For those who missed ABC Primetime Nightline's "Beyond Belief" series episode titled, "Miracle Mysteries," here are two short video clips that include some of their best reporting.
Those two segments weren't bad. In my post below, however, you can read about my many disappointments regarding the rest of Bill Weir's investigation. I have received a lot of feedback from viewers of the show who agreed with me that the report, at times, was insulting.
I guess I can't blame Bill Weir. After all, he's living the life I dreamed of ... in high school. I mean, take a look at his bio. It reads like one continuous, adrenaline rushed, frat boy, "me" fest. It says that Bill "dodged Taliban bullets in Afghanistan... anchored several launches and landings of the space shuttle, was the first American to broadcast live from Tibet..." He wailed away with former Rock stars at Rock Camp, and even skydived - or is it 'skydove?' - on camera. (What do you mean, I'm starting to sound jealous? Okay, you got me.)
Of course, that's the job of a network celebrity and, I guess, he's doing it well. But it is a life of pretend so that we, the viewers, can experience life vicariously through his adventures. Watching him, we can all pretend to be soldiers, Rock stars, astronauts, or even the Dalai Lama.
But there is one thing that each of us cannot do vicariously. We have to do it ourselves. That "one thing" is finding the one true faith.
If you pop in on Medjugorje and analyze it like a murder mystery game, you aren't likely to figure it out. It is not an intellectual exercise nor a game of pretend. You either get it or you don't. And none of us will ever get it if we are too proud to get on our knees, humble ourselves before God, and admit that we are nothing without Him.
Perhaps I am ticked at ABC a little more than usual because I just learned that our group's excellent tour company, Trinity Pilgrimages of Scottsdale Arizona, got stiffed by them. Apparently, the network is refusing to pay part of its bill. Now, I figure that Jim Benzow at Trinity would have been okay with getting short-changed a bit if Bill Weir had mentioned the company's name on the show, like ABC's representative had promised. But that didn't happen either. So, Jim will have to settle for the small comfort of knowing that he wasn't the only one who felt short-changed. He can fall in line with the Virgin Mary!
Come on, ABC, how can we trust your reporting if we can't trust that you'll pay your bills?
(12/12/11 UPDATE: Jim Benzow, of Trinity Pilgrimages, just informed me that ABC recently paid the balance of their account. He also said that the Oprah Winfrey Network is planning to air the show that ABC produced.)
(12/12/11 UPDATE: Jim Benzow, of Trinity Pilgrimages, just informed me that ABC recently paid the balance of their account. He also said that the Oprah Winfrey Network is planning to air the show that ABC produced.)