Santa... why do so many Christians lie to their children about Santa?

[Galatea]

On some level, you're right. But, for the average or below average "religious" person, which my sister and I were when we were children, there is little knowledge that Christianity has any kind of apologetic material, let alone any strength. I remember the day my 8 year old sister found out there was no Santa---the next question that fell from her lips after about 60 seconds of severe crying was, "Is there a god?"

On some level, the notions are in people's minds (children's minds, really) where one thing can lead to another, and the outcome will probably be rather on the negative side for belief. Of course, this isn't to say it's automatic. If someone has, say, a PhD apologist as a father or mother, then so much the better. In my case, may family while a child was but one or two steps from ignorance and agnosticism. No Santa could have very well meant, at a low level of ignorance, no god as well.

Just sayin' sister, Galatea!

2PhiloVoid

We did not have PhD level apologists for parents, but did grow up in a solid Bible believing church. So, I can see your point. I don't think it is that serious to teach children about Santa Claus, and am grateful for growing up believing in magic as a child. I would not exchange it.

But, it is one of those small things that Christians can disagree about, and still agree about Christ.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

We did not have PhD level apologists for parents, but did grow up in a solid Bible believing church. So, I can see your point. I don't think it is that serious to teach children about Santa Claus, and am grateful for growing up believing in magic as a child. I would not exchange it.

But, it is one of those small things that Christians can disagree about, and still agree about Christ.

In your case, you had the advantage of Bible-believing parents. I had...parents.

 

[Aryeh]

I am a Christian now, in fact I am a rather 'fundi' Christian, but I used to be an athiest. I became atheistic and extremely skeptical of the Bible and religion at an early age... mostly because I felt I could not believe my parents nor the Church. I grew up attending a very liberal church, Methodist in denomination. They taught me that the scriptures were really a collection of early myths but taught moral truth.
I was always interested in science... I knew what a paleontologists was before the 2nd grade. Science contradicted the Bible, or at least certainly seemed to. Somewhere around then you learn that Santa is not real... he is a story, a myth... Santa is an impossible being in the real world yet carries a LOT of the same attributes of God... he knows if you (and every other kid in the world) have been bad or good, something that only God knows... we call it the attribute of Omniscience.
So, even a kid can start thinking logically as he gets to be a teenager. if Santa is a fraud, and the Bible is just a bunch of legends, and your own parents lied to you... and the Bible is just a bunch of stories, and you run across Bible skeptics and atheists... you can easily see the logical conclusion.
Getting back to the question, however, is how do so many Christian parents justify lying to their kids about Santa? I personally despise Santa. I can accept a lot of other things which are unbiblical about the way we celebrate Christmas because I don't want to be too legalistic about the date, the decorations, etc. We celebrate Christ's birthday in spirit. I just can't stomach Santa, probably from my own experiences.

I have no idea...

My parents did it, but I told them at five that it was ridiculous - once I saw them sneaking in with presents early Christmas morning.

And, I was also vastly interested in science and math (still doing it.) I was the kid tracking Santa, along with Norad.

When Norad said that Santa should be at a certain location near me, I would go out and see if I could see the sleigh and Rudolph. When he was approaching, I would track his progress with the little "Norad tracking maps" for Santa.

When my "calculations" never added up, or when Norad seemed not to know where Santa was, I got suspicious.

That is how I eventually, on my own, came to realize the reality of santa. Fortunately for me, it didn't cause significant trust issues in my parents, or the validity of life itself.

Lying about something so profound at such a young age sets kids up for massive doubt in life - as they learn the very people they trust most can, and will lie to them.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

I have no idea...

My parents did it, but I told them at five that it was ridiculous - once I saw them sneaking in with presents early Christmas morning.

And, I was also vastly interested in science and math (still doing it.) I was the kid tracking Santa, along with Norad.

When Norad said that Santa should be at a certain location near me, I would go out and see if I could see the sleigh and Rudolph. When he was approaching, I would track his progress with the little "Norad tracking maps" for Santa.

When my "calculations" never added up, or when Norad seemed not to know where Santa was, I got suspicious.

