'God is petty' - Gareth Cliff (5FM radio personality). What happened?

Here's the story of Gareth Cliff's remarks about God being 'petty', and the subsequent story that unfolded. I received the petition and was concerned that he was able to say things like this on air. I don't want to infringe on his right not to believe in God, but it does infringe on my beliefs when he expresses views such as this publicly and without sensitivity or restraint...

From News24:

Cape Town - 5fm DJ Gareth Cliff is in trouble again. The controversial radio presenter has caused a furore by calling God "petty" on his breakfast show.

However, according to Cliff's manager, the incident has been blown out of proportion and taken out of context.

"Cliff has been accused of blasphemy for referring to a news report of the Teddy Teacher Gillian Gibbons who had been arrested in the Sudan for naming a teddy bear Mohammed."

"Blasphemy should not be a crime," Cliff said in an e-mail on Thursday.

"If God is great, why would he be so easily offended by what a mortal man says? If God has such an ego, then he must be petty."

Since the show, numerous e-mails have been circulating on the web with petitions "to get Cliff off air".

News24 has also received numerous complaints of users saying that Cliff "has gone too far".

'God is not petty'

June Jousten, a News24 user from Gauteng, said: "What really gets to me, is that this seems to happen on a daily basis and that the South African Broadcasting Association does little to zero about it."

In the midst of the furore is Gerda-Mari Povey, a 5fm listener from Pretoria, who sent an e-mail of complaint to Cliff on Thursday morning after listening to his show.

Povey forwarded her e-mail correspondence with Gareth Cliff to News24.

She wrote to him: "You know what, Gareth, I love your show, but this morning u shocked me!!!! just wanted to say, God is not petty!!!!!

"I pray that something drastic will happen in your life, that will allow you to experience the loving kindness and mercy of God..."

"As a Christian, I really felt offended," she told News24. "He (Gareth) should have more respect for people's religion. He has offended many of his listeners."

"What if my children had heard his comments. It was very irresponsible of him. I'm normally the kind of person who just keeps quiet, but this time it was just too much."

Hate mail

Cliff's short reply to her e-mail was: "Stop sprouting nonsense. There is no god. There is no tooth fairy and there is no Father Christmas."

Povey said: "I was so upset. I was almost in tears. I forwarded his response to a few of my closest friends, but I never intended this e-mail to be circulated through the entire country."

Povey told News24 she had been receiving a lot of hate mail since Thursday.

"Some people have said to me, how can I know for sure that it has indeed been Gareth Cliff who replied to my e-mail. Well, I sent my initial e-mail to 5fm's mailbox and Cliff replied to my e-mail from his personal e-mail. Who else at 5fm could have written that e-mail?"

"I don't have anything against him personally, he can debate politics etc all he wants, but when it's about religion, he should show more sensitivity."

Tribunal

Cliff's manager told News24: "Gareth has always been opinionated and loves debating. He has responded to Povey by e-mail as a courtesy and has treated her in the same way as he would have treated a friend."

In his follow-up e-mail to Povey, Cliff placed into context what he was trying to say on his show.

"I will never agree with you just as you find my lack of belief so distasteful. The difference is that I concern myself with people, and try to be a good and hopefully moral person.

"I don't need blessings or permissions or prayers. I'm a happy guy."

According to his manager, Cliff was not available for comment until Thursday morning.

"The SABC has called a tribunal at the Broadcasting Complaints Commission in Johannesburg on Thursday morning at 09:00 to discuss the issue. It will be open to the public.

"The SABC has come to his defence and believes his comments have been taken out of context."

And, here is Sarah Britten's commentary,

"If God is great, why would he be so easily offended by what a mortal man says? If God has such an ego, then he must be petty."

Gareth Cliff, commenting on the teddy bear named Mohammed. A listener from Pretoria then wrote to him to complain. Gerda-Mari Povey wrote:

"You know what, Gareth, I love your show, but this morning u shocked me!!!! just wanted to say, God is not petty!!!!! I pray that something drastic will happen in your life, that will allow you to experience the loving kindness and mercy of God?"

He then apparently wrote the following to her:

"Stop sprouting nonsense. There is no god. There is no tooth fairy and there is no Father Christmas."

Povey has subsequently received hate mail, along with questions about whether it was Cliff who actually responded to her. However, Cliff then mailed her again, explaining:

"I will never agree with you just as you find my lack of belief so distasteful. The difference is that I concern myself with people, and try to be a good and hopefully moral person. I don?t need blessings or permissions or prayers. I'm a happy guy."

This means that Gareth Cliff is one of the very few South Africans to emerge from the belief closet and effectively declare himself an atheist. In a country where religious conservatism is more predominant than many of us like to think, that's a brave thing to do.

Brave... Perhaps. Bright, not so sure...

Any person who uses their position of public influence to humiliate others is neither 'moral' nor a 'good person' in my estimation. Quite apart from his 'popular' religious sensibilities, his email shows disdain toward a member of the public....

Not my cup of tea. I am sorry to say that my estimation of Gareth Cliff has been lowered, for what it's worth, not for his views on religion - I am not surprised by uninformed and shallow approaches to a Universe filled with mystery! That happens every day! I am disappointed in the manner in which he dealt with this issue, and the ordinary listener who expressed her opinion in relation to his. Clearly he was dismissive of her, yet he wanted to have the right to have his opinion heard without challenge!

I heard his half hearted explanation (which he assured the listeners was neither an apology, nor an admission of wrongdoing) this morning.... If he was truly brave he could have either stuck to his guns... Or, he could have been brave enough to admit he was not right in the way he treated a member of his audience.

Just my two cents worth!

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