Santa Claus
From RationalWiki
Santa Claus (or Father Christmas in jolly olde England) is a nice man who brings presents to children who have been good each year. The proof of this is the existence of presents in people's homes on Christmas morning.[1] The main counterargument to this - that parents buy and wrap the presents themselves - is preposterous. We are, in all seriousness, asked to believe that every parent in the western world is part of some vast conspiracy. Whoever runs this conspiracy, or how it is funded and administered, is of course never stated. No, it is much easier to accept that a magic man flies all over the world in one night on a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer, and that he carries hundreds of millions of presents all at the same time. This is easy once you accept that elvesdidit.
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[edit] Origin
The myth of Santa Claus seems to have originated from the person of a 4th century Greek Christian Bishop, Saint Nicholas of Myra. The personality of Santa was then modified by influences from pre-Christian Germanic and Alpine traditions as well as Dutch and Nordic folklore and the British character Father Christmas. Recent details were added to create the modern American version of Santa Claus.
[edit] Christian opposition
It has been suggested by the Christian viewpoint that, due in part to the tradition of Santa Claus, Christmas no longer carries the originally intended Christian significance. [2] It has also been suggested that Santa is an inadequate secular Christmastime substitute for God. [3]
It has been suggested that Santa is, or is a representation of, the Devil. As evidence of this claim it is noted that a rearrangement of the letters in the word Santa will produce the word Satan. [4]
It has been suggested that it is damaging to children when they learn the truth of Santa's nonexistence. [5] When it is pointed out that this could be taken as an important lesson in misplaced religious faith, it has been suggested that there is more evidence for the existence of God than for Santa. [6]
[edit] Comparison with religion
Belief in Santa Claus in fact has parallels with belief in a deity. Although this comparison has been interpreted as an attempt to belittle religion, such an interpretation is based on the inaccurate assumption that the only similarity to be noted is that, like Santa, religion is silly and childish. However, real parallels between Santa and a religious deity can in fact be identified that are not intended to belittle either.
Like many gods, Santa Claus is said to be ageless, all-knowing, and ever-present. These legends of Santa were imparted to us through stories and songs taught to us as children by our parents and other trusted sources. We took the stories on faith, despite the lack of evidence, and explained away their unsoundness and inconsistencies. We wanted to believe in them because of their message of goodness. It was comforting to believe in something greater than ourselves and to be regarded as the recipients of special attention. Thus belief in Santa was used to elicit good behavior from us by the promise of reward and threat of punishment.
As we matured we realized that there was a rational explanation for all of the observed phenomena that we attributed to Santa Claus, and our suspicion that he did not exist was eventually confirmed by our parents. This is where the analogy between Santa and a deity fails, as there is no one to tell us that our religious faith is unfounded.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Watkins, Terry. "Santa Claus: The Great Imposter". Dial-the-Truth Ministries.
- "Why Jesus Is Infinitely Better Than Santa Claus". rpmministries.org.
- Deem, Rich. "Invisible Pink Unicorn, Flying Spaghetti Monster, Santa Claus and God". Evidence For God.
- Brendler, Joseph A. "Why I don't believe in Santa".
- "Santa Claus: Should Parents Perpetuate the Santa Claus Myth?". About.com.
- "Why don't grown-ups believe in Santa Claus?". Pandagon.
- "Santa Claus and Evidence". Spanish Inquisitor.
- "Why I Don't Believe In God". Positive Atheism.
- Roohi, Farzad. "Do you still believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy? If you don't, why not?". mwillett.org.
- Stewart, David J. "There is NO Santa Claus! The Sin of Santa Claus".
- See the Wikipedia article on Santa Claus.
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ What? You think you've got a more reasonable explanation than that?
- ↑ "Jesus & Santa Claus??".
- ↑ "Jesus Christ vs Santa Claus: Santa truly has been created to be a counterfeit Jesus to the Secular World!". cuttingedge.org.
- ↑ Melton, James L. (1996). "Santa Claus and Satan's Cause".
- ↑ "Santa Claus Versus Jesus Christ"
- ↑ "Why do you believe in Jesus but not Santa Claus?". Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry.
