Today was the conclusion of one of the most amazing, thrilling, and edifying forty eight hours I’ve experienced. The church I attend, First United Methodist of Schenectady, hosted one of the outstanding theologians and biblical scholars of our time, John Dominic Crossan. On Saturday he gave two lectures on the general topic of violence and the Christian bible with the first lecture on God and violence and the second on Jesus and violence. This morning he gave the sermon in our service on the topic ‘Justice and Love.’
For those who may not know who he is, he is a co-founder of the group of biblical scholars known as The Jesus Seminar and is a leading scholar of the historical Jesus, the historical Paul, and the Early Church. He is the author of many books and has spoken and taught all over the world.
One of the biggest thrills for me is that I was the one who met him at Albany airport and drove him to Schenectady. I also drove him back to the airport today. Those two car trips were certainly two of the most un-boring and stimulating car trips of my life.
He is one of the most personable and easy going people I’ve met. He insisted we simply call him ‘Dom’ and that is how he introduced himself to people. Several of us also had a wonderful time hosting him to dinner at one of the areas restaurants.
His two most recent books are God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now, and How to Read the Bible & Still Be a Christian: Struggling with Divine Violence from Genesis Through Revelation. Needless to say I brought my copies of those books for him to sign.
A truly wonderful weekend.