Following the extraordinary and ongoing success of his 2004 book The Pagan Christ, scholar and author Tom Harpur was deluged with readers’ requests to go more deeply into the mythological, allegorical approach to the story of Jesus he took in that bestselling book. In Water Into Wine, Harpur sets out the powerful and transforming message that emerges when the Gospels are finally read as they were originally intended to be and as they were understood by the first Christians, such as Origen and Clement. Seen in their true mythological and symbolical meaning, the stories in the drama of Jesus’ life come alive in a totally fresh way – not as the account of a single, distant god-man working strange miracle like Superman or some other fictional magician, but as a description of the evolution of the soul in everyone of us.

The theme of the Gospels parallels exactly the theme of the Old Testament, as well as every ancient sacred text, which is that a spark of the divine spirit incarnates in each and every human being. Tom Harpur shows how "the old, old story" is at the heart of every religion and how it is really our own personal story too. Water Into Wine is a tour de force written by a skilled and learned communicator that should excite and nourish every true seeker after spiritual fulfillment. As well, it has the enormous potential for furthering the goal of global understanding and peace.

Tom Harpur, columnist for the Toronto Star, Rhodes scholar, former Anglican priest, and professor of Greek and the New Testament, is an internationally renowned writer on religious and ethical issues. He is the author of ten bestselling books, including For Christ’s Sake and The Pagan Christ. He has hosted numerous radio and television programs, including “Life After Death,” a ten-part series based on his bestselling book of the same name.

Tom Harpur's profile page

In a book that is engaging, well written and full of eclectic learning, Harpur urges us to look at the Gospels through fresh eyes.

The Globe and Mail

It may seem as if Harpur is set to destroy the church, but what he really seeks is a renewal, a 'rebirth of Christianity in out time.'

The United Church Observer