Radio Host Fired For Wondering If Pope Went To Heaven

[spinbaby]

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.

"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."
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http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/4378405/detail.html

[rodeodance]

1. but Rush can rant about blowjobs and teens and Gore without problems?

[Goathead]

2. That's not right.

However, since he's a fundy, fuck him. He got what he deserved.

[Th1onein]

5. A right taken from one is a right taken from all.

I forget who said that, but it is true in this case.

[Teaser]

8. Of course that's true.

But fuck him anyway. It was wrong to fire him, and if anyone asks me, I'll say it's wrong, but I'm still gonna laugh about it. It's his own side biting him in the ass.

[pnorman]

13. I too will laugh,

but will express support for him if necessary. As the other poster said: "A right taken from one is a right taken from all."

pnorman

[rooboy]

11. He didn't lose his right, he lost his job.

You don't have a right to say what your employer doesn't want you to say. It's stupid in this case, but the guy isn't losing any fundamental rights.

[Orrex]

16. Exactly correct

That's precisely my view. If the employee at the drive-thru window is fired for calling a customer a slack-jawed deviant, then the employee can't complain that his termination is a violation of his free speech rights. His termination results from his breaching of the terms of his employment, just like Minto's.

[nolabels]

27. That is an interesting dilemma , isn't it

If you have a job, that is............:spray:

[LostinVA]

46. This is correct

I faired an employee once who carried on racist conversations with other employees in the back room/warehouse. He was on company property. Your freedom of speech doesn't necessarily expand to mean you can say anything you want anywhere.

[SemperEadem]

51. I agree.. it'd be different if the pastor owned his own radio station

then he could say pretty much whatever the FCC isn't made aware of.

The freedom of the press is for those who own the press.

[coloradodem2005]

3. That seems a little harsh to me.

[Roland99]

4. Eating their own...hanging themselves...impaling themselves

The radical right is self-destructing and we get to see it play-by-play.

[youspeakmylanguage]

39. It's an interesting development...

...that now conservative catholics, fundamentalist christians, and conservative jews all seem to be on the same team, protecting each other from the "evil" secular society. They all seemed more than eager to get together in Jerusalem to keep the "wicked" homosexuals from actually (gasp!) celebrating together in public.

And now apparently questioning catholicism on a fundamentalist radio station is off-limits. Very interesting indeed.

[progressoid]

6. Ha ha ha - oh the delicious irony

[gratuitous]

7. Oops, Minto must not have gotten the memo

The Repressive Right LIKES JPII this week! That'll teach him not to check his in-box more frequently.

[Fridays Child]

9. This is a good example of what's to come if Roman Catholics...

...as well as Mormons and mainstream Christians of various denominations don't wake up and smell the shit that their right wing fundie counterparts are shoveling.

[Vogon_Glory]

36. Amen. You Can Sure Smell It!

What continues to amaze me about right-wing religious conservatives is that they DON'T pay any attention to what their fundamentalist/evangelical playmates are really saying about THEIR beliefs. They might be beaming complacently while their evangelical buddies are sliming Wiccans, Buddhists, and other minorities, all the while either ignoring or choosing to remain in ignorance while the fundamentalists trash their own convictions.

I think I may have heard this very same rascal while channel-surfing on the AM band in Florida. If not, I certainly heard one of his colleagues. I'm surprised that the RC's so quick to jump on agnostic liberals with both cleated boots treat guys like that with powder puffs and kid gloves.

The Mormons are particularly guilty of this sort of complacency. The "Saints" left for Utah because of religious persecution and they very nearly got caught in another religious war in the 1850's. Their views come in for regular slamming on the right wing evangelical radio talk shows. There's no reason to believe that fundamentalist/evangelical bigotry towards the Mormons is dead, any more than there's any reason to believe that fundamentalist/evangelical bigotry towards Christian Scientists, Unitarians, and the various Orthodox churches doesn't exist either.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

47. Even I, a non-believer, nearly blow a gasket when I hear them say...

Catholics "aren't Christians". It's so hateful I feel like I am listening to a klansman expounding whites' racial superiority or something.

