Ovedya Posted December 3, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 375 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 11,400 Content Per Day: 1.44 Reputation: 125 Days Won: 0 Joined: 08/30/2002 Status: Offline Birthday: 08/14/1971 Share Posted December 3, 2007 So...... Where are all the threads about lying to children? If the core of this issue is simply lying to children, then why the big deal about Christmas and Santa Claus? Seems to me that the whole "replacing Jesus with Santa Claus" is just a secondary issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickilynn Posted December 3, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 2 Topic Count: 138 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 3,997 Content Per Day: 0.63 Reputation: 19 Days Won: 0 Joined: 02/13/2007 Status: Offline Share Posted December 3, 2007 Shalom Ovedya, The answer is found in the OP (entitled "Christians, tell your children there is no Santa Claus") which specifically talks about not lying to children by telling them that Santa is real. This is THE TOPIC, not a secondary issue. And it's an important issue obviously by the responses. There is nothing wrong with giving gifts to your children or family at Christmas as well as decorating for the celebration as long as the decorating is not sending the message that the season is about someone other then Jesus.. And if your waistline isn't a problem, there is no harm in exchanging chocolates at Easter. In fact, it is nice to give and receive gifts. And let us not forget that God gave the world a more wonderful gift than we could ever give: salvation to all who confess (receive) Jesus Christ is Lord and who believe in their heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9; Ephesians 2:8-9). However, it is inadvisable for Christians to tell children lies about Santa Claus. Do you really want them to put their trust in a buffoon on the street corner who doesn't even know their name, let alone being totally unable to fulfill any wishes they may secretly tell him? Do you want them to think it's OK for strange men to visit them in the middle of the night? Worst of all do you really want to plant the suggestion that lying is acceptable if it brings pleasure for the moment? Why set yourself up to be exposed as a liar later by saying that Christmas is celebrating a man in a red and white costume instead of Christ's birth? We don't call it Santamas, but Christmas. Truth more exciting than fiction The truth about Jesus Christ is exciting, wonderful, and true. Do you really want to downplay God's miracles by replacing them with a warped insistence that your children believe what you don't even believe yourself: that a fat cartoon figure actually comes to their house at night and brings them gifts? Show some courage and treat your children like human beings. Explain to the very young ones that Santa doesn't exist, even though they see Santa clones in stores every Christmas. You can point out that these Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Biblicist Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 yep, that's where i was headed. and i agree. like i said previously... i never taught my kids to believe, and frankly, i didn't even know until they were adults that they DID believe in santa when they were kids. but if i had known that they believed in him, i wouldn't have said "stop! it's a lie! you can't believe in him!" i didn't teach them the lie and i don't know who did, but they chose to believe it, and it did them no harm. I find this rather curious.... So if your children learn about evolution and choose to believe it over creationism, will you allow them to believe that lie as well? How are the two different? In both cases the WORLD is replacing The WORD! What other lies will you allow your children to believe, in the spirit of "being children"... The fact is that we will always lean toward believing the LIE because from birth we are sinful creatures bound to believe Satan's lies until Christ calls us to salvation. That is why God's word tells us, if necessary, to use the "rod of correction" to drive the "foolishness" far from them. (Proverbs 22:15) Making sure they know The Truth is more important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ovedya Posted December 3, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 375 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 11,400 Content Per Day: 1.44 Reputation: 125 Days Won: 0 Joined: 08/30/2002 Status: Offline Birthday: 08/14/1971 Share Posted December 3, 2007 Just as the myth of evolution replaces the truth of biblical creation, so the modern-day Santa Claus, or Father Christmas, replaces the Son of God, Jesus Christ, at Christmas time. This is rewriting history to replace the true meaning of Christmas with fiction. Yeah. There really is no comparison between evolution replacing creationism and Santa replacing Jesus. In fact, at one time the two stories ran side-by-side. History is not being "re-written" with the myth of Santa Claus. The modern myth has been around for at least 400 years. In fact, the canonical figure began with early Christianity, in the 4th century, with St. Nicholas of Myra. And guess who began perpetuating the myth of Santa Claus, or "Jolly Old Saint Nick"? It was Christianity! