Dafunkdoc_Unlimited
Theological Noncognitivist Since Birth
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El Coupeacabra said:The events themselves are not of pagan origin. The DATES that we celebrate them are.
No, they aren't. The reason why December 25th is celebrated as Christmas is because Jesus' conception was traditionally believed to be around March.
Jesus was a Jew and it was an ancient Jewish tradition that prophets died on the same day they were born.
9 months from March is......
Jesus was a Jew and it was an ancient Jewish tradition that prophets died on the same day they were born.
9 months from March is......
El Coupeacabra said:The events surrounding the birth of Jesus (most likely) could not have happened in December as described. But the pagan winter solstice holiday falls around the end of December, so to make the process of converting those people into Christians, they "re-taught" the meaning of the holiday.
Meaningless. Saturnalia was celebrated from December 17 to the 23. What you're suggesting is just ad hoc reasoning. No one was 're-taught' anything since Christians had been celebrating that day long before their religion was even legal in the Roman Empire and we know this from the writings of Clement of Alexandria, Theophilus of Caesarea, Origen, and Hippolytus of Rome.
El Coupeacabra said:Same for Easter. The "first Sunday in April" was sprinkled into the texts later on. That's why there are two different "accepted" dates.
Easter had been celebrated by Christians as Pasach since the 2nd century CE (Melito of Sardis) and the EARLIEST possible date that Easter could have been 'stolen' from pagans is 596 CE which is when Anglo-Saxons were documented worshipping Eostre by a Christian missionary named Bede. Now, you tell me, just how is it Hebrews in the Middle East contacted Anglo-Saxons in Ireland back in the 2nd Century CE and co-opted their festival BEFORE they even knew they existed?
Let me know when you figure that out.
Let me know when you figure that out.
