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The point is, Paul is "entering" into the mindset of his detractors and using sources local to the region to drive home a point. That does not mean at anytime, that Paul agrees with those sources. Nor does it mean he is "stooping" down.

Feel free to withdraw from the conversation, but that will not stop me from responding. When Paul interacted with Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, he did so by alluding to (or even, citing) their very own source material. For example, in Acts 17:22, Paul cites an inscription found on an...

You got the point I was making, you say? Riddle me this, then: How then do you still miss the fact that it was not I that was stooping to lows "that matches their worldly philosophical and humanistic view"? Pointing out what is a very obvious hole in a given narrative does not require me to...

I don't know about you, but I am not so stubborn: I change my mind all the time. And I am especially acquainted (very well) with your brand of Christology.

Oh brother. You are attempting to articulate an Arian position, but have failed to articulate the argument well enough to understand how these texts backfire against your ultimate aim: To prove Christ is God's first creation. Jn. 1 speaks of Christ as existing in the beginning. The point is...

Did someone say, "Diet Tea"? Yuck.

He's not calling you a liar, per se. You are making that deduction yourself. Since you are making that deduction, then if one can show that there are texts that teach contrary to what you have suggested is nowhere taught in Scripture, then by your own standard of deduction: Then I suppose you...

I thought I was relatively clear about the intentions of this comment. Leave it to Bob over here to stand one sentence on its head, making it say exactly the opposite of what was intended.

I didn't, as you put it, "lump Christianity into one or two baskets." You need a lesson in reading comprehension. I said that RR needed to refine his argument if he's going to dangle Dec. 25 over the heads of Christians. Why? Because his thesis relies heavily on his very own Westernized...

You are mistakening the intentions of my post altogether. Why do you assume that I am defending a date of Dec. 25? This has nothing to do about the dating of the birth of Christ, but everything to do with the claim that RR made, that the birth of Christ has its roots in paganism, of which he...

You said, And, What texts do you suppose are "wrenched out of context and misrepsented, trying to give the idea of legitmacy"?

History was not your strong point. The debates that ensued during the 3rd and 4th centuries were not debates over the Trinity, per se. Rather, these “fierce” debates surrounded the relationship of the Son to the Father. It was purely Christological (not Pneumatological). During the 2nd and...

Exactly. Yet, you have failed to show any parallelisms to earlier pagan beliefs. On what basis can you say that, "the Trinity and certain observances had its root in paganism" when you have yet to cite the source for their origins? If Trinitarianism went through an evolution, which of its...

What church emphasizes (in a strict, dogmatic sense) that Dec. 25 is the date you are to observe? You're letting your Westernized traditions speak. I am still looking forward to the evidence to your claim: That the birth of Christ has its origins in paganism, and a good explanation for widely...

If the NT is silent on a matter, then what gives you the idea that it has its origins in paganism?

Wait a minute. I thought you said "Christianity" has its origins in paganism? How does the birth of Christ, as it is recorded in the NT, have its roots in paganism? All you are doing are imposing your traditions back onto this umbrella term, "Christianity." Christianity is not what has its...

Of course, the problem here is that you are being anachronistic by imposing your own set of "Christmas traditions" (which are rooted in Western civilization) back onto the universal Christian church. There are Christians that celebrate the birth of Christ in January: The Eastern church. News...

This response is loaded with inaccuracies. But one thing at a time. Point me to a proto-Trinitarian model with origins in paganism. Trinitarianism is not tritheism. And tritheism is not Trinitarianism. It is your job (since you made the assertion) to prove that Trinitarianism has its roots...

Between you and RR, you both have failed to see the issue. The point is, Christianity doesn't hold to "one set tradition" regarding the birth of Christ, or the resurrection. Therefore, to argue that Christianity is rooted in paganism is anything but the point. The real argument should be...

If this is the position you're going to hold, then that really does beg the question. Remember your original proposition: That the Trinity has pagan origins. Does the Trinity have pagan origins or does it not? Arguing for a "gradual" development does nothing to help your case. Where is the...