The Subjective Eye

Richard Valantasis holds degrees in Historical Theology, Church History, and New Testament and Christian Origins from Harvard University, where he received his doctorate in 1988. His academic research and writing has focused on the theory of asceticism and the Greek ascetical tradition of Late Antiquity. He has taught at Harvard University, Saint Louis University, Hartford Seminary, and the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. He is a co-editor of the Oxford University Press reference volume, Asceticism, and is known for his ascetical reading of the sayings traditions in The Gospel of Thomas (Routledge, 1997) and The New Q: Translation and Commentary (Trinity International, 2005). He is author of Third-Century Spiritual Guides (Fortress, 1991), Centuries of Holiness (Continuum, 2005), The Beliefnet Guide to Gnosticism and Other Vanished Christianities (Doubleday, 2006), and Walking the Byzantine Road (forthcoming); he is the editor of Religions of Late Antiquity in Practice (Princeton University Press, 2000). Dr. Valantasis is Professor of Asceticism and Christian Practice and the Director of the Anglican Studies Program at Candler School of Theology / Emory University.

An artist as well as a teacher and scholar, Deborah J. Haynes received her Ph.D in Fine Arts and Religion at Harvard University. She is currently Professor of Fine Arts at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

James D. Smith III also received his Th.D. from Harvard University and is currently Associate Professor of Church History at Bethel Seminary San Diego and Lecturer in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Diego. He also serves on the pastoral staff of College Avenue Baptist Church.

After many years on staff at several scholarly and educational publishers, Janet F. Carlson is currently an independent editor and writer. She has been a friend and admirer of Margaret R. Miles for twenty-five years.