Have you ever heard the saying “Don’t blame the messenger”?

Well, do it.

Claiming psychic ability is fraud, and psychics and televangelists have robbed many.

For years these con artists have schemed the innocent and gullable, claiming to predict futures, heal or contact the dead. These actors move from town to town, robbing communities and leaving with fortunes.

A great example is the movie “Leap of Faith” starring Steve Martin. In the movie, Martin’s character uses hidden microphones and staged people in the crowd to create the illusion the Lord is sending messages through him, giving him the power to heal.

This con has not only become more frequent, but is now being awarded and credited.

I was surprised to discover the telepathy trend has spread to Berkeley, Calif. where a psychic institute which is “a psychic kindergarten which teaches students how to recognize and develop their own psychic ability” was developed.

Psychic radio and television talk shows like “Crossing Over” with John Edward and even “The Pet Psychic,” Sonya, on Animal Planet are popping up everywhere and even starting national tours.

The trick to these magical performances is often illusion. These televangelists, as well as psychics, are like magicians, and what they claim to know or see is just an illusion to the observer.

Penn and Teller, put psychics to the test in the new show “Bullshit!” and were accurate in their predictions. They revealed the performers contact the dead performing the age old skill called “cold reading.”

Cold reading is a tool of manipulation using suggestion and flattery. Basically, it works by making broad accusations that apply to numerous people and playing off the person to make further predictions. Some cold readers are so good they can make people second guess facts they know are correct.

On my seventeenth birthday, some friends and I visited a psychic. Sure the beaded curtain, magic crystal ball and celestial garb intrigued us, but $10, an analysis of our physical appearances and two minutes later, the show was over and it was just that, a show (unless of course we’d like to pay more).

I’m sure most of us have caught at least once, while channel surfing, the psychic friends ads or the man with the mic claiming he can heal people and God wants you to send money right now.

A few years back Dave Barry said a statement along similar lines to what I am about to say, and I couldn’t agree with it more.

If God has some great, wondrous message to mankind, I doubt he is going to select some artificially tanned man decked in gold medallions and a whispy toupee to deliver it on the condition he receives checks and money orders.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to have something to believe in or a belief system, but when your so called “messenger of faith” plays on those beliefs, it’s manipulation and betrayal.

I highly doubt these messengers practice what they preach, giving back to the community and people contributing to the money made.

Currently, the Federal Trade Commission is charging Miss Cleo promoters, the largest providers of psychic audiotext services in the United states, with deceptive advertising, billing and collection practices.

Pay doctors and surgeons the tens of thousands of dollars to get little Timmy to walk, not the man on TV. Donate money to churches, which in turn donate it to needy organizations, not greedy self-serving actors.

If these proclaimed healers or prophets were accurate, the world would know by now and their skills would be used for relevant useful purposes, not if your dead dog had unresolved issues.