Atheists might believe that Christians are displaying bigotry against the gay community, but Rev. Samuel Rodriguez believes Christians are actually the ones suffering from it.
He, together with Pastor Robert Jeffress and American Atheists president David Silverman, spoke with Fox News' Sean Hannity and engaged in a heated debate about same-sex marriage.
Silverman said those who are opposed to gay marriage are displaying "bigotry," but Rodriguez pointed out that whatever bigotry being displayed is actually "against Christians."
"It's bigotry and intolerance against those of us who believe in the Bible and our Judeo-Christian values," he said.
Rodriguez warned that there will be dire consequences if the government legalizes same-sex marriage, adding that Christians have the right to preach their beliefs. The moment America defines Biblical truth as "hate speech," said Rodriguez, then "America as we know it ceases to exist."
Jeffress backed the statements made by Rodriguez, adding that the government is actually coming after those who oppose same-sex marriage and upholds the traditional ways.
"The Obama administration is sending us a signal that they are going to come after those that believe in traditional marriage," he said. "We can debate gay marriage all day and all night, but the fact is traditional marriage has been in civilization for thousands of years. It has been embraced by our country for hundreds of years, and has been embraced by liberals like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton until the last few years."
On the other hand, Silverman said bigotry is wrong, ugly, and stupid, and that is why Christian conservatives should not be showing it towards gay people. He also urged Christians not to use their religious beliefs "as a cloak to hide their bigotry."
