Don Wildmon

AFA/AFR founder

September 2005 – Last week, I read that other study has revealed that watching sex and violence on television has a negative influence on the viewer.

Huh? What’s that again? What you watch on TV and in movies does affect your attitude?

So what else is new? For 28 years I have been saying the same thing. But since I happen to be a Christian – and a minister on top of that – my opinion is disregarded.

Back in the early 1980s, I debated Gene Mater during a meeting of TB critics in Los Angeles. At the time, he was a VP with CBS-TV. In the course of the debate, Mr. Mater said the problem with me was my religion. It wasn’t the first time I was exposed to anti-Christian bigotry from the entertainment elite, nor would it be the last.

When confronted with the findings of any study which suggests TB influences anyone to act in a given manner, Hollywood and the networks’ standard line is pure nonsense. “A connection has never been proven.” they say. Common sense says that if what we watch and hear and read doesn’t affect us, then we should immediately shut down every school in America because we are wasting billions of dollars.

Immediately after debunking such studies publicly, TV execs walk across the street and tell advertisers that if they will spend $50 million on their network, the company’s sales will increase.

Hypocrisy? Of course it is. But being hypocritical doesn’t bother the entertainment industry. The only thing which matters to them is power and money. That the networks and Hollywood want to change society to fit their secular and hedonistic philosophy is no secret.

In the course of my debate with him, Mr. Mater said that I had a set of values and the networks did not. He let it slip out before he realized what he had said. His remark showed the real heart of the entertainment industry – valueless.

As Christ stood before Pilate, Pilate asked the question: “Truth. What is truth?” That is a question the entertainment industry cannot answer. They remind me of the words of David in the Book of Psalms: “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands: They have ears, but do not hear.”

The leading evangelists aren’t those visible on your screen. They are those faceless, unseen voices who speak through their “works of art.”

Is any of this going to change? No time soon. There is a deep-seated hatred of all things Christian in the entertainment industry. It is reflected in their products. They express this hatred by censoring all positive portrayals of Christianity. They think that the sooner they can drive this “God idea” from society, the better society will be.

For the entertainment elite, the most disconcerting element about Christianity is its claim that only through Christ can we find salvation. The next most disconcerting element is the moral behavior which Christ taught.

But there is a great irony that Hollywood and the networks don’t seem to recognize. Their efforts are failing. The more they strive to get rid of God, the more society sees a need for Him.

And while one generation has already grown up under their preaching, there might be a glimmer of hope in the future. There is some evidence that the sleeping Church is waking up and stepping up.

Let’s hope it comes fully awake soon. If we fail, there are hosts of demons waiting at the door to rush in and fill the vacuum.