The Pagan Christ
Cover artwork for first edition
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| Author | Tom Harpur |
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| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Comparative religion |
| Genre | Religion, history, Christianity |
| Publisher | Thomas Allen Publishers |
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Publication date
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2004 |
| Media type | Hardcover, Paperback, E-book |
| ISBN | |
| 270.1 | |
| Followed by | Water Into Wine: An Empowering Vision of the Gospels |
The Pagan Christ: Recovering the Lost Light is a 2004 non-fiction book by Canadian writer Tom Harpur (born 1929), a former Anglican priest, journalist and professor of Greek and New Testament at the University of Toronto, which supports the Christ myth theory. Harpur claims that the New Testament shares a large number of similarities with ancient Egyptian and other pagan religions, that early Church leaders fabricated a literal and human Jesus based on ancient myths, and that we should return to an inclusive and universal religion where the spirit of Christ or Christos lives within each of us.
The book was named the Canadian non-fiction bestseller of the year by both the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail. It was later released under the title The Pagan Christ: Is Blind Faith Killing Christianity? in the United States by Walker Books and in Australia by Allen Unwin. It has also been published in five foreign languages: in Montreal (Le Christ païen) by Éditions du Boréal, in the Netherlands (De heidense Christus) by Ankh-Hermes bv, in Germany (Der heidnische Heiland) by Ansata Verlag, in Brazil (O Cristo Dos Pagaos) by Editora Cultrix-Pensamento and in Japan (異教キリスト) by Basilico. In 2007, the book became the basis for a CBC documentary, and that same year, Harpur published a more scholarly sequel entitled Water Into Wine: An Empowering Vision of the Gospels.
Throughout the book, Harpur details stories and sayings in the New Testament which he claims also appear in ancient myths, particularly pointing out the similarities between Jesus and the Egyptian sun god Horus. He states that a number of pagan cultures in different regions and time periods drew on symbolic themes such as virgin birth, deity father, star in the east, raising of the dead, descent into hell, crucifixion, resurrection, and others. Harpur claims that virtually all words and actions attributed to Jesus in the gospels "originated thousands of years before." Although early church leaders such as Justin Martyr and St. Augustine reportedly acknowledged certain commonalities between pagan religions and Christianity, Harpur explains that the extent of these similarities was hidden until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799.
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