Phil Robertson Defends His Anti-Gay Comments

It's been nearly a week since "Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson came under fire for making offensive and anti-gay comments in an interview with GQ. After he issued an apology through a statement by A&E, and after officials from the cable channel suspended him from the show due to a backlash, the reality TV star spoke out on Sunday, defending his controversial comments.

During his local church's bible study group in West Monroe, Louisiana, last weekend, Robertson said, "I am a lover of humanity, not a hater," the British newspaper the Daily Mail reports.

Robertson went on to defend himself, saying he was quoting from the Bible, adding that Jesus could "save" gay men and women, according to the newspaper.

"I have been immoral, drunk, high. I ran with the wicked people for 28 years and I have run with the Jesus people since and the contrast is astounding," Robertson told his congregation at White's Ferry Roach Church of Christ. "I tell people, 'You are a sinner, we all are. Do you want to hear my story before I give you the bottom line on your story?'

"We murder each other and we steal from one another, sex and immorality goes ballistic. All the diseases that just so happen to follow sexual mischief... boy, there are some microbes running around now," he went on to say." Sexual sins are numerous and many, I have a few myself. So what is your safest course of action? If you're a man, find yourself a woman, marry them and keep your sex right there.

"You can have fun, but one thing is for sure, as long as you are both healthy in the first place, you are not going to catch some debilitating illness, there is safety there," Robertson continued, according to the Daily Mail.

"Commonsense says we are not going to procreate the human race unless we have a man and a woman. From the beginning Jesus said, 'It is a man and a woman.' Adam was made and Eve was made for this reason. They left their fathers and mothers and be united to become one flesh, that's what marriage is all about.

"But we looked at it and said it was an outdated stereotype," he added. "When you look back at the human race, the sins have always been the same: We get high, we get drunk, we get laid, we steal and kill. Has this changed at all from the time God burnt up whole cities because their every thought was evil?"

Robertson then read from the Bible and said, "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious. Sexual immorality, is number one on the list. How many ways can we sin sexually? My goodness. You open up that can of worms and people will be mad at you over it.

"I am just reading what was written over 2000 years ago. Those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom. All I did was quote from the scriptures, but they just didn't know it. Whether I said it, or they read it, what's the difference? The sins are the same, humans haven't changed."

"If you give them the bad news, they'll start kicking and screaming. But you love them more than you fear them, so you tell them," he said. "A lot of times they don't even wait for you to finish and say, 'But there's a way out, do you want to hear the rest of the story or what?

"Jesus will take sins away, if you're a homosexual he'll take it away, if you're an adulterer, if you're a liar, what's the difference? If you break one sin you may as well break them all," Robertson said. "If we lose our morality, we will lose our country. It will happen. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all walk around without stealing from each other and killing each other?"

You can read his entire speech via the Daily Mail.

Robertson made waves last week after he linked homosexuality to bestiality in an interview with GQ.

"It seems like, to me, a vagina -- as a man -- would be more desirable than a man's anus," the reality star told GQ. "That's just me. I'm just thinking: There's more there! She's got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I'm saying? But hey, sin: It's not logical, my man. It's just not logical."

"Everything is blurred on what's right and what's wrong. Sin becomes fine," he went on to say. "Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men. Don't be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers -- they won't inherit the kingdom of God. Don't deceive yourself. It's not right."

Soon after his remarks hit the web, a backlash ensued - but ultra-conservatives, like Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz, rushed to Robertson's side, defending the reality star and his right to free speech.