America is experiencing a troubling contradiction. We encourage people to show up as their authentic selves and point out the importance of diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences in our nation.

That is, until those differences are anchored in biblical conviction.

Then, suddenly, the conversation shifts and faith becomes something to keep private. Religious beliefs become acceptable only when they are silent. Scripture becomes welcome only when it stays inside a church building.

That should concern every American.

Recently, three San Francisco Giants pitchers found themselves at the center of controversy after citing Genesis 9:12-16 on their caps during the team’s Pride Night celebration. This passage points to God’s covenant with Noah, and the biblical origin of the rainbow.

Almost immediately, critics accused them of making a statement. Major League Baseball reportedly issued formal warnings to the three involved.

Yet I cannot help but ask a simple question: When did a Bible verse become something to fear?

The players did not disrupt the game and they did not prevent anyone else from expressing a different viewpoint. They simply acknowledged a biblical truth they believed.

The real issue is whether people of faith still have the freedom to express their convictions in the public square without being treated as a problem to solve.

The issue before us is not the validity of Genesis.

God’s Word does not require the approval of a league office, a corporation, a political movement, or the culture at large. The issue is whether people who believe God’s Word still have the freedom to live according to it and speak it openly.

Believers have looked to Genesis 9 and understood the rainbow to be the sign of God’s covenant with humanity. That truth did not originate in a boardroom. It did not emerge from a marketing campaign. It was established by God Himself.

That is what these players referenced. Not a political slogan. Not an act of protest or attack on anyone. A Bible verse.

And that should cause every American to pause and ask why the public recognition of Scripture now provokes such controversy. As a pastor, I have spent decades bringing people from different backgrounds together. I have found that true diversity requires a genuine space for convictions that challenge us.

Allow me to be clear. Every person is created in the image of God. Every person possesses immeasurable worth and inherent dignity. That belief is not formed by politics. It comes directly from Scripture.

Because I believe that, I reject hatred. I reject cruelty. I reject the idea that disagreement diminishes human value. But I also reject the growing notion that people of faith must hide their beliefs in order to participate fully in American life.

Respect cannot require surrender. Inclusion is not inclusion if it excludes those whose worldview is defined by faith. The rainbow did not begin with a political movement, a corporation or a marketing campaign. It began with God.

After the flood, God placed a rainbow in the sky as a sign of His covenant promise with humanity. For generations, that meaning has remained unchanged among believers. The fact that others attach different meanings to the symbol does not erase its biblical origin.

That meaning has not changed.

Nor should acknowledging that truth be treated as an offense.

What troubles me is not disagreement. Americans have always disagreed. What troubles me is the increasing expectation that religious convictions must be edited, softened or concealed whenever they collide with prevailing cultural views.

That is not the path to unity.

The strength of America has never been uniformity. Our strength comes from liberty. It stems from the recognition that people with profoundly different beliefs can live and work together and contribute to the common good without being forced to abandon their convictions.

The First Amendment was not written to protect popular beliefs. Popular beliefs rarely need protection. It was written to protect the freedom of conscience and religious expression, especially when those expressions fall out of favor.

Religious liberty is not simply the freedom to believe something silently. It is the freedom to live openly according to what you believe. America cannot celebrate diversity by punishing biblical conviction. The rainbow remains what it has always been: a sign of God’s covenant, God’s mercy, and God’s faithfulness.

Long before it served as a cultural symbol, it was a biblical one. Long before it appeared in a campaign, it appeared in Scripture. And long before any institution claimed the authority to define its meaning, God already had. That truth has not changed.

It will not change. And neither should our courage to proclaim it.

The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez is the lead pastor of New Season, one of America’s most influential megachurches, and president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC).