AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - "Basic Instinct" director Paul Verhoeven has written a book that contradicts biblical teaching by suggesting that Jesus might have been fathered by a Roman soldier who raped Mary.
An Amsterdam publishing house said Wednesday it will publish the Dutch filmmaker's biography of Jesus, "Jesus of Nazareth: A Realistic Portrait," in September.
Verhoeven is best known as the director of blockbuster films including "Basic Instinct" and "RoboCop," but he is also a member of "Jesus Seminar," a group of scholars and authors that seeks to establish historical facts about Jesus.
Marianna Sterk of the publishing house J.M. Meulenhoff said the book includes several ideas that run contrary to Christian faith, including the suggestion that Jesus could be the son of a Roman soldier who raped Mary during a Jewish uprising against Roman rule in 4 B.C.
The book also claims that Judas Iscariot was not responsible for Jesus' betrayal, she said.
The movie director's claims were greeted with some skepticism among those who have dedicated their careers to studying the life of Jesus. One issue is that there is very little information about the life of Jesus outside of the Gospels. The Gospels as understood by Christians for nearly 2,000 years do not support Verhoeven's ideas.
William Portier, a professor of religious studies at the University of Dayton, in Ohio, said the Jesus Seminar is known for making provocative claims, but "they are real scholars — you have to deal with them."
However, he said Verhoeven's ideas sounded "pretty out there."
John Dominic Crossan, a Jesus Seminar founder, agreed. He said that while Verhoeven was a member in good standing, there is little evidence for the view that Jesus was illegitimate.
Crossan said the claim is first reported in a polemic written in the second century against the Book of Matthew, intended for a Jewish audience.
"It's an obvious first retort to claims that Mary was a virgin," Crossan said. "If you wanted to do a hatchet job on Jesus' reputation, this would be the way."
The most likely scenario for people who don't accept that Jesus was literally the son of God and had no human father is simply that he was the son of Joseph, Crossan said.
Sterk said the book will be translated into English in 2009. Verhoeven hopes it will be a springboard for him to raise interest in making a film along the same lines, she said.
Verhoeven, 69, has dreamed of making a movie about Jesus' life for decades, she said.
Asked whether it would be difficult to follow Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" and Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ," she said Verhoeven knows he may be somewhat late to market.
"He is painfully aware of that," she said. "However, he has quite a different angle."
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
RSS
DannyPoo, you suffer from the same delusion as many concerning Christians and their "tolerance." It is not a case for tolerence. The reason that true believers do not rage against obvious acts and words of blasphemy is Biblical and therefore quite simple. Christians KNOW the Truth about the Lord Jesus, the Prince of Peace. That sets them free to live in peace with those who do not know Him. It also enables us to love those who do not know Him (which is the reason they do not love Him). "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." The simple truth is that the Messiah must be born of the seed of God and of a virgin. He was supernaturally fathered by the Holy Spirit, and was born of Mary, a virgin in fulfillment of Isaiah's prophesy. Not being born of the seed of Adam qualified Him as the pure-born Son of God, and therefore capable of being the perfect sacrifice for your sins and mine. Jesus is the ONLY possible candidate for the perfect sacrifice of the perfect Lamb of God. Apart from His blood, there is no salvatioin frrom sin. Praise the Lord!
It's fine to investigate theory's but this one definately seems overtly speculative, and appears more so as an attempt to create controversy than to discover any definitive truth.
Yet Christians will tolerate it(allow it to exist without violent action), because Christians are tolerant.
I wonder what would happen if this man wrote a "blasphemous" book about Mohammed of Islam.....