Does resemblance establish an origin?
Vigilantius, as Jerome reports him, likens martyr honors and lamps to heathen ceremony. Might Christian saint devotion have adopted practices whose outward form obscures worship of God?
Perspective note
The Orthodox response is presented affirmatively. Named Lutheran, Reformed, and ancient objections retain their own attribution; analytic questions are labeled as such.
Sources and further reading
- Jerome and Vigilantius
The objection survives through a hostile report; distinguish origin claims from theological categories. - Jewish vision comparison
Context without a proposed chain of borrowing.