18 Comments
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Jane Catherine's avatar

Excellent, super helpful article, as usual. Thanks for the laugh at "I find it really, really hard to believe that previous cultures were dumber than we are today." No kidding, how foolish are we now? Unbelievable!

Megan Light's avatar

An excellent line that won me over also

Cici Sullivan's avatar

Such a good article. I’m so excited for the Bible study! I so appreciate the depth and thoughtfulness you put into all of your work.

Ally E's avatar

Sitting here with my April 6th birthday feeling pretty good 😅 but seriously this will help so much when my mother brings up Christianity stealing pegan rituals & I'll be able to shut it down.

KT Livingston's avatar

I have shared this with so many people. I needed this article ❤️

Krystelle S's avatar

Thank you for this in depth explanation! I appreciate your time!

Madelyn Sheets's avatar

This is so well done and I really appreciate all your work on it!❤️

Valerie W's avatar

Thank you for explaining all of that!!!!! So excited for the Bible study.

Andrew's avatar

Nicely put together and possibly a lot of research. Would be nice to see some organized sources.

CRAAP Assessment

Overall Credibility: Medium–Low

Positive:

1. Uses real early Christian sources/ figures.

2. Correctly challenges some oversimplified “Christmas is pagan” claims.

Negatives.

1. Lacks academic rigor and citations.

2. Overstates conclusions.

3. Mixes some theology, belief, and history without many clear boundaries.

4. Strong bias show within interpretations.

https://chatgpt.com/share/6958d112-566c-8013-8be0-b84d41510089

I'll stick to Scriptures but thank you for your opinions. You might find reading some C.J. Koster interesting.

Gina Turner's avatar

I think it’s important to note that calendars were based solely on sun & moon during Jesus’ life so we will never know the true date based on that. For example, if what Tertullian says were true, then why is Easter not a fixed date? Some “holidays” have switched to Roman time and others stayed more true to sun & moon time. Also, fun thought, IF the biblical events happened in the US, what would the weather be? In some parts it would be really warm still. In others, freezing.

Megan Light's avatar

Love the symbolism in the Christmas tree! My first time hearing it.

Esther Cerato's avatar

But what about the calendar change in the 1500’s to the Gregorian calendar? Wouldn’t that have impact on the date that we celebrate now? Also why would the prophets be birthed and die on the same day? I haven’t heard that before so it’s fascinating!!

Adrian Davidson's avatar

Good question and yes our calendar is several days off now so December 25th today is not the same as December 25th then.

Whitney Shook's avatar

You lost me at “early church fathers” 🤢

Valerie W's avatar

I’m genuinely confused…why is that bad or off putting?

Tasha's avatar

We attended a Pentecostal church last week that mentioned his birth being in late September.

Adrian Davidson's avatar

There is a common claim of a September 11th date. I don’t trust that for obvious reasons 😅

Tasha's avatar

I think he said sept 27th