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and the National Catholic Reporter

June 1, 2026

Episode #74, John Dear in conversation with John Dominic Crossan and Michael Okinczyc-Cruz, Part 2 of 2

On today’s new episode of “The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast,” John Dear continues Part 2 of his conversation with scripture scholar John Dominic Crossan along with Michael Okinczyc-Cruz, about their new book, Jesus and Justice: Organizing for God’s Reign on Earth Then and Now.

Co-author Michael Okinczyc-Cruz is the Executive Director and co-founder of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership in Chicago where he is a community organizer. He is also a professor at the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University of Chicago.

“One cannot look at our current political moment and not think about Jesus,” Dom Crossan says. “Jesus’ teaching had to do with the lived realities of the oppressed people of his time. Jesus did faith-based community organizing and his nonviolent movement has ongoing relevance for today,” he says.

Their new book, Jesus and Justice, reflects on Jesus as a grassroots movement organizer of nonviolent resistance, and combines Dom’s scholarship with Michael’s organizing work on the streets of Chicago. “In Chicago,” he says,

“you could encounter Border Patrol and ICE agents roaming the streets, arresting people based on the color of their skin. Conditions were so horrific in detention, one local judge described it as a concentration camp. We organized thousands of people to protest these conditions, and our grassroots movement has made some progress. The distinctive nature of our work is nonviolence in all our actions and our words. This is how we follow Jesus.”

“This path of nonviolence is the only path to an approximation of God’s reign,” Dom concludes. “What’s happening in our country is a revelation of who we are. We have a savage culture. We need people of good faith to be engaged, organize nonviolently and take risks and action to pursue and live out God’s reign in our hearts and here on earth.” Listen in and be inspired! God bless you all!

Next week…

The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast welcomes Joyce Rupp! For more information, visit here.

Listen on Apple, Spotify, all major platforms,
and the National Catholic Reporter

May 25th, 2026

Episode #73, John Dear in conversation with John Dominic Crossan, Part 1 of 2

On today’s new episode of “The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast,” John Dear speaks with author and theologian John Dominic Crossan, perhaps the most widely read scripture scholar in the world. This is the first of two episodes.

John Dominic Crossan is an Irish-born biblical scholar with post-doctoral diplomas in exegesis from Rome’s Pontifical Biblical Institute and in archeology from Jerusalem’s École Biblique. He has been a Catholic priest, a Co-Chair of the Jesus Seminar, and a President of the Society of Biblical Literature, and is professor emeritus of religious studies at DePaul university in Chicago. His many books include: God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome; How to read the Bible and Still Be a Christian; Resurrecting Easter; Excavating Jesus; The Birth of Christianity; Who Killed Jesus?; The Historical Jesus; The Essential Jesus; Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography; and his memoir, A Long Way from Tipperary.

In their conversation, Crossan tells his fascinating journey to “the historical Jesus,” and how this became a global movement. “I can’t not think of Jesus while living in this country and what’s happening today,” he says. “What is hopeful now for the first time is that we are asking the right question: the historical Jesus is not just for Christians. The story isn’t just Jesus against Rome; it’s about God’s creation against our civilization which is based entirely on violence.”

At 92, after a lifetime of writing about the historical Jesus, he wonders about the fate of humanity. “Are we a sustainable species?” he asks. “That’s the question. Or has God given us the freedom to destroy ourselves and our world?” Part Two will discuss his next book with Michael Okinczyc-Cruz, Jesus and Justice: Organizing for God’s Reign on Earth Then and Now. Listen in and be inspired! God bless you.

Next week…

The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast welcomes back John Dominic Crossan! For more information, visit here.

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