[qanda]

10. Huh?

Why is this okay? He was just discussing what they believe and the radio station is trying to run from what their beliefs are then they are major hypocrites. Actually, his views are more balanced than most evangelicals that I know, at least he said it was between an individual and the Creator, some think they know better than God.

[Orrex]

15. Good point, but...

The station for which he worked is privately-owned, and I expect that it has very particular standards for what it will and won't allow on-air. If Minto breached those agreed-to standards, however vaguely-defined they may be, then his firing is his own fault.

Minto's claim that anything is between the individual and the Creator is disingenuous, because what he actually means is that it's between the individual and Minto's interpretation of the bible's interpretation of the creator.

I've listened to him on and off for quite a while, and I can assure you that his views are not at all "balanced." This particular article may paint him as a reasonable fellow, but his on-air views have always been aggressively hostile to science, tolerance, and diversity of view.

[Orrex]

12. I heard that broadcast!

I sometimes listen to that stupid station on my drive home from work if I'm in the mood to be infuriated. When I heard Marty (the freshmaker?) Minto decrying the Pope's chance (and that of all non-born-agains in general, by the way) of getting to heaven, I thought "this will cost him."

Glad that he finally has to face the consequences for his unrelenting hatred of anyone who doesn't subscribe to his particular brand of madness.

Good riddance, while it lasts. Alas, I'm sure he'll pop up in some other forum, this time no doubt proclaiming himself the persecuted victim.

[TreasonousBastard]

19. I get the impression from the article...

that he was fired for Catholic-bashing and that the station, while it might be fundagelical in tone, just doesn't want to be involved in overtly bashing anyone.

Promoting their "message," is OK, but there's no profit in attacking others as not being "Christian enough."

Next he goes after those heathen Mennonites, eh? Gotta stop those moderate Methodists and Lutherans from opening their schools. Almost as bad as the Catholics.

Don't stop there-- you'll miss your Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and other friends in heaven. All of 'em burning in hellfire.

And Mormons? Whoa!

[Festivito]

14. Thou shalt not "focus on denominational issues" "alienating listeners"

"Differences in how he conducted his show" DIFFERENCES?

Question NOTHING. This is the USA. There is too much free speech.

This is rediculous.

Age old story of people wanting to have the knowledge of good and evil. Especially in othere.

[ktowntennesseedem]

17. Similar crap here: Church in ET with a very insensitive sign:

Independent Baptist church in Newport, TN, put a message on its sign declaring that the pope was bound for hell. It has thankfully raised a big stink among thinking people around here, but far too many evangelical protestants still consider catholicism to be a false religion.

<http://www3.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_3695572,00.html>

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[annabanana]

22. (giggle) You're pretty "het up" for a Buddhist..................n/t

[piece sine]

26. Christians are an obnoxious lot

it's easy for a Type A American to simply get fed-up at their antics.

[Bouncy Ball]

43. He sure is! That made me giggle, too.

That reads like a comedy routine.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

44. You, me, and Peter Parker too. Oh, and don't forget Obi. (nt)

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

45. First Buddhist I ever know who defends Hummers.

Well, I guess there's a first time for everything.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x3072663#3072682

[ktowntennesseedem]

30. I agree with your historical assessment, but have to take issue with

your stereotyping of Christians. Those you speak of as fools, in the opinion of this Christian, and Baptist, by the way, aren't really Christians at all. I agree, they are fools, for they expend great energy to convince the world and themselves that they are following Christ, but are nothing but hypocrits. Jesus addressed this when he said, "not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter into heaven.

I will say this, though. Your observations from the outside looking in show how the actions and behaviors of these pretent-Christians are so negatively impacting the teachings of Christ. I am embarrassed by what the world considers to be standard practice for Christians, and particularly upset when so-called Baptists and Christians do things as the church in Newport have done. They have only drawn more attention to their own ignorance, and have only hurt the cause to which they claim to be so devoted.

A lot of those fools believe that anyone who disagrees with them is bound for hell. I guess that includes me, since I agree with none of the intolerant, hate-filled rhetoric that they shovel out. This Christian, however, does not believe I am better than you because you follow Buddha and I follow Christ. Like you I seek enlightenment and peace so that I may better understand myself and more closely immulate one that I strive to follow in faith. I respect your different faith-opinions, and hope you will give the same.

