Born in the east-end of Toronto, Ontario to an evangelical family, 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, Between 1954 and 1956 he studied theology at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto.

The Reverend Thomas William "Tom" Harpur was a Canadian author, broadcaster, columnist and theologian. An ordained priest, he was a proponent of the Christ myth theory, the idea that Jesus did not exist but is a fictional or mythological figure.

Born in the east-end of Toronto, Ontario to an evangelical family, in 1929.