Most of my publication has been in New Testament studies, including detailed commentaries on First Peter (1988), the Book of Revelation (1997), the letter to the Hebrews (2003) and most recently the Gospel of John (2010, in the New International Commentary series). "Passing by the Dragon" marks a crossover into the field of American literature, specifically the work of Flannery O'Connor, whose work I have known and admired since around 1975. My sister-in-law tells me that at last I have written something she can actually read! In this book I have tried to provide a reading of O'Connor's fiction that draws in turn on her own reading of the Bible. My book is no substitute for reading O'Connor herself (much less the Bible!), but I hope it will be a useful tool both for lovers of O'Connor and for lovers of the Old and New Testaments. I have taught religious studies at Missouri State University in Springfield, and New Testament at several theological seminaries (Gordon-Conwell and Andover-Newton in Massachusetts, Fuller in Pasadena, California and in Seattle, and Bangor Seminary in Portland, Maine). I have been "retired" since 1994, and my wife and I now live in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.