Nowadays we are not supposed to spank our children. We are supposed to raise our kids in a way that let�s them know that they are being heard and that their opinions matter. Kids are even being sexualized more and more and doing �grown up� things, like dating and dressing/behaving seductively, younger and younger. But even though kids are being allowed these �advancements�, thousands, maybe millions of parents indulge their children with fantasies of an imaginary man named Santa Claus every year.
What do the people of the CDFF forums think about Santa Claus, and parents who create the fantasy of Santa Claus for their children? Is he an idol? Is it right to mislead children this way? Or is it cute, innocent fun?
If left up to me, I would emphasize the good deeds of St. Nicholas (an actual person) and speak of his life in place of Santa and his elves, etc. Santa is not an idol, but more a means for controlling children -- and both are wrong. Children need to learn UNconditional love from their parents, not conditional love.
...well Arch, I don't think anyone is like: "Santa...real or fake? Fact or fiction?! Truth or fable!?!? You decide, Small Child!! It's your decision!"
All the people I hear talk about Santa say things like:
"Santa is bringing your presents!" or "Let's leave cookies out for Santa!" or "If you're naughty all you'll get is coal from Santa!"
For a child to believe Santa is real, someone has to tell them that, or "pretend" right along with them at some point. Maybe you don't do that, and maybe you have some awesome way to let children "be free" that most people don't know about, but most people do become very involved in getting children to believe that Santa Claus is real, and it seems very dangerous/pointless to me. I liked twosparrows testimony a lot. I have an 80 year old Aunt that doesn't believe in God because the "Santa" fable destroyed her faith/hope when she was a child. It just seems like if you lead children on to believe that fables are truth, when the child discovers the deception he/she will be skeptical/disillusioned of anything there is not physical proof for.
��an 80 year old Aunt that doesn't believe in God because the "Santa" fable destroyed her faith/hope when she was a child.�
Wow�now I truly understand how despicable this �Santa Conspiracy� really is!!
�Off with his HEAD!�
How far does this go�how deep is it? What about Peter Rabbit? Is he used to detract from Easter? �Off with his Head!� Why stop there�Walt Disney�satanic intent? Shut them DOWN!
Elmer Fudd�I never really trusted that character! �Off With His HEAD!�
Bugs Bunny�Little Red Riding Hood!!!
Where does it end? Where did it start? Is Santa really a Threat to Christianity? Do you realize how you sound?
��an 80 year old Aunt that doesn't believe in God because the "Santa" fable destroyed her faith/hope when she was a child.�
So�what�.for 75 years she did not read The Bible because her parents �LIED� to her? So it was Santa that did it huh? Hey�she could be on the �Kill Santa� Poster.
Margo�do you really believe that Christ �shares His Glory with another�?
I give no glory to Santa�I cannot think of anyone that does? I have never heard of anyone becoming a Martyr for Santa? While I agree that there should be more emphasis on Christ in Christmas�I cannot see the need to �do away� with Santa.
Those of us Christians that propose this come across as �fearful fanatics� that do more harm than good.
No, Jesus does not and will not share His glory with another, Arch. That will all come to light.
In this day and age, in this world, are we really hearing more about Jesus, or are we hearing more about Santa and all that comes with him at Christmas? Who is getting more hype? Why would we be aligned to that and be like the world to nod at it?
I guess I'm in a minority that takes a middle ground between lying to children and wanting to think all fairy tales are a soul-stealing conspiracy. Santa Claus is fine by me as a fictional story character, and Saint Nicholas is also fine by me as a pretty cool guy upon whom a fictional character is based. What is not fine by me is making the impression on children that Santa Claus is a real guy that really makes their presents happen. I realize the Night Before Christmas talks about Santa Claus putting out the presents and stuff, but that does not imply that he really does any more that Yertle the Turtle implies that there is an actual turtle somewhere stacking turtles....
The line, for me, is implying to children, or flat out telling them, that people or things that are made up are truly existent. Telling a child that they need to be good or Santa won't bring them any presents obviously implies that Santa Claus is real. Asking what a child wants from Santa Claus implies that he is real and is what makes their Christmas presents happen.
It seems pretty apparent to me that you can share the fairy tale of Santa Claus with a child without making a child believe that he is real. I really feel like people who think children cannot distinguish between real and make-believe are not giving children much credit. If they are confused, they will ask, and it is up to the parents to explain to children the way things really are.
People can lose their faith very easily, and I wouldn't be terribly surprised if realizing something "real" like Santa Claus, that closely resembles Jesus or God (knowing whether you are naughty or nice, 'real' but not seen, etc), isn't really real harms some people very deeply. Is it worth it? Absolutely not. It is not my place to decide what people can handle, so it is not my place to say whether I think Santa Claus should be beheaded or not. I think Santa Claus is fine when known for what "he" is. It is when people abuse Santa Claus to manipulate or lie to children that I think there is something wrong, and then it is not Santa's fault, but Mom and Dad's.
I just looked to see if you have any children�you don�t�that explains a lot. You�ve never raised a child. I wonder how you are going to �explain� to a two year old the concepts of �abstract� and �concrete�? I would love to be privy to that conversation.
�Now, sweetie�mommy told you that she would never lie to you, but I am about to tell you a story that is not the truth. It is what we adults call �make believe�. Make believe is when you �make like you believe something� but in reality you are not�understand?
Reality? Well�reality is what is real. Reality is what you can feel and see and taste and smell and hear�real. So�this story I am about to tell you is not real, but it is a cute story, so I am going to tell you�K?
Yes, sweetie�.God is real. I know you cannot see Him or smell Him, but�
Maybe you could video it?
I find it actually ludicrous that we are arguing something that lasts for just a few years and has never been proven to be detrimental to a child�s upbringing.
What I do feel is detrimental and downright scary is �The Boogie Man�. How parents can use this to Scare the **** out of children is bordering on criminal.
While you guys are getting your torches to burn down Santa�s home�think about the Boogie Man�s house.
Hey�what about those Seven Dwarfs? Seven guys and one Princess? Off with their HEADS!!
Wait...so they're only supposed to believe certain fake things are real? When they too young to distinguish between fable/reality? Anyway...it all comes crashing down to the point that it's deceiving a child, and I know too many children that were very traumatized by learning that something everyone led them on to believe/love was fake and I'm sure it hurts their ability to trust things in the future. Nobody is saying we need to cut off Santa's head and erase him from history, but there is absolutely no benefit to lying to children about how real he is. You called everyone that doesn't agree with you small-minded, but I think it's you that isn't thinking about this. Or you're just trying to save face, I don't know. Either way...
Thanks for the positive responses from the people that actually took time to read and understand what I wrote!
Arch, you really do not warrant a response. Your arguments are tissue paper thin, and you obviously did not take the time to read and understand what I wrote. I think I was very clear on my stance, and am not about to run out and burn down any houses or run through the streets telling children Santa Claus isn�t real. And your hypothetical scenario of me interacting with a child, well, that was just sad.
But somebody needs to let you know that when you write the way you write, you look ridiculous, you look like a mockery of the Christian faith. Your condescension and sarcasm are ugly, and you make it almost impossible to respond to you without some kind of negative feeling. You take your first emotional response and run as far and as fast as you can with it, all the while subtly dropping insults and trying to set up traps for anybody who responds to you.
I do not expect you to miraculously change because I, somebody you obviously have no respect for, speak up to you, but BOY would it be nice.
My final thought on Santa Claus: Saint Nicholas: good man; Jesus: the reason for Christmas; Santa Claus: completely made-up story character for fun.
