Robert Enyart (January 10, 1959September 12, 2021) was an American
conservative talk radio
Conservative talk radio is a talk radio format in the United States and other countries devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues, as opposed to progressive talk radio. The definition of conservative talk is generally broad enough ...
host and pastor of Denver Bible Church in
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Colorado. He was an
anti-abortion advocate and
political commentator
A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport).
Origins
The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...
. Enyart opposed mandated
vaccinations
Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...
and
mask mandates for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
. He died of COVID-19.
Early life and education
Enyart was born and raised in
Paterson, New Jersey. He attended a Catholic grammar school for eight years before attending a public high school. Enyart studied at
Arizona State University at
Tempe, where he specialized in computer science.
[
]
Career
Before graduating from college, Enyart began working in the technology industry, including positions at McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it pro ...
and US West
US West, Inc. (stylized as US WEST) was one of seven Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs, also referred to as "Baby Bells"), created in 1983 under the Modification of Final Judgement (''United States v. Western Electric Co., Inc.'' 552 ...
in Denver.[ He designed computer software for military helicopters and served as a computer analyst for ]Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
.
Opposed to legal abortion, Enyart began working for Operation Rescue in 1989; multiple arrests for trespassing, assault and obstruction at women's clinics led to conviction, and Enyart spent time in jail.[
In 1991, Enyart began broadcasting about conservative issues at KQXI. With his audience growing, he began broadcasting on Christian television station KWHD-TV, owned by LeSea Broadcasting of ]South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...
.[
In 2000, Enyart became pastor at Denver Bible Church.]
Enyart hosted ''Bob Enyart Live,'' a daily show on Denver-based Christian radio station KLTT
KLTT (670 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Christian radio, Christian Talk format to the Denver, Denver, Colorado, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs, United States, areas. The station is currently owned by Craw ...
and was a host for Cornerstone Television
The Cornerstone Television Network is a non-commercial Christian broadcast and satellite television network based in Wall, Pennsylvania, United States. Its founder was Russ Bixler. The network has 44 full-power and 57 low-power affiliate station ...
.
In 1991, Enyart created a radio show to support creationism and attack evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
. Enyart changed the name of the show in 2006 to ''Real Science Friday'' as a challenge to National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
's show ''Science Friday
''Science Friday'' (known as ''SciFri'' for short) is a weekly call-in talk show that broadcasts each Friday on public radio stations, distributed by WNYC Studios, and carried on over 400 public radio stations. ''SciFri'' is hosted by award-wi ...
.'' On December 28, 2012, Enyart settled a trademark infringement
Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attached to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the licence). Infringement may ...
and cybersquatting
Cybersquatting (also known as domain squatting) is the practice of registering, trafficking in, or using an Internet domain name, with a bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else.
The term is derived ...
lawsuit brought against him by NPR and renamed his show ''Real Science Radio.''
Activism and Views
Abortion
Enyart served as a spokesperson for the anti-abortion group American Right to Life. He picketed the homes of doctors who performed abortions, causing one Colorado town to ban such protests in residential neighborhoods. Enyart criticized presidential candidates who did not share his view on abortion and advocated for the death penalty for women who had abortions.
AIDS
In 1995, Enyart angered families of people with AIDS when he read a man's obituary on his television show, ''Bob Enyart Live,'' calling the deceased a sodomite
Sodomite may refer to:
* A person who practices sodomy
* A resident of Sodom and Gomorrah, Sodom
* Sodomites (film), ''Sodomites'' (film), a 1998 short film by Gaspar NoƩ
{{disambiguation ...
. A regular feature of the show involved reading obituaries of people who had died from AIDS while playing " Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
, whose lead singer, Freddie Mercury, died in 1991 from complications from AIDS.
Corporal punishment
Enyart was a proponent of corporal punishment of children. He served a 60-day jail sentence in the Jefferson County Correctional Facility after being convicted of child abuse for hitting a 7-year-old child with a belt so violently that he raised welts and broke the skin of the child.
In 1994, Enyart agreed to stop making late-night telephone calls to residents of Kenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...
who were upset with the content of his program on a Kenosha television station. The calls prompted Senator Russ Feingold
Russell Dana Feingold ( ; born March 2, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1993 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was its nominee in the 2016 election for the same U ...
(D-Wis.) to call for a Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
investigation to determine if the talk show host had broken laws.
Enyart was sentenced to 11 days in jail in June 2009 after he refused to pay a fine upon his conviction of criminal trespassing at the Focus on the Family headquarters.
O. J. Simpson
In 1999, Enyart bought about $16,000 worth of O. J. Simpson memorabilia, which he burned on the steps of the Los Angeles courthouse where Simpson was acquitted, to protest the verdict in the Simpson murder case.
Open Theism
Enyart was a proponent of the doctrine Open Theism which rejects several aspects of the Classical Theism
Classical theism is a form of theism in which God is characterized as the absolutely metaphysically ultimate being, in contrast to other conceptions such as pantheism, panentheism, polytheism, deism and process theism.
Classical theism is a f ...
of traditional Christianity. In 2014, he publicly debated the issue with Reformed Baptist
Reformed Baptists (sometimes known as Particular Baptists or Calvinistic Baptists) are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology (salvation). The first Calvinist Baptist church was formed in the 1630s. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith ...
apologist James R. White.
COVID-19
Following a lawsuit brought by Enyart, a U.S. District Court judge ruled in October 2020 that the state could not impose mask-wearing mandates or limits on the size of gatherings at Denver Bible Church.
Enyart supported the debunked theory that COVID-19 vaccinations had been tested on aborted fetuses.[ He remained unvaccinated until his death from Covid.][
]
Personal life and death
Enyart married Krista Johnson in 1982. The couple had two children, Josiah and Nathanial, before divorcing in 1989 as a result of his extra-marital affairs.
After a brief second marriage, Enyart married Cheryl Mayns in 1994.[ In 1999, he served a 60-day jail sentence after being convicted of child abuse for hitting her 7-year-old child with a belt so violently that he raised welts and broke the skin of the child.][
In August 2021, Enyart announced that he had contracted COVID-19.][ He died from the virus on September 12, 2021, at 62 years old.]
References
External links
Denver Bible Church
Bob Enyart Live
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enyart, Bob
1959 births
2021 deaths
American anti-abortion activists
American anti-vaccination activists
American Christian religious leaders
American conservative talk radio hosts
Ex-gay movement
People from the Denver metropolitan area
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado
American Christian creationists
American television talk show hosts
Anti-vaccination activist deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic