New Age Mysticism Is Insane

[Gabriel Reproba]

It was reported today that those "cheesy and ridiculous Power Balance bracelets, those scraps of silicone with an imbedded hologram that they falsely tout as improving athletic performance," have made so much money that the company is buying the naming rights to the arena for the Sacramento Kings. How gullible are people these days? These things have been proven to have no effect at all. They just make you THINK you feel better and then you start walking around with a smile. People need to drop this mysticism and get back to the only thing that actually works: prayer!

[Pastor Isaac Peters]

Re: New Age Mysticism Is Insane

It was reported today that those "cheesy and ridiculous Power Balance bracelets, those scraps of silicone with an imbedded hologram that they falsely tout as improving athletic performance," have made so much money that the company is buying the naming rights to the arena for the Sacramento Kings. How gullible are people these days? These things have been proven to have no effect at all. They just make you THINK you feel better and then you start walking around with a smile. People need to drop this mysticism and get back to the only thing that actually works: prayer!

You mean people actually believe in such ridiculous nonsense, when it defies common sense and has no supporting evidence whatsoever? What's wrong with those people? The company selling them won't get any business from us True Christians™; that's for sure.

[Oakland "Reb" Griner]

Re: New Age Mysticism Is Insane

Those bracelets are on par with any number of ridiculous Catholic artifacts like various skulls of 'saints', splinters of the supposed true cross, and an urn with Christs' amniotic fluid.

[GodHatesBeautiful]

Re: New Age Mysticism Is Insane

What if I were to pray for my bracelet to work as advertised?

Mark 11:24

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

[BelieverInGod]

Re: New Age Mysticism Is Insane

It was reported today that those "cheesy and ridiculous Power Balance bracelets, those scraps of silicone with an imbedded hologram that they falsely tout as improving athletic performance," have made so much money that the company is buying the naming rights to the arena for the Sacramento Kings. How gullible are people these days? These things have been proven to have no effect at all. They just make you THINK you feel better and then you start walking around with a smile. People need to drop this mysticism and get back to the only thing that actually works: prayer!

Just more proof that atheists are desperate for something to believe in. They'll take any garbage like this on blind faith as long as it doesn't involve God or His Holy Word.

[Gabriel Reproba]

Re: New Age Mysticism Is Insane

What if I were to pray for my bracelet to work as advertised?

Mark 11:24

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Good point, but it defeats the need for the bracelet and the need to pay the new-age woo-types their money. just pray for athletic skill without having to wear women's jewelry (their REAL agenda!) and you will win any competition you enter!

[Rev. M. Rodimer]

Re: New Age Mysticism Is Insane

Amazing!

Even after the Australians condemned the Power Balance Bracelet manufacturers as frauds (and they admitted it!) and forced them to offer refunds to all their customers, in the US there are enough atheists willing to believe any ridiculous superstition placed before them, that they can buy naming rights to an arena!

The “Power Balance” bracelet, one of many pieces of mystical jewelry endorsed by celebrities, has been demonstrated a fraud and the manufacturer ordered to provide refunds . . . but only in Australia.

The Power Balance bracelet consists of a silicone bracelet embedded with a hologram. Australian consumer advocate group CHOICE reviewed the bracelet and pendant necklace in August:

Power Balance claims its products work with and optimise your body’s energy field by means of special holograms. Their demonstrations show people apparently experiencing immediate improvements in flexibility, balance and strength when exercising. But these demonstrations, typically involving a Power Balance promoter and a volunteer, use techniques that can easily be manipulated to produce the desired result (even a demonstrator who genuinely believes in the product can unconsciously do this). And the explanation of the product – that Mylar holograms are treated with energy waves at specific frequencies that interact with your body’s natural energy flow – sounds like pseudoscience.

CHOICE tested the products in a double-blind study with 20 volunteers. Their verdict?

CHOICE is all for the power of positive thinking, but we can’t find much positive to say about Power Balance. It has no discernable effect on flexibility and balance. Any benefit you feel while wearing it is almost certainly due to a placebo effect. So, zero stars for the Power Balance.

If the products were cheap, we could at least call them a harmless bit of nonsense, but at $60 for the wristband and $95 for the pendant they’re far too overpriced to laugh off.

In recent months, the price of the wristband has been halved to $29.95 . . . but that wasn’t enough.

Yesterday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ordered Power Balance Australia to provide full refunds to all consumers who felt they were misled by the supposed benefits of the bracelets, after the manufacturer admitted there was no credible scientific basis for their claims.

The product is still available in the United States. Fortunately, there’s something we can do about that: Contact the FTC. Complaints may be registered HERE. You may also file a complaint with the California Attorney General.