Plucking the Eagle's Wings

Plucking the Eagle's Wings

advertising campaigns and the money that was spent, Jack knew that was not true. A question was also raised concerning prayer requests being thrown into a dumpster outside of a bank after removing donations. According to Harris, while the report looked honest, it was filled with misinformation and untruths. The evangelist sued the television network and Jack was called to give a deposition. The deposition confirmed that the evangelist did not carry any offering out of India. In fact, the evangelist did not personally raise one offering. Harris had raised $2,500 in one crusade and $3,500 in another. The money was used to feed poor Indian pastors and the evangelist took nothing home. Regarding prayer requests and donations, the expose implied that the minister took money from the prayer request envelopes and promptly threw them into a dumpster. Nothing was said about the requests being sent to the evangelist's home where he personally prayed over them. The expose also implied that the evangelist raised funds for missions in Haiti that were never sent to the country. The deposition included a list of eight pages of missionary groups and organizations that received support from the evangelist. In fact, Jack Harris' ministry received financial support in excess of the ministry's Dallas billboard budget. Harris' first hand information disproved many of the deceptions in the expose. The minister has yet to receive an apology from the network. The videotape was legally retrieved from the network and Harris said, "One would be shocked to hear the comments of those editing the tapes. Comments like, 'We've got him now' or 'We've nailed him' revealed an absolute animosity toward the minister. The show seriously damaged the minister's reputation to the point that he was unable to eat in public restaurants without being cursed at or ridiculed by people." While journalists have the right to report the facts concerning public situations, journalists who distort the facts in order to harm people are clearly unethical. Freedom of speech does not mean freedom to deceive! Too often, networks show little concern over biased reports as long as, in their eyes, those targeted deserve it. Not all secular journalists are two-faced and deceptive. There are thousands of honest, objective journalists who report the news accurately and without bias. In Cleveland, Tennessee and in other areas of the country, local reporters are honest, family-oriented people who are after the facts. I have been interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, the Tampa 164