Actor Slammed For Calling Moses "Barbaric" And God "Erratic

Christian Bale, who plays Moses in the forthcoming biblical epic film Exodus: Gods and Kings directed by Ridley Scott, has upset several Christian writers after he described his character as 'barbaric' and 'schizophrenic'.

Speaking at a press conference in Los Angeles last September, Bale said he had undertaken significant research for the role, including also reading the Torah, the Koran and Jonathan Kirsch’s life of Moses.

"I think the man was likely schizophrenic and was one of the most barbaric individuals that I ever read about in my life," he said. Adding that "He was a very troubled, tumultuous man and mercurial. But the biggest surprise was the nature of God. He was equally very mercurial."

Christian writers and bloggers obviously didn't receive Bale's controversial comments well and fear the film is tampering too much with the original Biblical text.

Influential Christian writer, Brian Godawa, who leaked elements of the Noah script online before the movie was finished, weighed in on Bale's comments at his blog.

"Yes, Moses murdered a man, and he had a character arc that went from being adopted and raised as a pagan Egyptian to a conversion to his troubled and tumultuous faith... He had difficulty trusting Yahweh (God). He didn’t want to be God’s spokesman because he stuttered. And he even had arguments with God... But Schizophrenic? Barbaric? Really?"

The blunt blogger said that he hoped Bale's comment was "a reflection of the actor's own ignorant bigotry than of the actual movie".

Moreover Chris Stone, the founder of Faith Driven Consumer, said he was very surprised by Bale's description of Moses, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"There’s nothing in the biblical history that supports that,' he said. 'It’s an indication that there will be a tremendous disconnect between Bale’s interpretation and the expectations of the market."

His organization also conducted a poll about Exodus and 74% of Americans were likely to see the film if it was biblically accurate but that 68% were unlikely to see it if it was inaccurate.

Would you watch the movie when it comes out?