Thomas L. Brodie

Thomas Louis Brodie, OP (November 1940–8 February 2026) was an Irish Dominican priest who was born in Crusheen, County Clare. He worked in academia and has published studies arguing that the New Testament narratives are literary compositions dependent on earlier texts. His 2012 memoir advances the claim that Jesus did not exist as a historical individual. In prior work he proposed a Proto-Luke hypothesis and argued that an early Luke Acts composition precedes Mark in the formation of the Gospels.

Career Brodie earned his STD at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome in 1988 at the age of 48. He taught Hebrew Bible and New Testament in institutions in the United States and in South Africa, including the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri.

Brodie has written on the Gospel of John, Genesis and on the narratives of Elijah and Elisha as literary models for Gospel composition.

Beyond the Quest for the Historical Jesus Beyond the Quest for the Historical Jesus: Memoir of a Discovery is a hybrid of intellectual autobiography and argument about literary dependence in biblical texts. David Litwa surveyed Brodie's method and concluded that moving from elaborate literary parallel lists to historical dependence is not warranted, adding that identifying literary shaping does not by itself negate historicity.

Christ mythicism and sanctions Brodie's book publicly advanced his view that Jesus did not exist as a historical individual. In January 2013 Irish media reported that he had stepped down from his role in Limerick and that an internal review was underway. One local report stated he had already finished his term as director and that the book was under review by a committee of scholars. The Irish Catholic press also reported on the possible disciplinary process. An official Dominican response was published in Doctrine and Life in May and June 2014. It states that: "[Prior Provincial of Ireland] set up a committee of five experts from within the Province to examine the work under dispute. […] he committee advised that they judged Beyond the Quest to be ‘imprudent and dangerous’ (a phrase from the Order’s own legislation). Accepting this assessment, the Provincial continued the sanctions on Tom Brodie — that he withdraw fully from ministry and from all forms of teaching, writing, or making public statements."

Death Brodie, who was born in November 1940, died on February 8, 2026, aged 85.