Santa, do Christians believe in him? If not, why not.

[dangerdan]

Ok, you're probably wondering what Santa has to do with Christianity? bear with me here....

The topic of Santa was brought up in the thread "Everyone should be agnostic?, and with it brought some interesting topics to do with belief systems, well worthy of a new thread.

Now why is this in a Christianity forum? I think it has some rich insights into Christian epistemology - why they believe in some things and not others. I was pondering putting this in the philosophy sub-forum, but I feel it’s more relating to pure Christian thought (though if moderators feel otherwise then that's ok).

So, let the debate begin! I do not intend the question to be demeaning or disrespectful, but merely a candid enquiry. So with no further ado - Do Christians believe in Santa? If not, why not.

[McCulloch]

I have never allowed or encouraged my kids to believe in Santa Claus.

My 10 year old still claims to believe, based on the logic that if you don't believe in Santa, he won't bring you any toys. It's an irrefutable argument!

This is the kind of self-deception that is essential for religion. Santa is an opportunity to get your children practiced in this art from an early age. My kids got and still get "Santa" presents regardless of belief. I don't encourage belief in falsehoods. Sadly, many households do with the Santa myth.

[Goose]

I just want to know how many secular non-Christians believe in Santa Claus and tell their kids Santa is coming to town? They're the real rationalists, right?

Yeah dumb isn't it. I have never allowed or encouraged my kids to believe in Santa Claus. We have fun with the story and with the tradition, but we all know it is make believe.
Santa Claus is quite useful to Christians. He is a sort of God-Lite. More friendly, less threatening, still requires faith, kind of a practice version of God for the young set.

Mmm...not sure I would completely agree with that. Many Christians I've spoken to are more annoyed that Santa Claus detracts from what Christians believe should be the central focus of Christmas, i.e. a celebration of the birth of Christ. Much the same with the Easter Bunny and chocolate.

[methylatedghosts]

I have never allowed or encouraged my kids to believe in Santa Claus.

My 10 year old still claims to believe, based on the logic that if you don't believe in Santa, he won't bring you any toys. It's an irrefutable argument!

This is the kind of self-deception that is essential for religion. Santa is an opportunity to get your children practiced in this art from an early age. My kids got and still get "Santa" presents regardless of belief. I don't encourage belief in falsehoods. Sadly, many households do with the Santa myth.

I feel it is rather harmless to believe in santa, because after a while, you work out for yourself whether or not he exists. The same way some religious people work out for themselves that they no longer believe that god exists and stop being religious. (very broad generalisation, I know, but you get the gist).

Santa is fine for kids. It's fun for them, and it they're only really concerned about it for about 2 months in a year anyway.

(I have more to say but am kinda tired and can't think very clearly)

[McCulloch]

I feel it is rather harmless to believe in santa, because after a while, you work out for yourself whether or not he exists. The same way some religious people work out for themselves that they no longer believe that god exists and stop being religious. (very broad generalisation, I know, but you get the gist).

I disagree. Encouraging anyone to actually believe in something you know to be false is bad.

Santa is fine for kids. It's fun for them, and it they're only really concerned about it for about 2 months in a year anyway.

My kids and I have a lot of fun with Santa. You don't have to literally believe it to have fun with it. If you did, we would all stop going to movies and reading books.

[methylatedghosts]

Santa is fine for kids. It's fun for them, and it they're only really concerned about it for about 2 months in a year anyway.

My kids and I have a lot of fun with Santa. You don't have to literally believe it to have fun with it. If you did, we would all stop going to movies and reading books.[/quote]

True. Point taken

[Lotan]

This is the kind of self-deception that is essential for religion.

I agree. The importance difference here is that my kid knows it's only a game. She's pretty worldly when it comes to the variety of religious belief, too. Besides, learning that there really is no Santa can be a good life lesson, if you know what I mean.

[McCulloch]

I agree. The importance difference here is that my kid knows it's only a game. She's pretty worldly when it comes to the variety of religious belief, too. Besides, learning that there really is no Santa can be a good life lesson, if you know what I mean.

Life lessons gained by learning that there is really no Santa when one's parents have deceived you into literally believing in Santa:

1. Parents deliberately lie to children.
2. Children are better off pretending to believe parents' lies when they discover that they are false.

Life lessons learned early are often deeply rooted. Remember that Christianity uses the metaphor of Father to represent deity. Make the logical extension.

[Lotan]

Life lessons gained by learning that there is really no Santa when one's parents have deceived you into literally believing in Santa:
1. Parents deliberately lie to children.
2. Children are better off pretending to believe parents' lies when they discover that they are false.

Is it just me, or is this discussion getting heavy? It's just make believe. My mom lied to me about the tooth fairy too, but I don't think that I suffered any serious permanent injury. Children "pretending to believe parents' lies" is certainly better than children actually believeing parents' lies, especially if the child is capable of distinguising the difference between 'good' and 'bad' secrets.

Life lessons learned early are often deeply rooted. Remember that Christianity uses the metaphor of Father to represent deity. Make the logical extension.

The "logical extension" as I see it, is that my kid will know enough not to accept uncritically everything that people (including myself) tell her, and at the same time she might find some merit even in ideas with which she doesn't wholly agree.

[Arch]

I do find that God and Santa have one thing in common, they both give gifts. God gives spiritual gifts and answered prayers.

Love,
Madeline

I find that the Christian GOD and Santa have a lot more in common than just gifts. They both don't exist. They both are creations of men. They both are designed under unreal concepts like ALL GOOD and ALL KNOWING.

And both can be explained only in the context of belief.

[AB]

I have never allowed or encouraged my kids to believe in Santa Claus.

My 10 year old still claims to believe, based on the logic that if you don't believe in Santa, he won't bring you any toys. It's an irrefutable argument!

This is the kind of self-deception that is essential for religion. Santa is an opportunity to get your children practiced in this art from an early age. My kids got and still get "Santa" presents regardless of belief. I don't encourage belief in falsehoods. Sadly, many households do with the Santa myth.

So, are you saying accepting Jesus as your savior is an act promoted by deception?