That is how I eventually, on my own, came to realize the reality of santa. Fortunately for me, it didn't cause significant trust issues in my parents, or the validity of life itself.

Lying about something so profound at such a young age sets kids up for massive doubt in life - as they learn the very people they trust most can, and will lie to them.

You sound like you were an awesome kid!

 

[2PhiloVoid]

We did not have PhD level apologists for parents, but did grow up in a solid Bible believing church. So, I can see your point. I don't think it is that serious to teach children about Santa Claus, and am grateful for growing up believing in magic as a child. I would not exchange it.

But, it is one of those small things that Christians can disagree about, and still agree about Christ.

Yes, I can agree with you. I related to you my sister's experience with the Santa Revelation, but I didn't really share mine. In my case, a friend at school told me "the truth." Then, after confirming it with my mom later that day, and shedding a few tears, I simply went on with my quasi-agnostic life, especially since mom helped me figure out that, hey--I was still going to get my stocking stuffed for Christmas! Oh, for the joys of materialism.

 

[Galatea]

I have no idea...

My parents did it, but I told them at five that it was ridiculous - once I saw them sneaking in with presents early Christmas morning.

And, I was also vastly interested in science and math (still doing it.) I was the kid tracking Santa, along with Norad.

When Norad said that Santa should be at a certain location near me, I would go out and see if I could see the sleigh and Rudolph. When he was approaching, I would track his progress with the little "Norad tracking maps" for Santa.

When my "calculations" never added up, or when Norad seemed not to know where Santa was, I got suspicious.

That is how I eventually, on my own, came to realize the reality of santa. Fortunately for me, it didn't cause significant trust issues in my parents, or the validity of life itself.

Lying about something so profound at such a young age sets kids up for massive doubt in life - as they learn the very people they trust most can, and will lie to them.

It's a good thing to learn, actually. No one is infallible, not even parents. And what is this horrible lie? What motivates it? A desire to create a little magic for children.

I was ten when I asked my mother if Santa was real, she explained it very well- that Saint Nicholas was a real person, but Santa is not and the reason why people let kids believe in him is to give happiness. I wasn't mad at her, my trust wasn't violated. I didn't feel "lied to". Even then, I was grateful to have been told to believe. I was entrusted to keep the magic going by not telling my younger sisters about Santa. My mother told me that in a way, Santa is real- because people are Santa. Just like in the "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."

Santa embodies the spirit of generosity and love. People who donate toys to the less fortunate are Santa, as are people who pack boxes for Operation Christmas Child.

Santa is an allegory for unconditional love.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

It's a good thing to learn, actually. No one is infallible, not even parents. And what is this horrible lie? What motivates it? A desire to create a little magic for children.

I was ten when I asked my mother if Santa was real, she explained it very well- that Saint Nicholas was a real person, but Santa is not and the reason why people let kids believe in him is to give happiness. I wasn't mad at her, my trust wasn't violated. I didn't feel "lied to". Even then, I was grateful to have been told to believe. I was entrusted to keep the magic going by not telling my younger sisters about Santa. My mother told me that in a way, Santa is real- because people are Santa. Just like in the "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."

Santa embodies the spirit of generosity and love. People who donate toys to the less fortunate are Santa, as are people who pack boxes for Operation Christmas Child.

Santa is an allegory for unconditional love.

Yep, and I can still love this little Christmas jingle, too...

 

[mark kennedy]

