Editing Paul Verhoeven (section)

==Other activities==
Verhoeven was a member of the [[Jesus Seminar]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.westarinstitute.org/membership/westar-fellows/fellows-directory/paul-verhoeven/ |title=Meet the Westar Fellows: Paul Verhoeven |work=westarinstitute.org |access-date=3 February 2017}}</ref> and he was the only member who does not have a degree in [[biblical studies]].<ref name="dutchpressrelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.katholieknederland.nl/actualiteit/2005/detail_objectID571964_FJaar2005.html |title=Paul Verhoeven schrijft boek over Jezus |trans-title=Paul Verhoeven writes book about Jesus |work=Katholiek Nederland |date=3 September 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311174119/http://www.katholieknederland.nl/actualiteit/2005/detail_objectID571964_FJaar2005.html |archive-date=11 March 2007 |language=nl}}</ref> He graduated with a degree in mathematics and physics from the University of Leiden.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hakkenes |first=Emiel |url=http://meer.trouw.nl/nieuws-en-debat/verhoeven-niet-echt-zeer-geleerd |title=Verhoeven is niet echt zeer geleerd |work=[[Trouw]] |date=24 October 2008 |quote=Zijn academische titel zou Verhoeven behaald hebben aan de Universiteit Leiden. Maar is hij wel gepromoveerd? "Dan zouden wij een proefschrift van hem moeten hebben", zegt een woordvoerder van de universiteit. "Dat is niet het geval." English translation: Verhoeven would have received his academic degree at the University of Leiden. But did he receive a doctor's degree? "Then we should have a dissertation", says a spokesperson of the university. "This is not the case."}}</ref><ref name="senses">{{cite web |url=http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/verhoeven/ |title=Paul Verhoeven |first=Dan |last=Shaw |date=January 2003 |work=Senses of Cinema |access-date=28 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071117150942/http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/03/verhoeven.html |archive-date=17 November 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> Since he is not a professional biblical [[exegete]], his membership in the Jesus Seminar has occasionally been cited by opponents of the Seminar as a sign that this group is less scholarly than it claims. For example, [[Luke Timothy Johnson]] criticizes the Jesus Seminar's methods on [[Biblical criticism|exegetical grounds]], and also criticizes what he perceives to be a dependence on the theatrical and an attempt to manipulate the mainstream media. He singles out Verhoeven as a key player in the media activities of the Jesus Seminar.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Real Jesus |first=Luke Timothy |last=Johnson |author-link=Luke Timothy Johnson |publisher=HarperSanFrancisco |year=1996 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/realjesusmisg000john/page/15 15]–16 |isbn=978-0-0606-4166-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/realjesusmisg000john }}</ref> On the other hand, some Jesus Seminar members were unhappy with Verhoeven's portrayal of Jesus as an [[Eschatology|eschatological]] [[prophet]].<ref>{{cite journal |first=Charlotte |last=Allen |title=Away with the Manger |journal=Lingua Franca |date=February 1995 |page=27}}</ref>

In 2007, Verhoeven wrote the book ''Jesus of Nazareth'' ({{langx|nl|Jezus van Nazaret}}) about the life of Jesus of Nazareth.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bijleveldbooks.nl/html/fondslijst.html |title=Fondslijst Uitgeverij Bijleveld |work=bijleveldbooks.nl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312042424/http://www.bijleveldbooks.nl/html/fondslijst.html |archive-date=12 March 2007 |language=nl}}</ref> The book reviews the ideas of Jesus of [[Nazareth]] and the alleged corruption of these same ideas over the last 2,000 years. Co-written with Verhoeven's biographer Rob Van Scheers, the book is the culmination of the research Verhoeven conducted in preparation for ''Jesus: The Man'', a motion picture about the life of Christ.<ref name="dutchpressrelease"/> The book tells about the Jewish uprising against Roman rule and characterizes Jesus as a radical political activist, downplaying any supernatural events and miracles as unproved or unprovable. ''Jesus of Nazareth: A Realistic Portrait'' was released in September 2008 in Dutch, and was published in English in May 2010 by [[Seven Stories Press]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sevenstories.com/books/3241-jesus-of-nazareth |title=Jesus of Nazareth by Paul Verhoeven |work=Seven Stories Press |access-date=3 February 2017}}</ref>