Ruth Everhart is a pastor, author and speaker in Leesburg, Virginia. She has written three books, including Chasing the Divine in the Holy Land, a spiritual travel memoir.

David G. Bromley is a professor of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. He specializes in sociology of religion, with a particular emphasis on the study of New Religious Movements and the anti-cult movement. He is co-editor of Cults, Religion, and Violence.