Is Santa Claus A Christian?
By Dale V.
Nobbman
This article is
intended to
stimulate a
light-hearted
discussion
between parents
and their
children as we
once again count
the days until
Christmas.
Hopefully, dear
parents, you
will approach
this topic in
the ‘spirit of
the season’ as
you make this a
‘fun’ discussion
with your
children.
Children
are
‘open-minded’ by
nature, and
parents, if you
can still
remember back
that far, you
were once
children too!
But even
‘bah-humbug’
parents are
encouraged to
participate,
because a
thought
provoking
discussion about
this topic can
be educational
for adults as
well as
children—and
perhaps even
more so for the
adults.
I’m sure more
than a few
Christian
parents over the
course of time
have had their
own children ask
them “is Santa
Claus a
Christian?”
I would
say this is an
excellent
‘hypothetical’
question posed
by a child!
After
all, Santa often
gets accused by
Christian adults
as being ‘too
secular’ to be
totally embraced
by the Christian
community,
because they
feel he has
become a
distraction from
the true meaning
of Christmas,
which is the
celebration of
the birth of our
Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ, in
Bethlehem.
However,
I am going to
present some
evidence in this
article to try
and show that
Santa may be
more spiritual
than most people
realize.
But,
before we begin
our discussion,
do you think
Jesus
appreciates
Santa’s ‘cause’?
I can’t
say for sure,
but we do know
that Jesus often
utilized
‘parables’
during his three
years of
teaching while
here on Earth,
and this article
could be
considered a bit
of a modern day
parable ‘used to
illustrate
religious
principles’ as
defined by the
Webster
Dictionary, and
that is the very
purpose of this
article—to
illustrate some
useful Christian
principles for
all of us while
we discuss Santa
Claus.
But now, before
we get deeper
into this
article, what is
your current
opinion, would
you say Santa is
a Christian?
Well, it
is obvious we
cannot be
absolutely sure,
because there is
no written
evidence
recorded in
history as to
whether Santa
ever ‘repented’
of his
sins—asked God
to forgive
him—and then
believed in
and accepted
Jesus Christ to
be his personal
Lord and Savior.
Also,
there are no eye
witness
testimonies to
say one way or
another if Santa
is or isn’t a
Christian, and
I’ve personally
never heard
Santa publicly
profess his
Christian faith.
How then
are we to say if
Santa is a
Christian or
not?
Should we
hold it against
Santa that he
has the same
letters in his
name as Satan?
Before we
judge Santa so
harshly and
quickly for
being too
secular as to be
a Christian,
perhaps we
should compare
the personal
‘character’ of
Santa against
the ‘fruits of
the Spirit’ as
found in the
Word of God, the
Bible.
After
all, there must
be some good
reason why
Santa’s original
English name was
‘Saint
Nicholas’,
derived from his
Dutch name
‘Sinterklaas.’
And it
wasn’t until
1773 that St.
Nick first
became known as
‘Santa Claus’ in
America.
O.K…it’s time to
make a case on
behalf of Santa
being a
Christian, and
then we should
let the children
decide if Santa
is a Christian
or not.
After
all, Jesus said
in the gospel of
Matthew,
“Unless you are
converted and
become like
children, you
shall not enter
the kingdom of
heaven.”
So, let’s
begin kids,
please read the
following and
then tell your
parents if you
think Santa is a
Christian or
not, and then
see if your
parents agree.
“God loves a
cheerful giver.”
2
Corinthians 9:7
Ho,
Ho, Ho!!!
Sure
sounds like
Santa to me!
Always
jolly, very
giving and
generous.
Jesus said, “Let
the children
come unto me”.
Matthew 19:14
Santa follows
this example,
established by
Jesus, at
Santa’s
countless
shopping mall
appearances and
other events
where children
are in
attendance!
And Santa
loves children
of all
nationalities
and races
equally, the
same as Jesus.
