Sir Elton John's outrageous 'Jesus was gay' claim sparks row

The musician has drawn the wrath of conservative Christian groups after making such controversial remarks about the Christianity.

The 62-year-old openly gay pop star triggered controversy after telling the magazine that he thinks Jesus Christ was "gay".

"I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems. On the cross, he forgave the people who crucified him. Jesus wanted us to be loving and forgiving. I don't know what makes people so cruel. Try being a gay woman in the Middle East -- you're as good as dead," John told the US celebrity news magazine Parade on Friday.

On love life
The Rocket Man singer was married to a woman for four years before he and his wife divorced in 1988, has been with boyfriend David Furnish for 16 years. During the interview, John also talked about his love life and says he and his long-term partner David had an instant connection when they met in 1993.

"I was attracted to David immediately. He was very well dressed, very shy. The next night we had dinner. After it, we consummated our relationship. We fell in love very quickly," John told the magazine. "Every Saturday for 16 years, we've sent each other a card, no matter where we are in the world, to say how much we love each other."

Cocaine use
The star admitted taking cocaine in the past. "For some people, a gram of cocaine can last a month. Not me. I have to do the lot, and then I want more.

"At the end of the day, all it led to was heartache. Just about every relationship I ever had was involved with drugs."

Gay remarks draw anger
Meanwhile, John’s controversial remarks have angered religious groups all over the world. Several Christian groups have expressed their disappointment over John's claims that Jesus Christ was gay.

Bill Donohue, President of the largest US Catholic rights group Catholic League has condemned the comments, saying, "Jesus was certainly compassionate, but to say he was 'super-intelligent' is to compare the son of God to a successful game-show contestant."

"More seriously, to call Jesus a homosexual is to label him a sexual deviant. But what else would we expect from a man who previously said, 'From my point of view, I would ban religion completely'?"

Herald Sun quoted Luke Coppen of the Catholic Herald as saying, "Someone once said we all try to remake God in our own image. It's just possible that Elton John might be guilty of that."

Stephen Green from Christian Voice described the gay claim as "rubbish" and commented, "The Bible says Jesus was without sin and that rules out homosexuality. This is a desperate cry for attention."

Mike Judge, of the Christian Institute, dismissed the star's views, saying, "Had a senior political figure made these comments, I would have had an opinion. But this is Elton John and I don't think anybody takes him seriously."