Actor Kevin Sorbo told TheBlaze that his recent comments that Jews "did kill Jesus" were misconstrued, and said he could have worded them more carefully.
Speaking with Christian radio host Jerry Newcombe on Monday, Sorbo discussed the criticism Mel Gibson received over his film, "The Passion of the Christ."
"[Gibson] got attacked when he was shooting 'The Passion' from the Jewish community, saying 'look at the way you're portraying us,'" Sorbo said. "News bulletin: You did kill Jesus."
Newcombe corrected Sorbo to say the Jews "delivered him over to the Romans," to which Sorbo said they "had a hand in" Jesus' death (listen to the audio here).
Actor Kevin Sorbo said he made a "flippant comment" about (Amanda Edwards/Getty Images for Discovery Communications)
Intense controversy followed, with accusations that Sorbo was spouting a "long-discredited claim" about the role Jews played in Jesus' death.
Sorbo, the star of "God's Not Dead" and a new film "Let the Lion Roar," told TheBlaze on Thursday that he made a "flippant comment" that should have been crafted better.
"Here's the deal. Here's reality. The Jewish leaders offered Jesus up to Pilate, preferring to free a hardened criminal," Sorbo said. "Did all Jews at that time hate Jesus? Of course they did not. The people screamed to let the hardened criminal go. That's in the book. That's in the facts."
Sorbo, who is a non-denominational Christian, said that there were many Jews who defended Jesus at the time and who mourned Christ's death.
"After all, [Jesus] was Jewish and … the Jewish leaders and a handful of Jews [gave him up]," Sorbo said. "It was more like they were accomplices to his murder. They knew he was going to be murdered. There was no question."
The actor said he assumed people were more "enlightened" on the issue and would realize that he was being over-simplistic in his remarks.
He credited Jews for creating Christianity as well and affirmed his support for Israel.
"I should have worded it better. We live in such an age where everything is scrutinized," he said. "Liberals love to project a false image on the wall and get very upset with the image they've created themselves."
Sorbo flatly dismissed any notion that he's anti-Semitic.
Actor Kevin Sorbo and Sam Jenkins arrive at Muhammad Ali's Celebrity Fight Night XIII at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa, March 24, 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Getty Images North America)
"If people want to take the time … they'd be hard-pressed to find anyone I've worked with to say, 'He's a bigot or a big racist, he hates Jews,'" Sorbo said.
Sorbo stars in the new faith-based film "Let the Lion Roar," in which he plays spiritual reformer John Calvin .
"In the vein of conspiracy fiction like the runaway hit 'The DaVinci Code,' 'Let the Lion Roar' takes viewers back to 16th-century Europe, where the masses rejected the Catholic Church and became believers in Christ 'by grace through faith' after Martin Luther and John Calvin’s writings ushered in the Reformation," the film's description reads. "Unlike fictional accounts of the faith, however, 'Let the Lion Roar' reveals a true supernatural conspiracy that wove false beliefs into the very fabric of the Church – lies that keep the Church today from fulfilling God’s purpose."