[dignan27]

31. No offense

But I think both the Orthodox and to a lesser extent the Anglican Church might have something to say about your assessment. There is a difference between 'the only holy catholic and apostolic church' of the Nicene Creed, and the Roman Catholic church whose name is in itself an oxymoron.

[Sandpiper]

33. Do not confuse Catholic Church with Roman Catholic Church

The one is not a synonym for the other.

The Katholikos (universal) church is the historical basis for Christianity. The Roman Catholic Church is one branch of Catholicism that believes the Bishop of Rome to be the earthly head of the universal church.

This view was not shared by the congregation of the Bishop of Constantinople, and consequently, it led to the great schism of Catholicism between the Roman church and the Eastern Orthodox church.

The Anglican Church also considers itself part of the universal church.

[deadite]

48. What about the Orthodox Church?

[jukes]

18. opus dei blackops!!

they're everywhere!!!:hide:

[gauguin57]

20. Since none of us can truly know what the afterlife will bring ...

... this radio guy, and a lot of other people, are no doubt in for lots of big surprises when they die. "Faith" makes them so sure they know where we're all headed, and who'll be wheat and who'll be chaff. But I think we're all gonna be in for a big surprise. Whatever it is, it won't be what anyone has imagined, because we're mere humans, and have not been to the Great Beyond.

That's the only thing that makes me just shrug at stuff like this.

Yeah, get yourself in a froth over whether the pope is/is not a born-again and whether planes will fall from the sky when pilots are Raptured ... Whatever!

These people need to get over themselves!

[annabanana]

23. Well.. If he would ALSO have been fired for wondering if heaven exists..

... Then OK. (I guess)

[yellowcanine]

24. LIve by religion, die by religion. My guess is he had his job in the

first place because he promoted a particular doctrine. Apparently he didn't get the memo that the doctrine had changed. So sad. Orwell (1984) and Huxley (Brave New World) were right, it seems.

[tedzbear]

25. Cathlolic lobby is rich and powerful...

eom

[bleedingheart]

28. He deserved to be fired...

I have listened to his show for entertainment purposes and to listen in on what the whackjobs are discussing...

His show and the people who call it are the most bigoted and hateful people on planet earth.

Bottom line of his program is..."If you don't believe the way I believe...you are a heretic and will burn."

He tries to behave all folksy..etc.. but you would have to listen to him to appreciate what a big jerk he is.

I just wish WORD FM would fold...

[Stuckinthebush]

29. Legitimate question

If you have a childlike view of the hereafter, you would also wonder out loud if the Pope went to heaven because he didn't believe like you do.

Valid...not very politically astute, but valid.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

32. but rush can say "blowjob" and o'reilly can call John Paul II "senile"

and they get to keep their jobs

[Lone Pawn]

34. That's not right.

How low discourse has fallen. They even won't tolerate opinions from their own.

[I see you]

35. That's just wrong.

:grr:

[VegasWolf]

37. The announcer should have been fired for stupidity. There is no

heaven, ergo, no pope in heaven.

[warrens]

38. Ridiculous

He has the right to ask the question. If he was screaming that the godless, baby-raping pope is burning in hell or something, that would be one thing. Weird.

[smirkymonkey]

40. Well, yes, he did go to heaven, but was very disappointed that

it was much less opulent than his palace at the Vatican.

See related article:

http://www.theonion.com/news/index.php?issue=4115

[Iterate]

41. They eat their young

That's the trouble with being a zealot, mere mortals can never be pure enough and sooner or later they start turning on each other. I'd rather it be sooner than later.

[struggle4progress]

42. Maybe Congress should get involved ... eom

[SemperEadem]

49. Yeah.. just what flavor of Christianity, exactly is going to be

the official Christian faith once the theocracy takes over? Will people lose their jobs based upon which version of the bible they choose to follow?

I didn't think they'd start turning on each other this soon.

[renaissanceguy]

50. So born-agains are the ones who go to heaven...

Why, couldn't they get it right the first time?


http://www.cafepress.com/liberalissues.20383992