Christopher
Buck and Joseph L. Lewis III

Christopher Buck (Ph.D., University of Toronto, 1996; J.D., Thomas M. Cooley Law School, 2006) is an attorney (Pittsburgh), independent scholar, faculty instructor at the Wilmette Institute (2001–present, Department of Bahá’í History & Texts, distance education), and former professor at Michigan State University (2000–2004, visiting assistant professor), Quincy University (1999–2000, visiting assistant professor), Millikin University (1997–1999, assistant professor) and Carleton University (1994–1996, sessional lecturer). Dr. Buck is the author of several books, including: Bahá’í Faith: The Basics (2021); God & Apple Pie: Religious Myths and Visions of America (2015), with an introduction by J. Gordon Melton (Distinguished Professor of American Religious History, Baylor University); Religious Myths and Visions of America (2009, “an original contribution to American studies,” Journal of American History, June 2011); Alain Locke: Faith and Philosophy (2005), Paradise and Paradigm: Key Symbols in Persian Christianity and the Baha'i Faith (1999), Symbol and Secret: Qur'an Commentary in Baha'u'llah's Kitab-i Iqan (1995/2004), and Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations (co-author, 2011). He has also contributed chapters in such books as: Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran (2021); Winds of Change: The Challenge of Modernity in the Middle East and North Africa (2019, three chapters); The Bahá’í Faith and African American History (2019); ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Journey West: The Course of Human Solidarity (2013); Observing the Observer: The State of Islamic Studies in American Universities (2012); American Writers: "David Bottoms" (2018), British Writers: Ninian Smart ((2018); and "Edward Granville Browne" (2015), The Islamic World (2008), and The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to the Qur’an (2006/2017). He has published a number of academic journal articles and encyclopedia articles as well. As for popular, online articles, Buck has contributed over 350 articles to BahaiTeachings.org, and has collaborated with Kevin Locke (Tokaheya Inajin in Lakota, translation “First to Rise”), renowned Lakota hoop dancer and flutist, on the ongoing “Indigenous Messengers of God” series (80 articles so far, culminating in three articles on “Indigenous Land and Spiritual Acknowledgments”). In 2021, Buck and Locke teamed up to teach an online course, “The Great Spirit Speaks: Voices of the Wise Ones” (offered three times in 2021, by popular demand).

Joseph L. Lewis, III is an award-winning television producer, journalist, and media enthusiast. He’s worked on several documentary projects that aired on NBC, Bravo, PBS, and the A&E network. Joe covered politics and the courts for the Philadelphia Tribune and served as a Contributing Editor for HealthQuest: The Publication of Black Wellness. He is the Co-Creator and Executive Producer of the Award - Winning animated DVD - The Adventures of Teddy P. Brains: Journey into the Rainforest, and was Producer of Science Mission 101, which won the 2010 Best Children’s Program award from the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters for PBS media platform WQED. Currently, Joe is the Director of Advertising/Marketing Director for the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, and Founder/Director of the Black Bottom Film Festival presented by the August Wilson African American Cultural Center.