I am a Christian now, in fact I am a rather 'fundi' Christian, but I used to be an athiest. I became atheistic and extremely skeptical of the Bible and religion at an early age... mostly because I felt I could not believe my parents nor the Church. I grew up attending a very liberal church, Methodist in denomination. They taught me that the scriptures were really a collection of early myths but taught moral truth.
I was always interested in science... I knew what a paleontologists was before the 2nd grade. Science contradicted the Bible, or at least certainly seemed to. Somewhere around then you learn that Santa is not real... he is a story, a myth... Santa is an impossible being in the real world yet carries a LOT of the same attributes of God... he knows if you (and every other kid in the world) have been bad or good, something that only God knows... we call it the attribute of Omniscience.
So, even a kid can start thinking logically as he gets to be a teenager. if Santa is a fraud, and the Bible is just a bunch of legends, and your own parents lied to you... and the Bible is just a bunch of stories, and you run across Bible skeptics and atheists... you can easily see the logical conclusion.
Getting back to the question, however, is how do so many Christian parents justify lying to their kids about Santa? I personally despise Santa. I can accept a lot of other things which are unbiblical about the way we celebrate Christmas because I don't want to be too legalistic about the date, the decorations, etc. We celebrate Christ's birthday in spirit. I just can't stomach Santa, probably from my own experiences.

I'm with you as far as telling kids Santa is real. I remember in Peter Pan the song, if you believe in fairies then clap your hand, the clapping is supposed to save Tinkerbell, I thought it was lame. I guess I always knew Santa and fairies were make believe, never gave it a thought. When my kids were little we never told them Santa was real. We always told them he he was an old guy who lived in the mountains and came down during the darkest, coldest days of winter and gave children toys he made for them all year long.

I do agree though you tell your kids Santa is real and the Bible is made up stories, there is something unchristian about that. With me no one told me much, I was a Christian before I ever picked one up.

I liked dinosaurs as a kid, they were cool in the circles I ran in. The cave men I thought were weird and disgusting. They had a Saturday kids show about them and I thought they were about as real as Space Ghost or Sigmund the seamonster. The biblical account seemed about right to me, really never gave it a lot of thought. Over the years I learned what I could about the history of the Bible but my interests were always doctrinal. I've since spent time looking at Genomics and Paleontology and I'm convinced stone age ape men are myth and the creation account is real. The science isn't the problem and I know that for a fact. The problem is they make up stories and call it history and call real history myth.

 

[Aryeh]

It's a good thing to learn, actually. No one is infallible, not even parents. And what is this horrible lie? What motivates it? A desire to create a little magic for children.

I was ten when I asked my mother if Santa was real, she explained it very well- that Saint Nicholas was a real person, but Santa is not and the reason why people let kids believe in him is to give happiness. I wasn't mad at her, my trust wasn't violated. I didn't feel "lied to". Even then, I was grateful to have been told to believe. I was entrusted to keep the magic going by not telling my younger sisters about Santa. My mother told me that in a way, Santa is real- because people are Santa. Just like in the "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."

Santa embodies the spirit of generosity and love. People who donate toys to the less fortunate are Santa, as are people who pack boxes for Operation Christmas Child.

Santa is an allegory for unconditional love.

As per the op, people respond differently to the lies they hear, especially from whom it comes.

The PARENT may think a white lie is harmless (even though according to God, a lie is a lie is a sin.) But, that isn't always the case at all. The OP went through several philosophical and spiritual shifts because of the lie the parents told. I, with hindsight, would have been a confused, spiritual derelict if I had allowed my parents' lie to continue - it would show me the depths of deception they would go to just to create an illusion they believe to be beneficial.

The fact adults go through so much trouble to justify something - even as a Christian practice - just shows the depths of deception of which they are capable. Especially, considering the stories of attaching the "reality" with the "magic" of Christmas - and none of it is in the bible.

Children aren't dumb; they are innocent - just like Adam and Eve. They easily pick up on things for which adults think they have an intellectual authority - like deception, and breach of trust.

Eventually, the children will figure out the "magic" of Christmas, and Christmas itself likely, is a farcical lie. Then, they wi begin to think, "why would my parents lie about this?"

"What else have they lied to me about?"

We think "small lies" cause "small problems." Lies create problems period. I can see why God would treat even small/all sin with big punishment/testing.

We can't see that far into the future, but what if the white lie of Santa causes an intergalactic war between the Galactic Alliance of Santa, Santa's Invictus Nation, and the Truth of Santa's Kingdom 40,000 years into the future - destroying 1/3 of it? It sounds fantastic, but the fact is we don't know what impact our sin has on the entire creation.


