Dutch director Paul Verhoeven, best known for directing films like Robocop, Basic Instinct, and Total Recall, is releasing a biography of Jesus which is bound to spark an angry response, reports AP. The book, which Verhoeven has been working on for 20 years, suggests that Jesus' father was a Roman soldier who raped Mary. The director hopes the book will lead to a film.
Verhoeven's early films are loaded with Christian symbolism. He belongs to a group of Jesus scholars known for making provocative claims. One religious studies professor described the theories in the book—which also claims Judas was not responsible for Jesus' betrayal—as "pretty out there." (More Paul Verhoeven stories.)