ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 23, 1995 TAG: 9512250035
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
National Public Radio made an on-air apology Friday evening for a commentator's remark on the return of Christ, after the Christian Coalition complained that the comment was anti-Christian.
The remark by humorist Andrei Codrescu occurred Tuesday during a commentary on NPR's highly popular program ``All Things Considered''
Codrescu, who is on contract with NPR but not a full-time employee, said during a discourse on Christian theology: ``The evaporation of four million [people] who believe in this crap would leave the world a better place.''
The apology broadcast Friday evening on NPR's national feed of ``All Things Considered'' said Codrescu's ``remarks crossed a line of taste and tolerance that we should have defended with greater vigilance.''
In a telephone interview from his New Orleans home, Codrescu said his commentary was about a pamphlet he got on the beliefs of a religious group called The Rapture.
``I simply described the pamphlet, and I guess I used language that offended the Christian Coalition,'' Codrescu said. He said he apologizes ``for the language, but not for what I said.''
Codrescu, a humorist and writer, is editor of the literary journal ``Exquisite Corpse'' and the author of the novel ``The Blood Countess.''
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