The Reverend Thomas William "Tom" Harpur (born 1929) is a Canadian author, broadcaster, columnist and theologian. An ordained priest, he is a proponent of the Christ myth theory, the idea that Jesus did not exist but is a fictional or mythological figure. He is the author of a number of books, including For Christ's Sake (1993), Life after Death (1996), and The Pagan Christ (2004).
Born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1929, Harpur earned an Honours B.A. in 1951 at University College at the University of Toronto, where he won the Jarvis Scholarship in Greek and Latin, the Maurice Hutton Scholarship in Classics, the Sir William Mulock Scholarship in Classics, and the Gold Medal in Classics. He went on to study Lit.Hum. ("Greats" or Classics) at Oriel College at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar from 1951 to 1954 where he read the ancient historians (Herodotus, Thucydides and Tacitus) completely in their original texts. He graduated in 1954 with the B.A and was conferred the M.A. (Oxon.) two years later. Between 1954 and 1956 he studied theology at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto, where he was a tutor in Greek. At Wycliffe he won prizes in homiletics and Greek and was the senior student and valedictorian in his graduating year. He returned to Oxford in 1962 and 1963 for his post-graduate studies where he read the Early Christian writers or Church Fathers (Patristics).
Coordinates: 52°08′49″N 0°28′36″W / 52.14695°N 0.4767°W / 52.14695; -0.4767
Harpur is an electoral ward and area within the town of Bedford, England.
The boundaries of Harpur are approximately Manton Lane to the north, De Parys Avenue to the east, Bromham Road to the south, with the Midland Main Line railway line to the west.
Manton Heights, the Poets, the Prime Ministers, and the Black Tom neighbourhoods all lie within the boundaries of Harpur ward.
The area is named after Sir William Harpur a famous Bedfordian. The area houses Bedford Modern School which is part of the Harpur Trust.
A notorious Highwayman labelled 'Black Tom' reportedly frequented the area in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Supposedly he was buried with a stake driven through his heart at the junction of Tavistock Street, Union Street and Clapham Road. Today Black Tom is the informal name of a neighbourhood of mainly 19th Century terraced housing in Harpur, North of Roff Avenue.
Most buildings in the area date from the 19th Century or before. However the northern part of the area (Manton Heights) was developed much later, in the 1970s.
Harpur may refer to:
The Reverend Thomas William "Tom" Harpur (born 1929) is a Canadian author, broadcaster, columnist and theologian. An ordained priest, he is a proponent of the Christ myth theory, the idea that Jesus did not exist but is a fictional or mythological figure. He is the author of a number of books, including For Christ's Sake (1993), Life after Death (1996), and The Pagan Christ (2004).
Born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1929, Harpur earned an Honours B.A. in 1951 at University College at the University of Toronto, where he won the Jarvis Scholarship in Greek and Latin, the Maurice Hutton Scholarship in Classics, the Sir William Mulock Scholarship in Classics, and the Gold Medal in Classics. He went on to study Lit.Hum. ("Greats" or Classics) at Oriel College at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar from 1951 to 1954 where he read the ancient historians (Herodotus, Thucydides and Tacitus) completely in their original texts. He graduated in 1954 with the B.A and was conferred the M.A. (Oxon.) two years later. Between 1954 and 1956 he studied theology at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto, where he was a tutor in Greek. At Wycliffe he won prizes in homiletics and Greek and was the senior student and valedictorian in his graduating year. He returned to Oxford in 1962 and 1963 for his post-graduate studies where he read the Early Christian writers or Church Fathers (Patristics).