Can you prove that Santa Claus doesn't exist?

[InterestedAtheist]

no delivery from Santa to poor run down orphanage
we were told there were no toys there

If this is getting too personal, we can stop. I have no desire to stir up painful memories.

 

[mama2one]

just giving you more proof that Santa doesn't exist

no way Santa would skip an orphanage
so obviously there is no Santa

 

[InterestedAtheist]

just giving you more proof that Santa doesn't exist

no way Santa would skip an orphanage
so obviously there is no Santa

Okay then.
Maybe Santa did deliver the presents, and the owners of the orphanage confiscated them.

Or maybe Santa knew that the children would be punished if they received presents, so he gave them the gift of safety.

Did any of the children get adopted to loving families? Maybe that was Santa's gift.

Rationalizing why Santa didn't give presents in any particular set of circumstances isn't hard, because I've had a lot of opportunities to observe Christians doing the same thing when asked why God doesn't answer prayers. And in doing so, I hope to make a serious point: if you can appropriate Christian arguments to defend a ridiculous position, maybe they're not very good arguments to begin with.

 

[JohnDB]

just giving you more proof that Santa doesn't exist

no way Santa would skip an orphanage
so obviously there is no Santa

Most orphanages have closed...
Foster parents are the rule of the day anymore.
And foster kids and what used to be orphanages had an ocean of toys for the kids. Too many toys in fact.
Like churches do, most orphanages operated tax exempt when they existed. Toys for Tots and many others rounded up toys and stuff for the kids.
America has always had some of the wealthiest poor in the world.

 

[mama2one]

Most orphanages have closed...

not in other countries
child we adopted was in another country

the orphanage was so rundown, it was torn down shortly after we adopted & a new one was built

no Santa deliveries there so no confiscation took place

also, many do not get adopted but instead stay there & become workers so @InterestedAtheist...that answer doesn't apply

 

[JohnDB]

not in other countries
child we adopted was in another country

the orphanage was so rundown, it was torn down shortly after we adopted & a new one was built

no Santa deliveries there so no confiscation took place

also, many do not get adopted but instead stay there & become workers so @InterestedAtheist...that answer doesn't apply

It has always kinda stunned me how other countries (including the "Christian" ones) have treated their orphans.
There's nothing so desperate as a Chinese orphan.
When school advancement is on a competitive basis and kids with parents get tutors and every learning aid possible...orphans get nothing like that.

 

[mama2one]

orphans get nothing like that.

it's tough for orphans
even after adoption, there's life long trauma from it all


no Santa deliveries to help the kids there

 

[Reasonable Christian]

Christians, please don't take the bait, at least more than you already have. This is just a version of the Flying Spaghetti Monster "argument" that atheists think is SO clever and pat themselves on the back over. The only theistic arguments that can also be used to prove the existence of Santa Clause or the Flying Spaghetti Monster are bad ones. So Christians, for crying out loud, don't use them and give people like the OP more ammunition, and especially don't ask people to prove a universal negative. As the OP noted and common sense indicates, it can't be done.

On a side note, the answers to the four questions in the OP's signature that Christians "can't answer" are: (1) Morality is not grounded ultimately in God’s commands, but in His character, which then expresses itself in His commands. God's character is essentially good, and thus what He commands will always be good. (2) No. So what? (3) This assertion is a universal negative, which, as the OP himself has stated, can't be proved by the OP or anyone else. (4) No. Christians have addressed this many, many times, so I'm not going to do it here. The OP could learn our reasoning with a simple Google search if he cared to.

 

[Moral Orel]

One cannot prove negative and general claims. It can be possible to prove specific negative claims within well defined parameters, but not negative and general...

Prove Santa Clause doesn't exist is too general. I can provide the historicity of Jesus of Nazareth, but I can't prove to you He is the Son of God or God in Flesh outside of experiential evidence that has been experienced by countless people throughout history.

That's the same reason you can't prove God doesn't exist. That's the point of the thread. Proving Jesus existed is a separate matter from proving that there is a God for Jesus to be the son of.

