Acknowledgments
First, I want to thank the staff at Brill for their hard work. My deep gratitude goes to Kocku von Stuckrad and Christoph Jedan. My work is in debt to them in innumerable ways. I am additionally grateful to all those who reviewed the manuscript: Whitney Bauman, Willem B. Drees, Arie Molendijk, Dennis Vanden Auweele, Steve Mason, and others. I also want to thank Frank K. Flinn, who fed my love of religion and science and all the questions that come with the field. Though lost to us, his friendship and support continue to be felt and will never be forgotten. A huge thanks goes to Jason Abrams for significantly editing the cover image and for suffering through my perfectionism. To my birth family, thank you for the support while I traveled and finalized this work. And to my chosen family, Tim, Olivia, and Ellie, I am ever grateful for you just being you. Finally, nothing drives me more in this world than my amazing daughter, Kaya, who ever expands the depths of my gratitude. Kaya, I love you more than life itself.