Thursday, April 24, 2008

Jesus' Birth Was Illegitimate?

CNN.com today has this little item. Here it is in its entirety,

"Film director Paul Verhoeven has written a book that contradicts the Bible by suggesting that Jesus might have been fathered by a Roman soldier who raped Mary.

An Amsterdam publishing house says it will publish the book titled "Jesus of Nazareth: A Realistic Portrait" in September.

Verhoeven is best known as the director of films including "Basic Instinct" and "RoboCop," but he is also a member of the "Jesus Seminar," a group that questions church teachings about Jesus.

John Dominic Crossan, a Jesus Seminar founder, says that while Verhoeven is a member in good standing, there is little evidence for the view that Jesus was illegitimate."

Crossan says the claim was first reported in a polemic written in the second century to refute the Christian belief that Jesus was born of a virgin.
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