Irish-born John Dominic Crossan is a professor emeritus in the religious studies department at DePaul University in Chicago. Between 1950 and 1969, he was a member of a 13th-century Roman Catholic religious order, the Servites, and remained an ordained priest from 1957 to 1969. He has delivered lectures to secular and lay audiences from Scandinavia to Australia to Japan to South Africa. The On Faith panelist has authored 23 books and his writings have been translated into 11 languages. His work focuses on the historical Jesus, earliest Christianity and the historical Paul. Core titles include “The Historical Jesus,” “The Birth of Christianity” and “In Search of Paul,” co-written with archaeologist Jonathan L. Reed. Dr. Crossan’s next book, “God & Empire: Jesus Against Rome Then and Now,” is scheduled for publication in February. The professor earned a doctor of divinity degree at St. Patrick’s College in Maynooth, Ireland and a humanities doctorate at Stetson University in Florida. The American Academy of Religion and DePaul and Stetson universities have recognized him with awards for scholarly excellence. His Web site is www.johndominiccrossan.com.

“On Faith” panelist Steven Waldman founded and is chief executive of Beliefnet.com, a Web site focused on spirituality and faith. About three million unique visitors come to the site each month, and 9 million readers subscribe to its newsletters. It has won an Online Journalism Award for general excellence. Prior to establishing Beliefnet.com in 1999, Waldman worked as the national editor of U.S. News & World Report, and as a Washington-based national correspondent for Newsweek. He also edited Washington Monthly. Waldman served as senior advisor to the CEO of the Corporation for National Service and authored the legislation establishing the volunteer organization, AmeriCorps. He contributes regularly to Slate, National Review and National Public Radio.

The Reverend Gardner Calvin Taylor is senior pastor emeritus of the Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, N.Y. The “On Faith” panelist led the congregation from 1948 to 1990, as church membership grew by 9,000 and through a 1952 fire that necessitated a $1.7 million rebuilding effort. His role as pastor included oversight of the Concord Baptist Church Elementary School, Concord Nursing Home, Concord Clothing exchange, Concord Federal Credit Union, Concord Seniors Residence and Concord Baptist Christfund. Beyond Brooklyn, Taylor has taken the pulpit from London’s Westminster Hall to China to Copenhagen to Zambia. His publications include How Shall They Preach, The Scarlet Thread, Chariots Aflame and Wisdom. Among his awards and honorary degrees are doctorates from Oberlin College, Leland College, Wake Forest University and Howard University; a Star of Africa, conferred by Liberian President William Tubman; and the rank of Knight Commander, Order of African Redemption, conferred by President William Tolbert of Liberia. President Clinton awarded Taylor the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000. Born in Baton Rouge, La., he now resides in North Carolina.

The Reverend Robert George Stephanopoulos, a priest of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America for 47 years, has been Dean of the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York since 1982. Prior to that, the "On Faith" panelist served as pastor of St. Demetrios Church in Fall River, Mass. and Church of Our Saviour in Rye, N.Y. He also was Dean of Sts. Constantine and Helen Cathedral in Cleveland. Stephanopoulos, who has a doctorate in ecumenics, missions and world religions from Boston University, is adjunct professor of Eastern Christian Thought at St. John's University. Long active in interreligious outreach and dialogue, he has served as Ecumenical Officer of the Archdiocese. He is a founding member of Orthodox Dialogues with Catholics, Anglicans, Evangelicals and Jews and author of the following works: Guidelines for Orthodox Christians in Ecumenical Relations; The Greek (Eastern Orthodox) Church (1990), Patriarch Dimitrios in the USA (1991), and IAKOVOS: The Making of An Archbishop (1996).