Dutch film director, Paul Verhoeven, has funded a movie that is sure to spark major controversy among Christians and scholars alike. The filmmaker, best known for his films "Total Recall" and "Robocop," is working on a production about the life of Jesus Christ, which repudiates His divinity, suggests He was only a politician, and also the result of a rape.

"If you look at the man, it's clear you have a person who was completely innovative in the field of ethics," Verhoeven said about his upcoming film.

Like Us on Facebook

"My own passion for Jesus came when I started to realize that. It's not about miracles, it's about a new set of ethics, an openness towards the world, which was anathema in a Roman-dominated world. I believe he was crucified because they felt that politically, he was a dangerous person whose following was getting bigger and bigger. Jesus' ideals are about the utopia of human behavior, about how we should treat each other, how we should step into the shoes of our enemy," he added.

The film, titled: "Jesus of Nazareth," is based on Verhoeven's 2010 book of the same title. The book provides a pseudo-historical account on the life of Jesus. Some of his claims include that Jesus Christ is not the Son of God, a Roman soldier raped Mary and that is how He was conceived, and that Judas Iscariot never betrayed Jesus.

"Here we go again with idle speculation grounded in absolutely nothing," Bill Donohue, President of the Catholic League, FOXNews.com regarding the claims made in "Jesus of Nazareth," the book.

"He has no empirical evidence to support his claim, which is why they say 'may have.'"

Verhoeven's assertions obviously differ greatly from Biblical accounts and even other non-canonical documents. And yet, the director says that in spite of the controversy he may attract, his desire is to "explore the messages that Jesus preached and concentrate on how he was a radical prophet who revolutionized the field of ethics."

The filmmaker has reportedly appointed Roger Avary ("Beowulf") to pen the script to "Jesus of Nazareth." An expected release date for the film, which will be produced by Muse Productions, has not been set yet.

Verhoeven is a longtime member of the Jesus Seminar, a committee of over 100 scholars and laymen who dispute orthodox views on Jesus and the Gospels.