nirantara

Jesus didn't exist Former Christian director's secretive film scheduled to open on 06-06-06 By Ron Strom WorldNetDaily.com October 12, 2004 A movie whose purpose is to prove that Jesus Christ never existed and that demonizes Christian fundamentalists is scheduled to open on June 6, 2006 -- that is, 06-06-06, the "666" biblical mark of the Beast. Directed by Brian Flemming, who is described on the film's website as a "former fundamentalist Christian," "The Beast" http://www.thebeastmovie.com/ promises to spread the theory he claims is "gaining credibility among scholars" -- that Jesus was made up out of thin air. "The authors of the Gospels, writing 40 to 90 years after the supposed life of Christ, never intended for their works to be read as biographies. There are no credible non-Christian references to Christ during the period in which he is said to have lived," states the film's site. Here's how the film's promoters describe its plot: When her father, a biblical scholar, mysteriously disappears, a Christian high-school student named Danielle investigates. She discovers that he had stumbled across a cover-up of Christianity's best-kept secret: that Jesus Christ never existed. Now that she possesses proof of this dangerous fact, Danielle must confront two strong forces: a band of fundamentalist Christians who will stop at nothing to suppress the truth, and her own desire for Jesus Christ to be real. Diving into factual territory well-explored by scholars but largely hidden from the view of the public, "The Beast" is an epic story of innocence lost, faith in crisis and the astonishing power of the truth to survive. On the trailer, which is viewable on the film's site, ominous music plays while these words flash across the screen: "Centuries ago, a legend was invented. . . forgery . . . fraud . . . coercion . . . wealth . . . greed . . . torture . . . murder . . . war . . . gave it the power to dominate the world." The words are displayed on a background of a painting of Christ's face. Says one excited poster: "I must say, I highly commend this director for his immense courage on putting something like this out!! The fact that he has the courage to put out a movie about the possibility of Christ never existing after all the controversy surrounding a movie about the LIFE of Christ (well death really) is just amazing!! "Mad Kudos (and thanks) to EVERYONE involved in the making of this movie and good luck in handling all the 'adverse' reactions!!" Another participant enthused, "I'm so excited! I can't wait until it's released! This is DEFINITELY the age of Aquarius!!" "It always turns out that fundamentalist Christians are the bad guys," "The problem with this is the evidence they draw from is always out on the fringes of academic scholarship" -- evidence, he says, that is not even used by the leaders of the leftist Jesus Seminar.