Tom Harpur, a former Anglican priest and professor of Greek and New testament at the University of Toronto wrote The Pagan Christ, Recovering the Lost Light. I think is purpose was to teach the importance of reading Scripture from the perspective of its manifest meaning-the teachings beneath the literal words.
Harpur goes back in time to the origins of some myths that ring familiar in the story of Jesus.The book is a manifesto against literal fundamentalism and I think it exhorts readers to learn for themselves.
His views will offend some. He wants believers to see that Jesus may not have been real in the way he is portrayed but that we are to internalize Jesus-his teachings.
