I continued, “In recent years, however, there has been a growing assault on these rights, notably religious liberty. Our Supreme Court has struck down Bible reading in schools and even prohibited prayer to an unidentified God. Then, they banned the posting of the Ten Commandments on bulletin boards. From there, the limitation on religious liberties has become even more egregious.”

“Most recently, President Obama and Hillary Clinton have been referring to ‘freedom of worship,’ rather than ‘freedom of religion.’ Do you understand their motive? They are suggesting that Americans are free to worship in their churches and synagogues, but not in the public square.”

With that background, I asked Mr. Trump the following question, both in the smaller meeting and again in the larger assembly:

I said, “Sir, if you are elected president, how will you protect our religious liberties? Will we have to fight another revolutionary war to secure those rights to worship, think and speak?”

Donald Trump was very sympathetic to the concerns I expressed, although I can’t remember his precise words. I do recall he said it was an outrage that Christians have been deprived of their rights to speak openly on behalf of the values and principles in which they believe. He was especially exercised by a U.S. tax code revision in 1954 by then Senator Lyndon Johnson. Jerry Falwell, Jr., said Johnson had rammed this amendment through Congress without public scrutiny. It seriously limited freedom of religion, especially religious speech, by leaders of churches and non-profit organizations. The Johnson amendment contained language that prohibited the faith community from expressing their opinions about political parties and those seeking power. That law plagues us to this day. Trump rightly condemned the legislation, which muzzled those of us who would otherwise use our influence to support our beliefs. He called that provision “unfair,” and promised to overturn it if he is elected. That would have a great impact on Washington because it would unleash Christian activists to fight for their beliefs.

Other participants within the huge crowd were then handed microphones and allowed to ask Mr. Trump to clarify his perspectives on various topics. It was a fascinating day.

Then, something happened that would get reported, mostly inaccurately, in perhaps 1,000 newspapers, blogs and media outlets. Because I was recognized by a large number of participants, I began greeting people who approached me. I talked that day to what seemed like 500 people in a 15-hour period ending at 11:30 p.m. One of those well-wishers was carrying a recording device, and he suddenly appeared before me and held a microphone in my face. He asked for my impressions from the day.

I spoke candidly for about 20 seconds, as I recall. Then he disappeared. By the next morning, millions of people were talking about my saying I had heard during the day that a minister had led Donald Trump to a relationship with Christ. I didn’t elaborate because I said all I knew. Reporters and op ed writers began criticizing me for that one sentence remark. The Christian media was especially vicious!

One particularly harsh blogger wrote this about me. His headline read, “Dobson changes his mind about Donald Trump’s conversion.” Then he wrote:

“Is this the way we as believers should be discussed by the world? Should we be wavering like this, supporting candidates at all costs, even when it destroys our witness and credibility? Aren’t we supposed to be upstanding and able to reach the lost instead of confusing the lost? There are thieves in the temple, people!”

From my 20-second comment, I have become a “thief in the temple.” Let me explain just how off-the-wall this man’s criticism was. I responded to a Christian blogger and minister, David Jeffers, who wrote me a couple days after my comments became public. He asked me to tell him more about the event. This is my reply: 

I’ll end by sharing with my listeners and friends that Family Talk is still experiencing a pretty serious summer slump. Any help you can offer would certainly be appreciated.