Christian Bale Draws Fire After Moses Comments

By Alison Lesley --
04 Nov 2014 --

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

Christian Bale is playing the main character in a biblical epic film about Moses, directed by the famed Ridley Scott (best known for his work on films like Alien, Blade Runner and Prometheus, to name a few). In preparation for playing the part, Bale took the time to read the Torah, the Koran and a book by Jonathan Kirsch called The Life of Moses. However, he has drawn a lot of criticism from Christian bloggers and writers for his comments about what he thinks might have been going on in the complex mind of Moses.

Christian Bale has commented before about the nature of both God and Moses, using adjectives like “shocking” and “mercurial” to describe what he read while researching the biblical character. He has gone further this time, though, actively speculating about what might have been going on in the mind of Moses. Backlash from the Christian community may reduce proceeds for the film following the remarks by Bale.

Bale’s comments have been held up as proof that Exodus: Gods and Kings will not stay true to its biblical origins. Writers and bloggers of Christian persuasion are upset about Bale’s comments regarding the complex and mercurial nature of Moses. Christian writers like Brian Godawa are speaking out about Bale’s comments, acknowledging that Moses had issues with trusting Yahweh and being his messenger.

Christian Bale on Playing Moses: 'He Was a Very Troubled, Tumultuous Man': http://t.co/Akna5mofln pic.twitter.com/7RgqndYuEi
— The Christian Post (@ChristianPost) October 17, 2014

Faith Driven Consumer’s founder Chris Stone has also expressed his unhappiness with Bale’s comments but has not yet made his qualms public to the followers of the group. A poll conducted by the group showed that 74% of their respondents would go to see the film if it stayed true to the biblical story, while 68% said they would not see the film if it were not an accurate portrayal.