Thomas "Tom" Harpur (born ca. 1930, Scarborough, Ontario) is a Canadian author, broadcaster, journalist and theologian. Motto: Established: 1 January 1850 (township), 1 January 1967 (borough), June 1983 (city), 1 January 1998 (amalgamated) Area: 187. ...

Harpur is best known for his work with the Toronto Star where he worked as a journalist for thirty years, twelve of which were as the newspaper's religion editor. Since leaving that position in 1984 he has continued to contribute a regular column on religious and ethical issues. He has also written a number of books on religion and theology and has hosted radio and television programs on the topic, particularly on Vision TV. The Toronto Star is Canadas highest circulation newspaper, though its print edition is distributed almost entirely within Ontario. ... An Editor is a person who prepares text—typically language, but also images and sounds—for publication by correcting, condensing, or otherwise modifying it. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Theology is reasoned discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). It can also refer to the study of other religious topics. ... Vision TV is a Canadian cable specialty television channel with a mandate to air multi-faith religious programming. ...

After attending Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar in the 1950s, he studied theology at the University of Toronto's Wycliffe College until being ordained an Anglican priest. From 1957 until 1964 he served the congregation of St.-Margaret's-in-the-Pines in the Scarborough, Ontario community of West Hill. The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... Rhodes House in Oxford Rhodes Scholarships were created by Cecil John Rhodes. ... The University of Toronto (U of T), in Toronto, Ontario, is the largest university in Canada. ... Wycliffe College is an Anglican Church of Canada seminary at the University of Toronto. ... Ordination is the process in which clergy become authorized by their religious denomination and/or seminary to perform religious rituals and ceremonies. ... Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (the ACC) is the Canadian branch of the Anglican Communion. ... Roman Catholic priest LCDR Allen R. Kuss (USN) aboard USS Enterprise A priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... A congregation is the group of members who make up a local Christian church or Jewish synagogue (or those who are present at a service thereat), as opposed to the building itself. ... Motto: Established: 1 January 1850 (township), 1 January 1967 (borough), June 1983 (city), 1 January 1998 (amalgamated) Area: 187. ...

From 1964 to 1971, Harpur was Professor of New Testament at the University of Toronto's Toronto School of Theology. 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... See New Covenant for the concept translated as New Testament in the KJV. The New Testament, sometimes called the Greek Testament or Greek Scriptures, and, in recent times, also New Covenant, is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written in the first centuries of... The Toronto School of Theology is an ecumenical centre for theological education and is the largest of its kind in Canada. ...

Harpur is a liberal theologian who has concluded that there is no historical evidence of Jesus' existence [1] and views Christianity as having pagan roots[2]. He believes the bible should be intrepreted allegorically rather than literally. // Introduction Liberal Christianity, Progressive Christianity or Liberalism is a movement within Christianity that is often characterized by the following features: internal diversity of opinion an embracing of higher criticism of the Bible with a corresponding willingness to question supernatural elements of biblical stories (e. ... The Jesus Myth is a theory usually associated with a skeptical position on the historicity of Jesus, which claims that Jesus did not exist as an historical figure, but was, instead, an abstract, symbolic, and metaphorical allusion to a higher knowledge. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus of Nazareth, known by Christians as Jesus Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. ... Paganism (from Latin paganus) and Heathenry are catch-all terms which have come to connote a broad set of spiritual/religious beliefs and practices of a natural religion, as opposed to the Abrahamic religions. ... The Bible (Hebrew: תנ״ך tanakh, Greek: η Βίβλος hē biblos) (sometimes The Holy Bible, The Book, Word of God, The Word Scripture, Scripture), from Greek (τα) βίβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, is the name used by Jews and Christians for their (differing but overlapping) canons of sacred texts. ...

Books by Tom Harpur

• The Spirituality of Wine (Northstone Publishing)
• The Pagan Christ: Recovering the Lost Light (Thomas Allen Publishers, 2004) ISBN 0887621457
• Harpur’s Heaven and Hell (Oxford, 1983) ISBN 0771039417
• For Christ’s Sake (Oxford, 1986) ISBN 0195405331
• Always on Sunday (Oxford)
• Communicating the Good News Today (Lancelot)
• Life After Death (M&S)
• God Help Us (M&S)
• The Uncommon Touch (M&S)
• The God Question (Lancelot)
• The Divine Lover (Lancelot)
• Harpur vs. Hancock (Lancelot)
• Would You Believe (M&S) (published in the U.S. as The Thinking Person’s Guide to God, Prima Press, 1996)
• Prayer - The Hidden Fire (Northstone Publishing)
• Prayer Journal (Northstone Publishing)
• Finding the Still Point - A Spiritual Response to Stress (Northstone Publishing, September, 2002)

External links

• Jesus Never Existed Website Jesus Never Existed Website
• Tom Harpur official website
• A critical view of Tom Harpur's Pagan Christ. Negative review by conservative Christian J. P. Holding.
• Tom Harpur's false choices review of Pagan Christ from the Catholic New Times.
• Is There Anything New in Christianity? A Critical Response to Tom Harpur, by A. James Reimer.
• Reading the Pagan Christ in Tom Harpur's Old Office A critical response (pp. 12-13) by Terry Donaldson.
• The Leading Religion Writer in Canada ... Does He Know What He's Talking About? A critical response by W. Ward Gasque.
• Neither Scholarly nor a Solution A Response to Tom Harpur's The Pagan Christ (p. 126) by Gordon L. Heath.
• Several Arguments for Jesus' Existence A critical response by Barry Henaut.
• Paul Maier vs. Tom Harpur From an interview with Paul Maier.