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Radio Host Fired For Wondering If Pope Went To Heaven

Discussion in 'Free-For-All Archives' started by dianetavegia, Apr 14, 2005.

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  1. dianetavegia

    dianetavegia Guest

    Radio Host Fired For Wondering If Pope Went To Heaven

    POSTED: 7:44 am EDT April 14, 2005

    PITTSBURGH -- An evangelical Christian talk show host who questioned the beliefs of the Catholic church and entertained a caller's question about whether the late Pope John Paul II would go to heaven has been fired.

    http://www.local10.com/news/4378405/detail.html
    CLICK ON LINK TO VOTE: So far, 81% think he should NOT have been fired.


    Marty Minto, 39, a senior pastor at a New Castle church, was fired Friday after three years as a host on WORD-FM in Pittsburgh. He said he was told that he was alienating listeners.

    "As far as I'm concerned, I was doing what I've always done on the radio -- look at events around the world from a biblical perspective. I've always been willing to talk about controversial subjects," said Minto, who has had shows in Albany, N.Y., Denver and Phoenix.

    Last week, Minto questioned some of the Catholic church's beliefs, such as purgatory, and fielded a question from a caller who asked whether the pope would go to heaven. Many evangelical Christians believe that someone must be a "born-again" believer to enter heaven.

    Minto, who is also senior pastor of the 100-member Turning Point Community Church, said he told the caller that whether someone was born-again was personal and "between an individual and the Creator."

    Chuck Gratner, general manager of WORD-FM, didn't dispute Minto's description and said he was let go because of differences in how he conducted his show.

    "WORD-FM needs to function in this city in support of the entire church -- that means everybody -- and not focus on denominational issues," Gratner said.
     
    #1 dianetavegia, Apr 14, 2005
  2. JGrubbs

    JGrubbs New Member

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    #2 JGrubbs, Apr 14, 2005
  3. west

    west New Member

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    I listen to that show almost daily.I have talked to him on the air and off .He was GREAT !I;ll miss him .
     
    #3 west, Apr 14, 2005
  4. FLMike

    FLMike Guest

    I think the story lead-in is rather misleading (as is the Subject Line of this thread). The first paragraph says he was fired, and it says he questioned purgatory and entertained a question. But it never says the two are related (though it leads one to think they must be).

    Just from reading the rest of the story it appears he was fired for alienating listeners, differences with management and focusing too much on denominational issues.
     
    #4 FLMike, Apr 14, 2005
  5. BobRyan

    BobRyan Well-Known Member

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    This is a drop in the bucket compared to the censorship and persecution non-Catholic Christians face some Catholic-run-countries in central and south America.

    The Catholic church is the larges single Christian denomination in North America but still does not have the power to control every aspect of business in the US the way it does in some other countries.

    In America you can suffer the consequences of not being pro-Catholic if your business is subject to Catholic clients. The only "solution" is to evangelize because good business drivers will always say that alienating a large segment of the customer base is bad for business.

    Passing a law that the station should not be allowed to fire someone based on differing religious beliefs expressed in a way that gets a large negative reaction from the customer base - is just going to mean that the non-Catholic programs "get hurt" financially and it will create a backlash for customers to boycott catholic business etc. Not a good thing all the way around.
     
    #5 BobRyan, Apr 14, 2005
  6. Melanie

    Melanie Active Member
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    I am amazed that he was fired, the insults thrown at catholics is nothing new.... nor of course at other religious groups, but is this not censorship..... and yet other media gets away with insulting groups without any problem.

    As a catholic I am frankly appalled and would be happy to sign a petition for this guys restoration.
     
    #6 Melanie, Apr 16, 2005
  7. FLMike

    FLMike Guest

    Again, the story does not say that he was fired for wondering if the pope went to heaven. The story says he was fired for having differences with management and for alienating people and for having a show that was too denominational.
     
    #7 FLMike, Apr 16, 2005
  8. BobRyan

    BobRyan Well-Known Member

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    The differences with management was over his willingness to discuss views on the radio that were not pro-CAtholic. The story said "this was alienating some listeners".

    It was a business decision.

    The point remains.

    In Christ,

    Bob
     
    #8 BobRyan, Apr 16, 2005
  9. Kathryn

    Kathryn New Member

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    Speculating on who must have gone straight to hell seems to be some sort of bizarre behavior for some Christians. It also happened when Mother Teresa died. I don't understand it myself, no one does it in the Bible.
     
    #9 Kathryn, Apr 16, 2005
  10. FLMike

    FLMike Guest

    Really? I never saw that. Can you quote from the story where it says this?

    You'd have thought, if they hired a non-Catholic to discuss only pro-Catholic views, that they would have realized their mistake before three years went by. [​IMG]
     
    #10 FLMike, Apr 16, 2005
  11. Kiffen

    Kiffen Member

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    It shows the sad state of Contemporary Christianity. From what I have heard, he did not say the Pope went to Hell. I for one think people should be mature enough to discuss doctrinal differences without going ballistic.

    It seems it would be hard to have a show that is not too denominational since we all have our theological biases.
     
    #11 Kiffen, Apr 16, 2005
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