One lie caused the entirety of the human race to lose our God given dominion of this planet, our God-given raiment and glory of light (specul.), and our perfection and pure connection of communion with our Father through Christ literally walking with us on earth. One lie.

 

[Galatea]

As per the op, people respond differently to the lies they hear, especially from whom it comes.

The PARENT may think a white lie is harmless (even though according to God, a lie is a lie is a sin.) But, that isn't always the case at all. The OP went through several philosophical and spiritual shifts because of the lie the parents told. I, with hindsight, would have been a confused, spiritual derelict if I had allowed my parents' lie to continue - it would show me the depths of deception they would go to just to create an illusion they believe to be beneficial.

The fact adults go through so much trouble to justify something - even as a Christian practice - just shows the depths of deception of which they are capable. Especially, considering the stories of attaching the "reality" with the "magic" of Christmas - and none of it is in the bible.

Children aren't dumb; they are innocent - just like Adam and Eve. They easily pick up on things for which adults think they have an intellectual authority - like deception, and breach of trust.

Eventually, the children will figure out the "magic" of Christmas, and Christmas itself likely, is a farcical lie. Then, they wi begin to think, "why would my parents lie about this?"

"What else have they lied to me about?"

We think "small lies" cause "small problems." Lies create problems period. I can see why God would treat even small/all sin with big punishment/testing.

We can't see that far into the future, but what if the white lie of Santa causes an intergalactic war between the Galactic Alliance of Santa, Santa's Invictus Nation, and the Truth of Santa's Kingdom 40,000 years into the future - destroying 1/3 of it? It sounds fantastic, but the fact is we don't know what impact our sin has on the entire creation.


One lie caused the entirety of the human race to lose our God given dominion of this planet, our God-given raiment and glory of light (specul.), and our perfection and pure connection of communion with our Father through Christ literally walking with us on earth. One lie.

Do you tell no lies?

Yes, people lie. Even the people you trust and love. It is a part of our sinful nature.

Now, people could develop trust issues- if they idealized parents to the point that they believe that their parents should be perfect and never lie- holding people to impossible standards of perfection. Or, people could develop trust issues- thinking everyone is a liar and not to be trusted.

Hopefully, most people will learn their parents do lie to them- but do not have evil motives and love them in their fallible ability. It's a lesson everyone learns- whether your parents "lied" to you about Santa Claus or not. Sooner or later, we all figure out our parents aren't perfect and do something to betray our implicit trust.

The thing is, to keep on trusting because you learn that people are not perfect, and love imperfectly- even the people who love you the most. I am sure you have lied and breached people's trust, too. We all do. We're all sinners. We're all liars, every last one of us.

 

[Not_By_Chance]

I am a Christian now, in fact I am a rather 'fundi' Christian, but I used to be an athiest. I became atheistic and extremely skeptical of the Bible and religion at an early age... mostly because I felt I could not believe my parents nor the Church. I grew up attending a very liberal church, Methodist in denomination. They taught me that the scriptures were really a collection of early myths but taught moral truth.
I was always interested in science... I knew what a paleontologists was before the 2nd grade. Science contradicted the Bible, or at least certainly seemed to. Somewhere around then you learn that Santa is not real... he is a story, a myth... Santa is an impossible being in the real world yet carries a LOT of the same attributes of God... he knows if you (and every other kid in the world) have been bad or good, something that only God knows... we call it the attribute of Omniscience.
So, even a kid can start thinking logically as he gets to be a teenager. if Santa is a fraud, and the Bible is just a bunch of legends, and your own parents lied to you... and the Bible is just a bunch of stories, and you run across Bible skeptics and atheists... you can easily see the logical conclusion.
Getting back to the question, however, is how do so many Christian parents justify lying to their kids about Santa? I personally despise Santa. I can accept a lot of other things which are unbiblical about the way we celebrate Christmas because I don't want to be too legalistic about the date, the decorations, etc. We celebrate Christ's birthday in spirit. I just can't stomach Santa, probably from my own experiences.

