Christians who believe that marriage is between one man and one woman are practising “a kind of Christianity that I don’t think would be recognised by Christ”, according to a controversial claim by John Cleese.
The veteran actor made the comment during a BBC Radio Merseyside interview in which he also criticised Christian opposition to abortion.
The 71-year-old actor, best known for his roles in Monty Python and Fawlty Towers, said: “Some of the fundamentalist Christians seem to be performing or practising a kind of Christianity that I don’t think would be recognised by Christ.
Marriage
“I don’t think Christ said a lot about abortion or even about single sex marriage.
“I don’t know where all these Christian doctrines came from but that had nothing to do with what Christ ever said in the Bible.”
During the interview Mr Cleese also denied that the Life of Brian film, which was banned in some countries after being accused of blasphemy, was anti-Christian.
Messiah
The controversial film tells the story of Brian Cohen, a young Jewish man mistaken for the Messiah.
Mr Cleese said: “Life of Brian was never an attack on religion, which is what some people seem to pretend it was.
“It was an attack on how people hold religious beliefs, an attack on what I would call intolerance and narrow mindedness.”
Aslan
Last year another actor, Liam Neeson, claimed Aslan, the Christlike character in C.S. Lewis’ Narnia books, could also represent the prophet Mohammed.
During his life C.S. Lewis was clear that the famous lion, who appears in all seven Narnia books, was based on Christ.
But Mr Neeson, who provided the voice of Aslan in the recent Narnia films, said: “Aslan symbolises a Christlike figure, but he also symbolises for me Mohammed, Buddha and all the great spiritual leaders and prophets over the centuries.”