London, February 2: A noted literary theorist has sparked fury among Christians by uttering that the Crucifixion of Christ was not as bad as it has been painted, during a radio show which is scheduled for broadcast later this month.

Terry Eagleton, Professor of Cultural Theory at the University of Manchester, said so at BBC Radio 4's programme ‘Lent Talks’.

It is learnt that he said that Jesus's scourging was a "blessing in disguise" because it hastened his death.

"The Crucifixion of Jesus wasn't as bad as its been painted. All things considered, he got off pretty lightly," the Telegraph quoted him as saying.

"If the New Testament account is to be believed it took him only three hours to die whereas a lot of those killed by this hideous mode of execution thrashed around on their crosses for days," he added.

The paper reports that Eagleton concluded his talk with an attack on contemporary Christianity, claiming that it had abandoned the poor and dispossessed in favour of the "rich and aggressive".

"It's horrified by the sight of a female breast but nothing like as horrified by the obscene inequalities between rich and poor,” the paper quoted him as saying.

"By and large, it worships a god fashioned blasphemously in its own image and likeness," he added.

Traditionalists are said to be angry with the BBC for commissioning Eagleton, whose remarks have come in the run-up to Easter.

However, the corporation insists that the programme offer a range of perspectives as it comprises talks given by six well-known figures, including the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Tom Wright, and Ann Widdecombe, the former Tory minister.

Reacting to Eagleton’s remarks, Bishop Wright said: "It is all a bit tired, this rhetoric. It is all a bit sad. Of course, caricatures of Christianity are all over the place, but they do not reflect reality. He should get out more."

The bishop added: "Perhaps the professor might also like to get his facts straight. Jesus took six hours to die on the cross, not three."

Vice-president of the Prayer Book Society Tony Kilmer also criticised Eagleton’s comment.

"Terry Eagleton is totally belittling of Christianity. How would he like it if he was strung up and scourged, let alone nailed to a cross? You would think that the BBC would let Christianity have a free run in the run-up to Easter, rather than handing the microphone to a Marxist," Kilmer said.

The programme will be broadcast on Radio Four on February 20. (ANI)