Who Killed Jesus?: Exposing the Roots of Anti-Semitism in the Gospel Story of the Death of Jesus

Crossan compares and contrasts the Passion Narratives (written to explain the crime, arrest, trial and abuse, execution, burial, and resurrection of Jesus) in the four Gospels and includes a fifth, the Gospel of Peter. With uncompromising scholarship, Crossan contrasts the stories with the history of first century Palestine, and discuses the origins of the Passion of Jesus in the Old Testament. While readers must be prepared to let go of myth and miracle, we are left with the sense that something even more powerful existed in the person of Jesus. He was a rebel in the truest sense, fighting against the 'normalcy of civilization,' i.e., empire/domination as usual. God's Kingdom--available here and now, not somewhere hereafter--directly opposed the rule of Rome. As was typical in those times, any troublemaker was quickly dealt with via execution. I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Crossan at a seminar this past February. He calls us to a mature Christian faith, a faith which strives to restore justice (equality) through service to an unjust world. This is not 'new' Christianity, but original Christianity.

The book definitely represents a very interesting approach towards 'historical Jesus', which was very unexpected for me. The author supports his reasoning with convincing research that takes a very different, from established, look on Jesus crime, arrest, trial, abuse, execution, burial and and resurrection. The epilogue, where the author talks about himself and how his personal history could have affected his view, very well worth mentioning. Although I would highly recommend this book I have two reasons for caution. First, although the author intends this book for wide audience, it pretty much reads as scholarly work, meaning it is not an easy read. This point is also confirmed by many references to the other book on this subject that the author is constantly argues with. Second, although the subtitle of this book is 'roots of anti semitism', this book is not really about it. Yes, relationship between Jews and Jesus plays very important role in this book. Bot not the main role as somebody could expect from the cover.

Just finished reading a wonderful book: "Who Killed Jesus?" by John Dominic Crossan (1996,Harper, San Francisco). Crossan is a former Catholic priest. At the time the book was published he was professor emeritus of religious studies at DePaul University in Chicago, and co-director of the Jesus Seminar. In his book Crossan develops several theses: 1. The followers of Jesus constituted one among the diverse group of Jews extant at the time of Jesus, such as the Pharisees, Essenes, Zealots,etc., with the difference that they carried Jesus' message to the Gentiles. 2. The Gospels are not a true biographical relation of the life of Jesus. They are "prophesy historicized" rather than "history remembered." 3. By the way in which they were written, the Gospels place the blame for Jesus' death on the Jews and exonerates the Romans. Therefore, the seeds of anti-Semitism are imbedded in the Gospels. 4. Christianity didn't really take off until Constantin converted, which gave Christians the powers with which they would persecute dissenters. The book draws not only on the four canonical Gospels, but also on the Gospels of Peter and of Thomas, and on the writings of Tacitus, the Jewish historian Josephus, and others. This is a very important book. You'll enjoy it.

I am not a scholar in theological or Christian studies. I am a specialist in Eastern Europe. I came to this book seeking an explanation for the origins of Christian Anti-Semitism. I got far more than I bargained for: a satisfying and profound answer to my questions on Anti-Semitism, and a powerful analysis of the origins and meaning of the central story in the Christian drama. This is simply one of the finest books I have ever read. I recommend it to the general reader as an introduction to the world of historical Jesus research. It has certainly opened up a whole new world for me. I have read two more of Crossan's books, and find myself coming back to this one over and over again. The author's autobiographical epilogue is a work of great rhetorical power and integrity and can stand by itself as a work of genius. Reading it is worth the price of the whole book. I regularly recommend this book to believing and non-believing friends alike. The moral conclusions to be drawn from this book are too important not to share.

A riveting and much needed book! Analyzes religious propaganda which was included in the New Testament by the early Christian church in which the Jews are blamed for the execution of Jesus. Crossan shows how that this did not really matter at the time, because Christianity was just a bunch of disconnected movements without much power. But after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, these passages were used in programs of Jewish extermination. The Nazi Holocaust was built on this Christian foundation.