A leading scholar of ascetical studies, Richard Valantasis explores a variety of ascetical traditions ranging from the Greco-Roman philosophy of Musonius Rufus, the asceticism found in the Nag Hammadi Library and in certain Gnostic texts, the Gospel of Thomas, and other early Christian texts. This collection gathers historical and theoretical essays that develop a theory of asceticism that informs the analysis of historical texts and opens the way for postmodern ascetical studies. Wide-ranging in historical scope and in developing theory, these essays address asceticism for scholar and student alike. The theory will be of particular interest to those interested in cultural theory and analysis, while the historical essays provide the researcher with easy access to a significant corpus of academic writing on asceticism.

Richard Valantasis is codirector of the Institute for Contemplative Living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Among his books are The Beliefnet Guide to Gnosticism and Other Vanished Christianities (2006), The Making of the Self (Cascade Books, 2008), and The Gospels and Christian Life in History and Practice (2009).