A billboard in Harrisburg portraying a black man with a metal collar around his neck has offended some black Pennsylvanians.

The billboard saying "Slaves, obey your masters," a quote from the Bible, was paid for by the

. The sign is at 13th and Paxton streets in the Allison Hill neighborhood, the city's most racially diverse section.

The message is intended for the state lawmakers who recently passed a bill announcing 2012 as the

, the organization said.

"The message this billboard conveys is the House of Representatives should not be celebrating a barbaric and Bronze Age book," according to the American Atheists website. "We do not in any way condone slavery, but the Bible does. We have outgrown such hideous actions toward humanity."

The mayor called the group anti-Christs.

"I'll continue to pray for the atheists, that they may find Jesus Christ one day," said

, who is the capital city's first African-American mayor.

State Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland, D-Chester, who is also a Baptist pastor and one of the co-signers of Year of the Bible legislation, said the Bible is not outdated. "On the flipside, this is going to encourage people to read the Bible," he said. "My master is Jesus Christ. I'm a slave to Christianity. I'm a slave to Christ."