Witnessing Non-Belief: Christmas Special

"I believe in Santa Claus because..."

Believing in Santa Claus
I believe Santa Claus was a real person, and one who testified to and demonstrated the love of God poured out to us in the person of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. A study of Nicholas of Myra (or Bari), who was a "saint" by reason of his faith in Christ, and was titled "Saint Nicholas" by reason of the traditional Church's recognition of his love and good works, reveals a true believer and a genuine servant to mankind. All myth and legend evolving from this man, which is flavored with good and godly ideas of love, giving, caring, and helping, is well-grounded in fact; facts I believe in.

There is no good evidence that saint Nicholas existed. Even if he did, the legends that grew up around these mythical bones discovered in the 12th century come from the smae places that the Santa Claus legends come from. Religious Tolerance reports that

He is alleged to have attended the first council of Nicea; however, his name does not appear on lists of attending bishops.
...
Most religious historians and experts in folklore believe that there is no valid evidence to indicate that St. Nicholas ever existed as a human. In fact, there are quite a few indicators that his life story was simply recycled from those of Pagan gods.

Father Madden says,
"I believe in Santa Claus because I believe in God," he said. "The spirit of Christmas is a loving, kind and giving one, and I think that's the spirit of Christ. He came to earth to do that very thing. Once a year the Lord puts aside the garments of the Israeli person he was and puts on a red Santa Claus suit — and I think Christ is Santa Claus and Santa Claus is Christ."

Well, ok. Santa Claus is Christ, only he doesn't ask children if they are dirty Caananites, or if they believe in Jesus. at least, the real Santa CLaus would never do that. He's not an asshole. Strangely enough, German kids get their presents from the Christ Child, who is a blonde girl in a dress. But they are crazy, so it's ok.

But people who believe in Santa Claus because he is supposedly the spirit of good will and generosity tend to believe in carnal representations of other emotions--like the Spirit of Evil. Those folks should be avoided, and children should be shielded from them. Who knows when they might decide your child is possessed by the spirit of greed and violence or something?

Jaded Aspiring Lawyer says
Okay, just so we are clear. Maybe I'll define my point one more time just so everyone gets it. I believe in God, because it's nice to believe in, I believe in Santa Claus, because it's nice to believe in, I believe in the easter bunny. You get where I'm going with this.

Do you think I believe it with all my head? Would I not sound like everyone else who believed in these things if I did? I believe these things in my heart. Entirely different storage capacity. This is how I can be on both sides. Maybe it will, only time will tell.

As far as the claims of the heart--well, that's just stupid and there's not much more to say there. Storage capacity? Where in the heart does one store belief? Is believing in stupid things a prerequisite for having emotion? It's good she decided to become a lawyer and not a doctor.

God is not nice to believe in. It is not nice to believe that something is all-powerful, yet allows disfiguring diseases for children. It's not nice to believe in an all-knowing God that allows people to be drowned in sea-water and sewage, leaving thousands of children orphaned, and imprisoned sex-offenders free to "help" them.
But it is indeed "nicer to believe that all of those children will be fine, and all of those sex-offenders will reform. Is it nicer to sit back and be happy with unfounded beliefs when you could do something about it?

Is it "nicer" to tell your children to hang their stockings and wake up to find nothing? It's not nice to believe in Santa Claus and then doubt his existence by going out and buying presents, is it? Maybe it's "nicer" to discourage your children from questioning Santa's existence when they get NOTHING.