gods)

XIX - We believe in a Mother God, Who is the co-creator to our all-loving Father God.  (Source for X and XIX: here)

Is the Bible the unaltered word of God? No. It simply cannot be, due to the centuries of social, political, language, and geographical changes. In fact, the current Bible is not even complete. Many books have been deleted in order to preserve the church's power. The most glaring purge was at the Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 325 AD. (Source: here)

 The exact number of gods is uncertain, but Novus accepts at least two: Om - the Father God, and Azna - the Mother God. We believe that the Gods are paired male/female just like all of creation, and just like the Bible tells us in Genesis. (Source: here)

     I hope and pray that this article has been an "eye opener" to anyone who would take Sylvia Browne at her word when she states that she is a "Christian" psychic. I implore you to always remember one thing...checkout anyone who is claiming to be a Christian and are doing some questionable things that would go against your faith. You may be very surprised what the truth will reveal to you and how the ultimate truth of God's word will ALWAYS outshine the false teachings of any group or organization. (Share this article with a friend)

Home  |  Our Purpose  |  Contact Us  | Support Us