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emily~Anne Posted December 3, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 146 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 2,308 Content Per Day: 0.36 Reputation: 6 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/11/2006 Status: Offline Share Posted December 3, 2007 I see nothing wrong with Saint Nicholas, but Santa Claus is truly a commercialized and rather non Christian version of Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas did not fly in a sleigh with reindeer and go down people's chimneys as people are having our children believe. The op is about Santa Claus specifically. Not Saint Nicholas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickilynn Posted December 3, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 2 Topic Count: 138 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 3,997 Content Per Day: 0.63 Reputation: 19 Days Won: 0 Joined: 02/13/2007 Status: Offline Share Posted December 3, 2007 I see nothing wrong with Saint Nicholas, but Santa Claus is truly a commercialized and rather non christian version of Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas did not fly in a sleigh with reindeer and go down people's chimneys as people are having our children believe. The op is about Santa Claus specifically. Not Saint Nicholas. Shalom Emily Anne, THANK YOU! I honestly cannot for the life of me understand how people can argue against the OP's Biblical exhortation for us to teach our children the Biblical truth, not man's lies. I mean, how hard is that for a Christian to do to choose not to lie to our children and not let them believe that Santa is real? Not ONE of the arguments has any validity against the Scriptures which say plainly that we are not to lie to our children. Not ONE. And yet, people will post man's logic about this one issue but will rise up when it comes to other Biblical issues. Very sad indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetycakes Posted December 3, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 8 Topic Count: 162 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 7,867 Content Per Day: 1.13 Reputation: 2,122 Days Won: 0 Joined: 04/21/2005 Status: Offline Birthday: 03/23/1964 Share Posted December 3, 2007 Here is an interesting article about the Jolly old 'Father Christmas' : http://www.av1611.org/othpubls/santa.html Somewhat long, but well worth the read Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Julia~ Posted December 3, 2007 Group: Junior Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 18 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 59 Content Per Day: 0.01 Reputation: 1 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/12/2007 Status: Offline Birthday: 01/01/1971 Share Posted December 3, 2007 No Santa? Well then, on Christmas eve, who's the fat guy who eats all the cookies while farting and scratching his butt? Oh wait....nevermind.... It's my dad... Thats YOUR Dad ???? Juls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ovedya Posted December 3, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 375 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 11,400 Content Per Day: 1.44 Reputation: 125 Days Won: 0 Joined: 08/30/2002 Status: Offline Birthday: 08/14/1971 Share Posted December 3, 2007 Here is an interesting article about the Jolly old 'Father Christmas' : http://www.av1611.org/othpubls/santa.html Somewhat long, but well worth the read I take very little stock in websites which essentially condemn people to perdition for perpetuating the Santa Claus myth. This is exactly the sort of thing that I wrote about earlier in this thread - a perfect example of going overboard. edit: That website also happens to be authored by a KJV-Only group. Stands to reason, then, why it is so condemning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emily~Anne Posted December 3, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 146 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 2,308 Content Per Day: 0.36 Reputation: 6 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/11/2006 Status: Offline Share Posted December 3, 2007 Here is an interesting article about the Jolly old 'Father Christmas' : http://www.av1611.org/othpubls/santa.html Somewhat long, but well worth the read I just skimmed through that as I am busily making last minute dinner preparations here, but what caught my attention is how it essentially explained that Santa is taught to be omni-present. As in the song, 'He sees you when your awake, he sees you when your asleep...' It does bear way too much of a resemblence of teaching Santa as a God, wether or not people recognize that. And it is wise to get that warning out. Because that has to violate scripture. (Sorry, cant think of verses right off hand) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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