{"id":8623,"date":"2007-02-17T09:53:05","date_gmt":"2007-02-17T15:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=8623"},"modified":"2019-08-30T10:05:50","modified_gmt":"2019-08-30T15:05:50","slug":"do-you-perpetuate-the-myth-of-santa-claus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-perpetuate-the-myth-of-santa-claus\/","title":{"rendered":"Do you perpetuate the myth of Santa Claus?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Question:<\/h2>\n

Do you, or the flock, there perpetuate the deceit that is the myth of Santa Claus?<\/p>\n

Thank you for your time. I apologize for repeatedly bugging you about things. I hope I am not a burden, I just don’t have very many people I can trust to ask difficult questions.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

I don’t mind good questions in the least. It keeps me on my toes.<\/p>\n

The concept of Santa Claus is a myth or a fantasy, no different than say Peter Pan or the Grinch. In my own family, we have treated these things as fantasy stories, cute to think about but having no real value. There are aspects of the Santa Claus myth that I don’t like because it treads on the notion of deity. I especially don’t like the statements that Santa Claus knows who is bad and who is good. This is attributing divine attributes to a mythological character (Psalm 139).<\/p>\n

When our children were little they heard tales of Santa Claus, but we never told them that Santa Claus brought them gifts. They knew the gifts came from friends and family. As such, they were expected to express their thanks to the gift-givers. We never hid presents so they could appear on Christmas morning. They were part of the holiday decorations for weeks in advance. There have been numerous years when we decided to hold our gift-giving celebration at another time or even spread across multiple times because of circumstances.<\/p>\n

As we taught our children, they learned about the myths and idolatry in the world — both ancient and modern. In order to combat false teaching, they needed to know what others believed and why they sought out such beliefs. Thus, they learned about some of the Greek gods and saw how they made their gods into the superhumans which included super flaws. Such even touches the Scriptures, such as the conflict in Ephesus over the worship of Diana (Acts 19:21-41), or Paul and Barnabas being called Mercury and Zeus (Acts 14:11-18).<\/p>\n

There is an article I wrote several years ago that touches on a few of these issues. See “Holiday Observances<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: Do you, or the flock, there perpetuate the deceit that is the myth of Santa Claus? Thank you for your time. I apologize for repeatedly bugging you about things. I hope I am not a burden, I just don’t have very many people I can trust to ask difficult questions. Answer: I don’t mind…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[342,907],"class_list":["post-8623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-holidays","tag-myths"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21311,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-know-the-god-of-the-bible-isnt-a-myth\/","url_meta":{"origin":8623,"position":0},"title":"How can I know the God of the Bible isn’t a myth?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How do I know that believing in God is the right thing to do? How do I know that the Bible isn't something that is made for mankind to get by through life without worrying as much as non-believers do? I don't know what to think about God and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42490,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-best-way-to-avoid-lying\/","url_meta":{"origin":8623,"position":1},"title":"What is the best way to avoid lying?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it true that Jesus said in Revelation 21:8 that all liars will go to hell? If so, what is the best way for a Christian parent to avoid lying about things like Santa, birthday presents, or surprise parties? Or if a suicidal friend makes you promise not to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54034,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-christianity-a-myth\/","url_meta":{"origin":8623,"position":2},"title":"Is Christianity a myth?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 28, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hey Mr. Jeffrey, I'm taking a philosophy class, and we are studying how the Greeks used mythology in the past to make sense of their world. I asked the professor to explain what a myth is and he said \"a story you don't believe.\" I knew I could've picked\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14553,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-deal-with-skeptics\/","url_meta":{"origin":8623,"position":3},"title":"How do I deal with skeptics?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 29, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've been looking at material from skeptics recently and I've noticed that I have a big problem with approaching their material. I find myself getting really anxious and worked up in my mind. For example, if I find myself reading an article claiming that Jesus was a myth, I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16987,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-semiramis-a-myth-or-a-fact\/","url_meta":{"origin":8623,"position":4},"title":"Is Semiramis a myth or a fact?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 8, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Who were Semiramis and her husband Nimrod? Are they responsible for goddesses and religions such as Catholicism along with praying to Mary and so forth? I have read of many \"mother and child\" religion like in China and in India (correct me if I am wrong). I can't identify\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60235,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-meant-by-god-will-give-you-the-desires-of-your-heart\/","url_meta":{"origin":8623,"position":5},"title":"What is meant by “God will give you the desires of your heart”?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I hope that you are blessed in every aspect of life. I am emailing you because I want to understand the meaning of the scripture in Psalm 37:4, which says that God will give you the desires of your heart. 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