JOHN D. SPALDING is the author of A Pilgrim's Digress: My Perilous, Fumbling Quest for the Celestial City (Harmony Books; 2003), which Elle magazine calls "a quirky, comic postmillennial trek through some of America's more exotic embodiments of faith." Spalding writes “The Sick Soul” column for Beliefnet.com, and he has written for The Los Angeles Times, Maxim, The Week, The Christian Century, Books & Culture, Commonweal, KillingtheBuddha.com and Science & Spirit, among other publications. His writing is included in The Best Christian Writing 2004, published by Jossey-Bass. A former magazine editor and book publishing professional, he has a bachelor's degree in philosophy and a master's degree from Harvard Divinity School. He lives in Connecticut.