“In a moment, in
the twinkling of
an eye”…
I
Corinthians
15:52
Santa must have
learned to come
and go in the
‘twinkling of an
eye’ from
reading his
Bible, wouldn’t
you agree?
And one
day, each one of
us Christians
will have our
own ‘twinkling’
moment at the
future time of
‘The Rapture.’
“They dash to
and fro like
lightning
flashes.”
Nahum
2:4
What does Santa
like to say to
his
reindeer—dash
away, dash away,
dash away all!
Again it would
seem that Santa
has read and
knows Bible
scripture very
well, and has
applied much of
what he has
learned in the
Bible to his
everyday life.
“…Adam and his
wife (Eve)…”
Genesis 3:21
Santa has
honored God’s
biblical view of
marriage as
spelled out in
the first book
of the Bible,
because Santa
has been married
all these years
to the same
woman—Mrs.
Claus.
“With long life
will I satisfy
him and show him
my salvation”
(Psalm 91:16)
We don’t know
exactly how old
Santa is, but it
is safe to say
he is hundreds
of years old.
Also, Santa
knows the
difference
between ‘good
and bad’.
As you
know, he keeps a
list of who’s
naughty and
nice!
There is
no fuzzy gray
area with Santa,
as to what is
good and what is
bad.
The same
is true with God
and Jesus
Christ.
I have a
favorite
Christmas card
showing Santa
taking time out
of his busy
delivery
schedule on ‘the
night before
Christmas’ to
kneel before a
manger scene,
with his hat in
his hands, to
reverence and
worship Jesus
Christ, the King
of Kings and
Lord of Lords!
But, I have
saved my closing
and most
impressive
argument on
Santa’s behalf
for last.
“Now the deeds
of the flesh are
evident, which
are immorality,
impurity,
sensuality,
idolatry,
sorcery,
enmities,
strife,
jealousy,
outbursts of
anger, disputes,
dissensions,
factions,
envying,
drunkenness,
carousing, and
things like
these, of which
I forewarn you
just as I have
forewarned you
that those who
practice such
things shall not
inherit the
kingdom of God.
But the
‘fruit of the
Spirit’ is love,
joy, peace,
patience,
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
gentleness, and
self-control.”
Galatians
5:19-23
So which sounds
more like Santa
to you?
Does he
exhibit the
‘deeds of the
flesh’ or does
he practice the
‘fruit of the
Spirit’?
The
answer seems
pretty obvious
to me!
After reading
the evidence
presented, what
do you think,
kids, is Santa a
Christian or
not?
What do
your parents
say?
And I
wonder what all
the ‘bah-humbug’
adults have to
say.
As with all of
us, only
God and Jesus
Christ know the
‘heart’ of each
person as to
whether that
person is a
Christian or
not, but if we
are truly
Christians, that
is if we are
believers in
Jesus Christ,
then our names
have been
written in the
Lamb’s ‘Book
of Life’
–and that is a
very good thing,
in fact, that is
the BEST
thing that can
ever happen to
us!!
Having
our names
recorded in the
‘Book of Life’
means we are
‘guaranteed’ our
eternal
membership into
Heaven—for
eternity!!!
And
that’s what I
definitely call
the ‘Good News
of Jesus
Christ’!
In conclusion,
as to whether
Santa is a
Christian—I
would simply
suggest that all
adults and
children,
including many
Christians,
would do well by
being more like
Santa Claus in
allowing the
‘fruits of the
Spirit’ to
manifest
themselves in
our daily lives.
I pray we
will ALL display
the ‘fruits of
the Spirit’
better in
the coming year!
Oh, and by the
way kids and
adults, try to
set aside all
the ‘tech
gadgets’ for at
least a little
while this
Christmas and
just take time
to enjoy your
family.
As time
goes quickly
by—you will be
glad you took
time to make
memories with
family members
at this time.
MERRY
CHRISTMAS—TO YOU
ALL!
GOD BLESS
YOU—EACH AND
EVERY ONE!