http://www.randi.org/jr/021805a.html

THE CIRCUS OF GOD

Here's my suggested line of approach for the subject that ABC-TV almost
covered:
when you discover that the healings you're looking for are not there,
and all
you have are anecdotal accounts supplied by the organization you're
investigating, the proper conclusion is that the claims are spurious ?
that
you've been lied to, as the public you serve has been lied to. Is that
too
radical an approach? I think not.I am not saying that John of God should
not
have been investigated and used as a subject for the Primetime Live
show,
because this is a major matter of public curiosity ? and it's news. This
bizarre
circus needs to be looked at and reduced to facts, with the fantasy
aspects
properly identified. What I am saying is that the project should have
been done
better so that lives might be saved and the public could be more
properly
informed. Now, I'm not a scientist; I'm a specialist. What I know about
these
matters is all available to ABC-TV from many different sources, and at
first I
was encouraged when they called me in as a consultant on this subject.
Then it
seems that they saw their story becoming an exposé rather than a
glamorous
endorsement of religious miracles, and they back-peddled fast.I dare to
say that
if ABC-TV's John Stossel had been involved in the production of this
program,
the results would certainly have been far different. John would have
researched
the subject, might have called on me or another experienced observer for
consultation in advance of the obtaining of the raw material, and would
have
used more reason and common sense.It must be easier just not to care,
but I
can't manage that. I must care when I know that John of God will claim
more
victims, and that I couldn't stop it. Though I earnestly wish it could
be
different, based on what we know to be the hard facts, David Ames will
not
recover from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Lisa Melman will most
probably
die of breast cancer because she's decided to forego legitimate surgical
help.
Mathew Ireland's brain tumor will still be there and will probably kill
him,
too. But João Teixeira will continue to flourish and be worshiped as a
god.Folks, I was in Mexico City on the plaza outside the shrine of the
Virgin of
Guadalupe when a young peasant father crawled by me along the rough
pavement
with an obviously dead infant in his arms, swaddled in a tiny white
serape.
There were twin tracks of blood behind him from his bleeding knees. He
was
seeking a miracle. Through the adjacent barred window in the basilica I
could
hear the coin-sorting machines packaging the money that was pouring into
the
offering boxes inside. I turned away and wept.In a St. Louis auditorium
I stood
in the lobby as paramedics treated a heavy elderly woman who lay in a
fetal
position on the carpet, white-faced and moaning in agony. Moments before
she'd
been seized in ecstasy in front of faith healer "Reverend" W. V. Grant,
leaping
up and down in an adrenalin rush that made her temporarily oblivious to
the bone
spurs on her arthritic spine that were cutting into her muscle tissues
and
bringing about internal bleeding. The attendants got her onto two
stretchers and
into an ambulance. I wept.Outside an arena in Anaheim, California, my
camera
crew approached a tiny, thin, Asian boy with twisted legs on worn
crutches to
ask him if he'd been healed by Peter Popoff, the miracle-worker who he'd
told us
two hours earlier was "gonna ask Jesus to fix my legs." When he turned
toward
us, we saw his tear-streaked face and anguished eyes. The cameraman
lowered his
camera. "I can't do this," he said, and we both turned away and
wept.I've had my
share of tears and sleepless nights, wondering what I might do to keep
people
from chasing this chimera. I had another chance in New York City on
January
25th, 2005, and I tried.I'd like to suggest to the government of Brazil
that
they shut down this charlatan and stop the victimizing of
innocent-but-naïve
people from all over the world. The international community can only
look in
astonishment upon any nation that allows such flummery in the 21st
century. I'm
well aware that Brazil is far from being the only country plagued by
such a
burden; here in the USA we have our Benny Hinn, W. V. Grant, Peter
Popoff, and
many others who perform the same fakery on our citizens. The U.K. is
full of
similar scams, and all over Europe we find the operators at work.There.
I've had
my say on the matter. Now I'd like to share with you some comments
offered by
the public, some of those who saw the show and contacted me. These were
selected
for variety, though most had essentially the same comments to make. Not
one of
my correspondents disagreed with what you see above. I hope that readers
will
take a brief moment to tell ABC-TV News what they think of this travesty
of
journalism. That can be done by writing to support{at}abcnews.go.com or to
abc.news.magazines{at}abc.com to reach Primetime Live directly.







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