Take Santa for instance.
No, it's too late for me, I know that he does not come down the chimney, and he is not getting any more of my cookies and milk. If he did exist, I'd probably be on the naughty list after this! My problem with Santa is not due to the generous mythology that has developed around him. My problem with Santa is that he is a bad symbol to celebrate the birth of Christ.
Let me show what I mean, here's the lyrics to the popular Christmas song, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town*:
"You better watch outIf we believed this song, Santa Claus is a combination of the Pope and Homeland Security. He judges our sins and weaknesses with omniscience and infallibility. His agents are lurking behind every tree and corner. There are elves stationed on every rooftop and hill, aiming parabolic listening devices and night vision goggles at our houses and apartments, spying on each child day and night. Out in the community, in coffee shops, bars, beauty shops and other "adult places", out of sight of kid's eyes, are posters telling adults how to report bad behavior to Santa. It's no wonder kids get extra squirrelly this time of year, Christmas must feel like some childhood version of George Orwell's 1984.
You better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
He's making a list,
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who's naughty and nice.
Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!"
(J. Fred Coots, Henry Gillespie (c) 1934)
This invention of Santa Claus as a symbol of judgment and unflinching righteousness does not seem to be based on any common stories of Saint Nicholas as a person, yet in many of the celebrations around the world, he continues to reward the good children and punish the bad children.Click here to read about the historical Saint Nicholas). I guess that society unconsciously looks for ways to control behavior any way it can.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."~Ephesians 2:10That's what I don't like about Santa. The stories we tell kids about Santa reinforce the wrong ideas about Christmas. He only brings toys to the good boys and girls, and coal to the naughty ones. But when God brought us the gift of Jesus Christ, he brought that gift freely to a world of bad children, stained by all manner of sin and naughtiness.
We did not deserve this gift. Christmas is not about being good enough to deserve God's free gift. Its about God giving us what we don't deserve, and us having the faith to accept it freely.
Merry Christmas.
-John
2 comments:
I appreciate that you question Santa, but why draw the line there? Why not question the Jesus myth itself? Santa was hacked onto X-mas as artificially as Jesus was to the Mithra/winter solstice Pagan celebrations.
Besides, God made the universe in such a way as to allow evil, then, realizing we were all screwed up (something he knew before hand if he is an all-knowing being), he killed most of us.
So, we screw up again (something God also must have known), but this time, God REGRETS his nasty treatment of us before hand. How can all an all powerful, all knowing being have regrets?
In any case, he sacrifices himself, to himself, to save and protect us...protect us from what? Oh yeah! From HIM! Seems that this chain had some links that could have been skipped over *scratches head* ;)
This also put an end to animal sacrifice...makes you wonder why a loving God would find pleasure or appeasement to begin with over the death of animals??
I'm flabbergasted that grown men accept that fable as reality. Questioning is good stuff. Applying it to everything is even better.
Wow Mr. Smith,
No need to leave anything out there. Yes, most of us know that there are parts of Christianity that don't fit into a quadratic equation.
Such things as the problem of why evil exists, why God allowed man to fall, why a loving God would send man to hell, we all know such things exist. They aren't the magic bullet to shut us up. There are answers to some of them, and there are some I don't have answers to.
I don't believe you are seeking answers anyway, since you mocked me as stupid for believing in fables. That is not the rhetoric of someone who sincerely seeks answers to questions, that is the rhetoric of someone arrogant enough to believe he has all the answers. How long has the entire universe fit neatly between your ears?
Blaise Pascal said that “The heart has reasons that reason cannot know.”
Things should be questioned, but not every question can be answered now, or to our limited knowledge. Our own obsession with science proves that.
My biology teacher went out of his way to explain to me how all cells come from pre-existing cells, except for the first one, and they still don't know where that came from. He explained how carbon dating was incredibly accurate, except for the built-in assumptions in the computations. And on, and on, and on...
"Men of Science and Reason" cling to their theories to the point of arrogance and stubborness without really seeking the answers to the big questions, they just hope they can publish so they won't perish. We know parts of evolution are true, but other parts are held together with such philosophical duct-tape they would fall apart in the wind without the glue of so many people losing grants and tenure if they would think for themselves.
Look, if you don't want to believe Christianity, that's your decision. Someone will be wrong at the end of the day, you or me, or someone else.
I chose this belief not because my mom and dad told me to, but because I felt the historical basis was worth believing beyond a reasonable doubt. Then, upon believing it I found peace and answers to some of the questions I had. I found much of what I was looking for. I'm honest enough to admit there are still questions I have. That's good enough for me. I would hope you would be reasonable enough to respect that, but you don't present yourself that way.
-John
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