In Search of Paul: How Jesus' Apostle Opposed Rome's Empire with God's Kingdom

With dusty, tired, much-traveled Paul came Rome's most dangerous opponent, not legions but ideas, not an alternative force but an alternative faith. Paul too proclaimed one who was Lord, Savior, Redeemer, and Liberator. He announced one who was Divine, Son of God, God, and God from God. But Paul's new divinity was Christ, not Caesar. His was a radically divergent but equally global theology. — from the Prologue

Many theories exist about who Paul was, what he believed, and what role he played in the origins of Christianity. Using archaeological and textual evidence, and taking advantage of recent major discoveries in Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Syria, John Dominic Crossan and Jonathan L. Reed show that Paul was a fallible but dedicated successor to Jesus, carrying on Jesus's mission of inaugurating the Kingdom of God on earth in opposition to the reign of Rome. Against the concrete backdrop of first-century Greco-Roman and Jewish life, In Search of Paul reveals the work of Paul as never before, showing how and why the liberating messages and practices of equality, caring for the poor, and a just society under God's rules, not Rome's, were so appealing.

Crossan and Reed's concise, engaging prose conjures up the complex and rich world of Paul's time, from the imperial intrigues of Rome to the theological infighting among Christian communities in Greece and Turkey to the beautiful landscapes and the cultural conflicts of the Middle East. The illustrations and short, rich, you are there descriptions help the reader to follow in the footsteps of Paul and, indeed, in the footsteps of Christianity.

John Dominic Crossan, the eminent historical Jesus scholar, and Jonathan L. Reed, an expert in biblical archaeology, reveal through archaeology and textual scholarship that Paul, like Jesus, focused on championing the Kingdom of God--a realm of justice and equality--against the dominant, worldly powers of the Roman empire.

Many theories exist about who Paul was, what he believed, and what role he played in the origins of Christianity. Using archaeological and textual evidence, and taking advantage of recent major discoveries in Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Syria, Crossan and Reed show that Paul was a fallible but dedicated successor to Jesus, carrying on Jesus's mission of inaugurating the Kingdom of God on earth in opposition to the reign of Rome. Against the concrete backdrop of first-century Grego-Roman and Jewish life, In Search of Paul reveals the work of Paul as never before, showing how and why the liberating messages and practices of equality, caring for the poor, and a just society under God's rules, not Rome's, were so appealing.

Readers interested in Paul as a historical figure and his place in the development of Christianity

•Readers interested in archaeology and anthropology

Two of America's top Bible experts present a fascinating "you are there" vision of Paul as the embodiment of Jesus and the champion of his mission. 16-page color insert. 120 b&w illustrations throughout.

John Dominic Crossan was born in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, Ireland in 1934. He was educated in Ireland at Maynooth College, in Rome at the Pontifical Biblical Institute, and in Jerusalem at the Ecole Biblique.

Crossan was a member of the 13th-century Roman Catholic religious order, the Servites, from 1950 to 1969 and an ordained priest from 1957 to 1969. He taught at DePaul University for 25 years and held a visiting professorship at Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts. He has been a guest lecturer at many distinguished universities including the University of Chicago and Northwestern University. He was co-director of the Jesus Seminar from 1985-1996 and chair of the Historical Jesus Section of the Society of Biblical Literature from 1992-1998.

He has contributed articles and reviews for dozens of journals and has written 18 books over the last 30 years. The Birth of Christianity was a Publishers Weekly 1998 "best book of the year" while all four of his most recent — The Historical Jesus, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, Who Killed Jesus and The Birth of Christiantiy --were national bestsellers for a combined total of 22 months. In a recent book, Excavating Jesus: Beneath the Stones, Behind the Texts, Crossan joins a brilliant archaeologist to illuminate the life and teaching of Jesus against the background of his world. He has received numerous academic awards over the years including the American Academy of Religion Award for Excellence in Religious Studies and the Via Sapientiae Award, DePaul University's highest honor.

The list of his print, radio, and television interviews and reviews takes up over 13 full pages. Crossan's interviews include The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, National Public Radio's "Fresh Air", Larry King Live and he will be featured in the upcoming ABC special "The Search for Jesus" with Peter Jennings on Monday, June 26th 2000, 9:00-11:00 p.m. (ET).

He lives with his wife Sarah near Orlando, Florida.