Christian Bale calls Moses “barbaric” and “schizophrenic”

In an interview on Friday actor Christian Bale called Moses “barbaric” and “schizophrenic,” an opinion he gathered after preparing to play the biblical character in “Exodus: Gods and Kings.”

Bale said he read the Bible, the Torah, the Quran and Jonathan Kirsch’s “Moses: A Life” to understand Moses, according to The Huffington Post.

Bale said Moses “was one of the most barbaric individuals that I ever read about in my life. He’s a very troubled and tumultuous man who fought greatly against God, against his calling.”

Kirsch said that while the multiple personalities of Moses seem to be conflicting at times, it’s possible “that we have multiple versions of Moses because the Bible is he work of multiple authors who wrote at different times and places and with entirely different motives.”

One source, The Blaze, has called into the limelight the comparison between issuing disparaging remarks about Muhammed and Moses, asking how the two reactions would differ.

The article “What if Christian Bale had insulted the prophet Muhammed rather than Moses?” cited numerous examples of violence against those who spoke out against or opposed Muslim ideals, including the shooting of a 14-year-old Syrian boy for making a joke that referred to Muhammed.

Blogger Aussie Dave wrote, “Insulting perhaps the greatest Jew who ever lived will certainly not hurt (Bale’s) career, and there will be no consequences.”

Peter Chattaway, Patheos film critic, said Bale’s comment “speculates about what was going on inside Moses’ head” instead of just commenting on the Bible, The Huffington Post reports.

This kind of speculation is difficult to prove and understand, Chattaway said.

Christian blogger and screenwriter Brian Godawa had a strong reaction to Bale’s words. He said he hoped Bale’s statement was “a reflection of the actor’s own ignorant bigotry that of the actual movie,” according to The Huffington Post.

“Exodus” Director Ridley Scott has spoken against religion in the past, blaming religion for most of the world’s problems in an interview with Esquire in 2012.

The film is set to premiere Dec. 12.