I got really fed up listening to the songs in a local supermarket recently about some fat man in a red suit. I kept thinking, where is Jesus in all of this? How can a birthday celebration not even mention the one who is supposed to be the subject of the celebration? But back to your topic. My daughter asked me if Santa was real when she was only 6. I replied, "What do you think? Do you think he is real?" to which she replied, "I don't think so, but I'm not sure" (or words to that effect). I told her that she was right, but the story was based on a good person from long ago called St Nicholas and that the real meaning of Christmas was to celebrate the birth of Jesus in a city called Bethlehem. I explained in simple terms that Jesus is the creator of everything and that He came to visit us to help us understand.

 

[Aryeh]

Do you tell no lies?

Yes, people lie. Even the people you trust and love. It is a part of our sinful nature.

Now, people could develop trust issues- if they idealized parents to the point that they believe that their parents should be perfect and never lie- holding people to impossible standards of perfection. Or, people could develop trust issues- thinking everyone is a liar and not to be trusted.

Hopefully, most people will learn their parents do lie to them- but do not have evil motives and love them in their fallible ability. It's a lesson everyone learns- whether your parents "lied" to you about Santa Claus or not. Sooner or later, we all figure out our parents aren't perfect and do something to betray our implicit trust.

The thing is, to keep on trusting because you learn that people are not perfect, and love imperfectly- even the people who love you the most. I am sure you have lied and breached people's trust, too. We all do. We're all sinners. We're all liars, every last one of us.

Continual deception is a different story - no matter the degree of the lie. It doesn't justify the lie parents tell children about Santa or anything. This is especially true if the same lie is repeated and perpetuated over years.

Would you tolerate a white lie of your partner - in his or her opinion - for years? How would you deal with that? Just because they are children doesn't mean they should, could or would be able to handle [more] lies.

 

[Galatea]

Continual deception is a different story - no matter the degree of the lie. It doesn't justify the lie parents tell children about Santa or anything. This is especially true if the same lie is repeated and perpetuated over years.

Would you tolerate a white lie of your partner - in his or her opinion - for years? How would you deal with that? Just because they are children doesn't mean they should, could or would be able to handle [more] lies.

I have no husband, so I can not answer that question. If he deceived me by telling me I was the most beautiful woman in the world, I am pretty certain I could live quite comfortably with that deception for many years.

I DO know that I was "deceived" from the ages 1-10 about the existences of magical creatures, and do not have any ill feelings toward my mother for deceiving me for so long. On the contrary, I am grateful she gave me that time of wonder. I don't feel betrayed at all, in that sense. I found out somewhere along the line that my mother was not the perfect being I thought she was when I was a tiny child. It had nothing at all to do with Santa Claus.

 

[Anguspure]

I am a Christian now, in fact I am a rather 'fundi' Christian, but I used to be an athiest. I became atheistic and extremely skeptical of the Bible and religion at an early age... mostly because I felt I could not believe my parents nor the Church. I grew up attending a very liberal church, Methodist in denomination. They taught me that the scriptures were really a collection of early myths but taught moral truth.
I was always interested in science... I knew what a paleontologists was before the 2nd grade. Science contradicted the Bible, or at least certainly seemed to. Somewhere around then you learn that Santa is not real... he is a story, a myth... Santa is an impossible being in the real world yet carries a LOT of the same attributes of God... he knows if you (and every other kid in the world) have been bad or good, something that only God knows... we call it the attribute of Omniscience.
So, even a kid can start thinking logically as he gets to be a teenager. if Santa is a fraud, and the Bible is just a bunch of legends, and your own parents lied to you... and the Bible is just a bunch of stories, and you run across Bible skeptics and atheists... you can easily see the logical conclusion.
Getting back to the question, however, is how do so many Christian parents justify lying to their kids about Santa? I personally despise Santa. I can accept a lot of other things which are unbiblical about the way we celebrate Christmas because I don't want to be too legalistic about the date, the decorations, etc. We celebrate Christ's birthday in spirit. I just can't stomach Santa, probably from my own experiences.