 

[InterestedAtheist]

it's tough for orphans
even after adoption, there's life long trauma from it all


no Santa deliveries to help the kids there

How interesting! If you can provide evidence that Santa has never, ever given gifts to orphans this would certainly be a serious problem for a Santaist.

 

[essentialsaltes]

So here's my question. Can you prove that Santa Claus does not exist?
And as a follow-up: if you can't disprove his existence, is it therefore logical of me to maintain my belief that he does exist?

I think the more important follow-up is:

If you can't disprove his existence, is it reasonable for you to not believe in Santa?

 

[2PhiloVoid]

I couldn't say where Santa Claus came from. I suppose it's quite possible Saint Nicholas of Myra was somehow transformed into a magical (or miracle-working) distributor of presents.

You suppose? How nice of you to do so (and apparently doing so all by yourself).

Enjoy!

 

[mama2one]

especially don't ask people to prove a universal negative. As the OP noted and common sense indicates, it can't be done.

I proved "no Santa" in post #35

yet like my preteen, OP likes to argue for sake of arguing even though I'm right, lol

 

[InterestedAtheist]

I proved "no Santa" in post #35

yet like my preteen, OP likes to argue for sake of arguing even though I'm right, lol

You're doing a fine job, mama2one. You now sound exactly like an atheist arguing with a Christian.

 

[InterestedAtheist]

1) our child is good and kind
2) therefore, our child would be on Santa's list
3) Santa delivers to ALL good children
4) Santa has NEVER delivered to our house
5) we even have a chimney...so no excuse
6) there's your reason...failure to deliver to a good child year after year....NO Santa

This is what you showed us:

(1) I am a good, kind person.
(2) Therefore, God should be happy to answer my prayers.
(3) God always answers prayers if they are sincere.
(4) God has NEVER answered my prayers.
(5) I've prayed for years, sincerely and honestly, so no excuse.
(6) There's your reason...failure to answer prayers. NO God.

 

[InterestedAtheist]

Christians, please don't take the bait, at least more than you already have. This is just a version of the Flying Spaghetti Monster "argument" that atheists think is SO clever and pat themselves on the back over. The only theistic arguments that can also be used to prove the existence of Santa Clause or the Flying Spaghetti Monster are bad ones. So Christians, for crying out loud, don't use them and give people like the OP more ammunition, and especially don't ask people to prove a universal negative. As the OP noted and common sense indicates, it can't be done.

Haven't you heard the news? @mama2one has already disproved Santa. She said so.
Maybe if you try a little harder? Come now - a magical flying fairy who delivers presents in one night, and you say you can't disprove it?

 

[mama2one]

you may be an English teacher but you can't change my post #35 into post #55

as you well know, in the dictionary, Santa is not God
in the dictionary, God is not Santa

trying to "play" with words doesn't work on this thread

 

[InterestedAtheist]

you may be an English teacher but you can't change my post #35 into post #55

Well, no. You did that yourself.

as you well know, in the dictionary, Santa is not God

From the dictionary:
analogy
noun
anal·o·gy | \ ə-ˈna-lə-jē \
plural analogies
Definition of analogy
1a: a comparison of two otherwise unlike things based on resemblance of a particular aspect

It's quite remarkable how one thing can teach you a lot about another. While a gift-giving fairy may seem to have very little to do with the Creator of the Universe, the "Can you prove that Santa does not exist?" analogy has already revealed some significant similarities, showing how you can take the arguments that Christians use to defend God's existence in their apologetics and apply them to some quite absurd situations. Which raises the interesting question: if we can use Christian arguments to "prove" Santa's existence, maybe those Christian arguments don't really prove that God exists.

Which is kind of the point, since we are on the Apologetics Forum.

trying to "play" with words doesn't work on this thread

Actually, it's working remarkably well!
Thank you for participating in this experiment.

 

[mama2one]

Well, no. You did that yourself.

no sir, you wrote post #55

my post is #35 where I gave proof Santa does not exist per title of thread

no idea why you turned my post into an off topic post
I did not write post #55

my post #35 has nothing to do with your post #55

do not change my words into something I did not write

 

[mama2one]

if you want to write a post about prayers, start a new thread about prayers

could discuss that topic as God has answered prayers for many people I personally know