Righteous fury over religious radio prank
CHRISTIANS are hopping mad with morning radio show host, Darren Maule, after he “phoned God” this week.
Maule, who hosts East Coast Breakfast, claims to have got God’s telephone number from Zimbabwean pastor, Paul Sanyangore.
Videos surfaced on social media last week showing Sanyangore praying for congregants while holding a cellphone to his ear. He claimed that he was “on the phone with God”.
This week, Maule said he had received God’s phone number and recorded the audio of the telephone call.
This “joke” did not go down well with many listeners, who felt Maule had taken it too far.
Listener Tanya Gaillard-James said: “You are taking this too far, Darren and ECR. Have you no respect for God? Would you do this if it was another religion’s god? Very disappointed. Thought you guys had better manners and some respect. Guess I was wrong.”
Gary Huygen said: “Stand in front of God and laugh and mock Him. Mock Him at your own peril. I can assure you this would not be aired if it was an Islamic or Hindu or even Tamil religious figure being mocked. As for this pastor, whoever he is, well only God can judge.”
Posting via the East Coast Breakfast Facebook page, Jenelle Joanne Ramsami said: “What the pastor did was so wrong. Making a mockery over Christianity, and it is not funny.”
East Coast Radio’s spokesman, Zane Derbyshire, said Maule’s phone call had been very successful online, racking up 10 000 downloads in 24 hours via the station’s podcasts.
“Before we look at the spoof call, let me give you the context. There is a Zimbabwean pastor who claims to call God in a video that has gone viral online.
“He then said he would share the number on Facebook so that anyone could call God,” Derbyshire said.
Spoof call
“We featured the audio of this on air, and the video on Facebook and our website. The team then, poking fun at the ridiculousness of the pastor, made the spoof call to Heaven.
“In my view this was a mockery of the pastor and those gullible enough to believe it, and certainly not of God or Christianity in any way.”
Derbyshire added that a key part of East Coast Breakfast was about creating unique content that is fun, sometimes funny and sometimes leaves listeners thinking.
“This piece of content certainly does that. As a brand, East Coast Radio has a wide range of listeners with different beliefs and views, and we always try to be respectful towards them,” he said.