As a young parent I too was concerned about this, but I have found that my kids, at least, have been able to discern the difference between the magical mythological world of fairies and the like, and the real world. That they are able to take the things of God seriously while discarding the earlier fantasies as being to childish.
Perhaps its because I tolerated the myths but also have been very clear as to the catagory that God falls into.
So I don't see anything wrong with a magical fantasy world that includes Santa Claus as long as the correct persepective is maintained.

 

[SeventyOne]

People sure do give Santa a lot of credit. They say, "If kids hear Santa isn't real, then they won't believe in God".

How many ever say, "If kids hear Batman isn't real, then they won't believe in God", or "If kids hear Elmo isn't real, then they won't believe in God", or "If kids hear Winnie the Pooh isn't real, then they won't believe in God"?

No one, because play fantasies resolve themselves. We don't introduce Batman, Elmo, or Winnie the Pooh into the lives of our children with the caveat that we emphasize they aren't real.

"Hey Joey, I got you a new Elmo movie. Want to watch it? It's ok because we both know that Elmo is just a completely fake and lifeless pile of carpet infused with sticks, wires, and strings.", said no parent ever.

 

[Aryeh]

I have no husband, so I can not answer that question. If he deceived me by telling me I was the most beautiful woman in the world, I am pretty certain I could live quite comfortably with that deception for many years.

I DO know that I was "deceived" from the ages 1-10 about the existences of magical creatures, and do not have any ill feelings toward my mother for deceiving me for so long. On the contrary, I am grateful she gave me that time of wonder. I don't feel betrayed at all, in that sense. I found out somewhere along the line that my mother was not the perfect being I thought she was when I was a tiny child. It had nothing at all to do with Santa Claus.

But, at the end of it all, it really doesn't matter how the kid turned out.

The parents continuously lied. We aren't talking about a lie here or there, and repentance, and an effort not to lie anymore. We are talking about parents continuously lying to their children about one particular thing - over a long period of time. That is continual lying.

The fact that the parents could do that to their child - no matter how benign the parents or child(ren) may think the lie is - is a complex psychological issue.

It may not manifest in overt ways, the way something like this affects you. It could be a completely tangential affect. It may even take years to connect the dots. A lie is a lie, and perpetual lying - especially from someone who is trusted - is a dangerous breach of trust in a relationship


You brought up not worrying about being "lied to" about being the most beautiful in the world. Well, what if that "lie" really turns out to harm in the future? We don't know how the lies we tell affect ourselves, and others. We have no idea of the degree for which they can cause trouble. Which, is why we shouldn't even do it in any degree.

And, if we do it we need to repent - in the case of Santa Clause, tell the truth, and then don't bring up the "magic" ever again.

 

[Aryeh]

People sure do give Santa a lot of credit. They say, "If kids hear Santa isn't real, then they won't believe in God".

How many ever say, "If kids hear Batman isn't real, then they won't believe in God", or "If kids hear Elmo isn't real, then they won't believe in God", or "If kids hear Winnie the Pooh isn't real, then they won't believe in God"?

No one, because play fantasies resolve themselves. We don't introduce Batman, Elmo, or Winnie the Pooh into the lives of our children with the caveat that we emphasize they aren't real.

"Hey Joey, I got you a new Elmo movie. Want to watch it? It's ok because we both know that Elmo is just a completely fake and lifeless pile of carpet infused with sticks, wires, and strings.", said no parent ever.

The thing is, parents and adults in general go to great lengths to preserve the validity of the "lie" of the make believe in Christmas.

They don't do that with Batman; kids (should be/) are told that Batman is fantasy. In fact, most kids understand this.

But, with Santa however, adults supplement the lie with ritual, decoration, and an overall culture. The kid is left to discover the fantasy of Santa on his or her own, or when the parents finally decide s/he deserves to know the truth.

It is the psychology of PARENTS lying to the CHILD that can cause the issues because of the relationship and bond shared. It isn't about DC lying to your kid and influencing their life because they were persuaded batman is real.

 

[SeventyOne]

The thing is, parents and adults in general go to great lengths to preserve the validity of the "lie" of the make believe in Christmas.

They don't do that with Batman; kids (should be/) are told that Batman is fantasy. In fact, most kids understand this.

