Christian Bale, who plays Moses in Exodus: Of 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’.

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