BY DON WILDMON | AFA Founder/Chairman

Back in the early ’80s I was invited to speak to a group of public affairs TV officials at a ski resort in Colorado. The person who invited me was extremely nice, saying he thought his group needed to hear what I had to say.

I decided that I wanted to address the way Christians were depicted on TV, and I set about preparing my presentation.  I wanted to use the term "anti-Christian" in my speech but was fearful of using that term. It was a term I had never seen used before, and I was nervous about using it.

Instead of using "anti-Christian," I elected to use the term "anti-religious," even though all religions except Christianity were given relatively positive portrayals on television.

About five minutes into my speech, I began hearing negative comments and profanity aimed toward me from some in the crowd. I admit that I was nervous, but since the speech was written, I decided that I was going to go through with it to the very end. From my perspective it didn’t end soon enough, but finally it was over.

Of the hundreds who were in attendance, two came forward when I finished and thanked me. They also apologized for the behavior of the crowd. The next morning as he drove me to the airport, the gentleman who invited me apologized again and again for the behavior of some in the crowd.

Some months later I addressed the subject again at a meeting in Los Angeles. This time I found enough courage to use the term "anti-Christian" and have been using it since that time.

What is it that causes the Hollywood and network elite to hate Christians so? I am fully convinced it is this:  "There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

Therein lies the rub. We aren’t willing to accept their gods, and this unwillingness begets hatred. Now, no one is forced to accept the belief that one can be saved only through faith in Christ, but that is irrelevant. The mere fact that Christians believe it brings hostility. They want to control our belief, to force their belief on us. Our belief that all religions are not equal causes their anger level to go off the charts.

These self-appointed guardians of religion will never be satisfied until Christians disregard the teachings of Christ and accept the belief that Christianity is only one of many religions to choose from — all of them being equal. In other words, they want Christians to deny the words of Christ when he said: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) If we are unwilling to do that, expect the hatred to continue.

From my perspective, it appears that we are in for a long battle.