“In the first place, there is nothing wrong with observing what used to be a pagan holiday—after all, we used to be pagans. Many of our innocent customs used to have pagan associations—the use of wedding rings, meeting someone for lunch on Thor’s Day, and blowing out the candles on a birthday cake after making a wish. We ought not to be uptight about such things. Who was Paul’s brother, companion, and fellow soldier? Why it was Epaphroditus, whose name means that he was dedicated to the pagan goddess of copulation (Phil. 2:25). Why didn’t Paul make Epaphroditus change his name? The answer is that it was not that big a deal.”
The Cultural Mind, p. 307