Professors: John Dominic Crossan

An Irish American Biblical scholar, Crossan is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, De Paul, Chicago. Crossan is the author of 20 books written over the span of three decades, four of which went on to become international bestsellers: The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ; Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography; Who Killed Jesus?: Exposing the Roots of Anti-Semitism in the Gospel Story of the Death of Jesus; The Birth of Christianity: Discovering What Happened in the Years Immediately After the Execution of Jesus.

Ordained in 1957, Crossan went on to earn a Doctorate of Divinity in 1959 at Maynooth College, an Irish seminary. He taught for four years and eventually left the priesthood in order to pursue his academic interests. Crossan’s studies included archaeology at the École Biblique in Jordanian East Jerusalem. In addition, Crossan was the co-founder and co-chair of the Jesus Seminar and was the former chair of the Historical Jesus Section of the Society of Biblical Literature, an international organization for Bible Study, which is based in the United States.