But, with Santa however, adults supplement the lie with ritual, decoration, and an overall culture. The kid is left to discover the fantasy of Santa on his or her own, or when the parents finally decide s/he deserves to know the truth.

It is the psychology of PARENTS lying to the CHILD that can cause the issues because of the relationship and bond shared. It isn't about DC lying to your kid and influencing their life because they were persuaded batman is real.

The kids are left to discover all fantasy on their own. Eventually, they put 2 and 2 together and actually come up with 4.

I think it's a leap to call it a lie as well, since it's more a form of pretend or play with the children. If little Joey comes running in the room pretending he's Superman or a fireman, we think it's cute he's pretending and playing around. But in this little world some have built up about the 'harm' of Santa, they would probably take offense that the parent participated in the lie of the child because obviously he's not Superman or a fireman and they just let him believe the lie. Mental child abuse? Once he realizes the truth, he might not believe in God afterall.

 

[Aryeh]

The kids are left to discover all fantasy on their own. Eventually, they put 2 and 2 together and actually come up with 4.

I think it's a leap to call it a lie as well, since it's more a form of pretend or play with the children. If little Joey comes running in the room pretending he's Superman or a fireman, we think it's cute he's pretending and playing around. But in this little world some have built up about the 'harm' of Santa, they would probably take offense that the parent participated in the lie of the child because obviously he's not Superman or a fireman and they just let him believe the lie. Mental child abuse? Once he realizes the truth, he might not believe in God afterall.

Unless Joey is told from the beginning that Santa is not real, it is a lie.

Parents perpetuate the lie - and, let's not sugar coat it, it is a lie - by continuously telling their kids something that is not true, and/or making no attempt to clarify for the truth (passive.)

And, the entire world tries to protect the lie of Santa. It isn't comparable to comic book heroes, which are assumed to be fantasy. As I said, NORAD participates in this by giving kids tracking maps, and showing tracking information on Santa - as if it is all real. (I came from a military family, so at five I know what NORAD was.) This isn't just a quick fairy tale; it is a lie celebrated all over the world.

Adults have even tried to connect it to real Christian figures as if to justify the "magic" mixed with the history/mythos.

And, as I said it doesn't matter how the kid turns out. The fact that parents would continuously lie to their children has serious psychological and real-life implications mostly unseen without hindsight. The fact that parents would do so much to preserve such an allegedly little white lie is even more disturbing. The attempted justification for these things is a reflection of and insight into the depth of distortion of "morality."

What is disturbing is more people are upset with the pastor for telling the truth, because they want to protect the lie and spare their children.

Romans 1:25

 

[SeventyOne]

Unless Joey is told from the beginning that Santa is not real, it is a lie.

Parents perpetuate the lie - and, let's not sugar coat it, it is a lie - by continuously telling their kids something that is not true, and/or making no attempt to clarify for the truth (passive.)

And, the entire world tries to protect the lie of Santa. It isn't comparable to comic book heroes, which are assumed to be fantasy. As I said, NORAD participates in this by giving kids tracking maps, and showing tracking information on Santa - as if it is all real. (I came from a military family, so at five I know what NORAD was.) This isn't just a quick fairy tale; it is a lie celebrated all over the world.

Adults have even tried to connect it to real Christian figures as if to justify the "magic" mixed with the history/mythos.

And, as I said it doesn't matter how the kid turns out. The fact that parents would continuously lie to their children has serious psychological and real-life implications mostly unseen without hindsight. The fact that parents would do so much to preserve such an allegedly little white lie is even more disturbing. The attempted justification for these things is a reflection of and insight into the depth of distortion of "morality."

What is disturbing is more people are upset with the pastor for telling the truth, because they want to protect the lie and spare their children.

Romans 1:25

That is if you equate pretend and play with lies. Just because you say such things are lies, doesn't actually make them lies.

One cannot say that pretending Santa is real is a lie, but pretending little Joey is a fireman or pretending Elmo is real is just play. They are the same basic thing. I sure hope you are consistent on who you are calling liars.