The Church is built on the fact and not on a theory. The theories that we meet in the New Testament and in later doctrines are attempts to explain the fact. The fact is not an invention to suit the theories.
-T.W. Manson, quoted by Ronald H. Nash in Christianity & the Hellenistic World, p. 270
Out of Babel Books 
Interesting approach. I’m not sure without doing some research what Manson means by the “theories” of the New Testament, but that promises also to be interesting. 😉
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I think he means the doctrinal formulations about the nature of Christ, like what we get in the Nicean Creed.. That’s so far as I remember based on reading the chapter. This comes near the end as a kind of summary statement. The idea is that the NT writers didn’t approach the OT, the Greek Dying God myths, and Platonism with a pair of scissors so as to craft a new philosophy; instead, they were reacting to Christ’s life and teaching.
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Thanks, that helps. Worth pursuing.
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