Christian Bale and Moses

Christian Bale is the actor who plays the role of Moses in the film, Exodus: Of Gods and Kings. He said about Moses:

• ‘I think the man (Moses) was likely schizophrenic¹ and was one of the most barbaric individuals that I ever read about in my life.’ 
• ‘He [Moses] was a very troubled, tumultuous² man and mercurial.³ But the biggest surprise was the nature of God. He was equally very mercurial.’

He based his pronouncements on so-called ‘significant research’ which included the Torah, the Koran and Jonathan Kirsch’s, ‘Moses, A Life.’ Bale said he was surprised by the complexity of the figure – and his creator ⁴  The words that Bale uses to describe Moses and God gives one an idea of his theological insight: not much.

Why don’t Christians kill him, or burn down his house because of his insults?

Let’s imagine that we have a holy command to stone Bale. Would that be part of God’s plan? No, the God of the Bible has a better plan than violent retaliation.

• God made man, and even though many doubt it, He loves people, and wants them to be with Him eternally, ‘…[God] wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.’ ⁵
• God’s plan in Jesus is brilliant.  Jesus, the Redeemer said, ‘For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.’  ⁶
• Dead people don’t read the Bible, or hear about it, so that they can be convinced by the Holy Spirit to change lanes and join God’s Kingdom. No harm must come to Christian Bale from any real Christian. His life cannot be terminated by man. He must have the opportunity to decide about Jesus and the Kingdom.

Does Christian Bale just go scot-free?

Does the fact that God gives a person time on earth to come to his senses, mean that nothing will ever happen to those who ridicule God and His people?  No, they will give an account later, on Judgment Day: ‘The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.’ ⁷

Why does God wait so long?

While alive, all people have the right to choose either for or against God’s Kingdom. This means:

• No unbeliever is to be threatened by any Christian, because at the Great White Throne Judgment all people’s motives and attitudes will be exposed and judged.
• All people who ever lived, will appear before God to give an account of what they did while alive. Scripture will be the ‘Constitution,’ the measurement of a person’s deeds – for or against God?
• Christian Bale will also be there. The books will testify whether he has changed his life to love God, or not. The consequences will be entirely his own free choice.

Summary

We see the brilliance of God’s plan. There is no need for Christians to judge people outside the church, kill them, or burn down their facilities. God is the Judge, and He has appointed a time for justice at the final Judgement.

References

1. Schizophrenic – a long term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion and behaviour.
2. Tumultuous – excited, confused or disorderly
3. Mercurial – subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind
4. The Guardian, Monday, 27 October, 2014
5. 1 Timothy 2:4
6. John 12:47b
7. Revelation 20:12c