Santa Pause

A Biblical Perspective

Justin Peters

December 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

From time to time I get emails asking me for the article I wrote on Santa. I

thought I would post my article. This article was written 8 years ago and

though I would add a bit to it today were I to write it again, I would not change

anything already written.

Interestingly, one individual recently made some rather snarky and ill-informed

comments on social media regarding this article and me personally saying that

I assert that “Santa can spell Satan.” Well, rearrange the letters and, yes, that is

factually true but it is also absolutely meaningless and never appears in my

article. I think I am above such sophomoric argumentation and reasoning

though the one accusing me apparently is not. Oh well.

The article discusses the history of Santa (which is darker than most imagine)

and the theological reasons Santa deserves a critical eye. The concerns are not

primarily about how Santa affects children, but how Santa affects, so to speak,

God. What does God think about Santa? So, I invite you to read this article with

Bible open and we will see there to be ample reason we should give pause to

Mr. Claus. Enjoy the article.

Years ago a pastor told me, “Justin, never preach about Santa Clause. You just

can’t win preaching about Santa Clause.” At the risk of going against his advice,

I am going to address an icon with which we are all familiar but few really

consider to be an issue, Santa Clause.

To do away with any suspense, I’m not a fan of Santa. I’ve never cared much

for him ever since I learned that he was not real. As an adult, I cared for him

even less and even began to have a bit of animosity toward the “jolly old elf.”

However, it was not until last year, 2010, that I, through circumstances in my

life, was actually forced to sit down and think through exactly who Santa is and

wrestle with the biblical implications. As I write this I can already imagine the

emails and comments that will pour in and charge me with being legalistic,

pharisaical, and, well, a Grinch, for wanting to ruin for people what is deemed

by most to be harmless, fanciful fun for children on just one day of the year. I

can assure you that these are not at all my motives for writing. Two years ago I

would have never dreamed of writing an article like this because, quite frankly,

I never dreamed there to be a need for an article like this. So, gentle reader, I

ask only that you read the following piece and consider its thesis not with an

open mind, but with a theological mind. Consider the points forwarded and

evaluate them not against family tradition, common sense, culture, majority

opinion or emotion but rather against the teachings of inerrant and sufficient

Scripture. Our standard for what is true, right, appropriate, beneficial, and both

edifying to the believer and glorifying to God can be nothing but the Word of

God (John 17:17).

In this piece we will examine the history of Santa Claus, his characteristics and

attributes and will then draw some conclusions about the proper biblical

approach to this familiar icon of Christmas. It is my prayer that upon reading

this article and reflection upon the arguments and conclusions drawn that the

reader will give pause to Mr. Claus.

History

The history of Santa is not as well documented as many assume. The most

widely held view is that the legend began with St. Nicholas, a fourth century

Catholic bishop of Myra in southern Turkey. A cult grew up around the bishop

and prior to the Protestant Reformation had become one of history’s most

widespread religious movements. According to The Christian Almanac, “By the

height of the Middle Ages, St. Nicholas was probably invoked in prayer more

than any other figure except the Virgin Mary and Christ Himself.”

Various acts

of generosity and miracles were attributed to Nicholas including the

distribution of gifts to the poor, salvation of a city from famine, and the

resurrection of three young boys who had been sadistically murdered and

mutilated. After his death Nicholas made various visionary appearances to

people in distress and need. He provided comfort and even deliverance from

execution for those falsely accused. The documentation of Nicholas’ life is

Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanac (New York, NY: Random House,

2004, pg. 131). Allow me, Justin Peters, to state that I am diametrically opposed to the

Catholic doctrine of praying to saints and the virgin Mary. The Bible gives no allowance

for such practices.

actually quite sparse and little is known of him. Some speculate he may not

have even been a real person at all. Nonetheless, the legend and the cult grew.

Despite the Islamic advance across southern Turkey beginning in the eighth

century and the Protestant Reformation which swept northern Europe in the

and 17

centuries, both of which served to hinder the Catholic-oriented

Nicholas cult, the legend had grown outside the borders of the church and

survived. Some speculate that a revised version of the legend came to America

via the Dutch “Sinter Klaas.” The legend/cult appeared to be largely dormant in

American culture until new life was breathed into him in the late 18

century in

Manhattan. “Sinter Klaas” became known as Santa Claus and slowly began to

be associated with gift giving. Author Washington Irving (1789-1853), most

famous for “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” in his 1809

work “The History of New York” described St. Nicholas as an old man in dark

robes who traveled on a flying horse bringing gifts to children. In the poem

“The Children’s Friend” published in 1821 Santa acquires his flying reindeer

and chimney-top stops. Just one year later Dr. Clement Moore, theology

professor at Union Seminary, undoubtedly inspired by both Irving and “The

Children’s Friend” wrote his own poem entitled “A Visit from St. Nicholas”

which begins with the familiar words, “Twas the night before Christmas, when

all through the house... .” It was Moore’s poem which gave us the number of

Santa’s reindeer (8 with Rudolph being the 9th), their names, and his travels up

and down chimneys leaving gifts for boys and girls. Political cartoonist Thomas

Nast developed Santa further by giving him a home in at the North Pole and a

workshop filled with busy elves.

Not everyone agrees with this history, however. Some point toward a much

darker origin of Santa. Some researchers trace the legend back to the Norse

god of Odin who rode through the sky on a white eight legged horse. Like

Santa, Odin’s home, Valhalla, was in the north country. Odin had a long white

beard and would fly during the winter solstice between December 21

and 25

with the mission of rewarding good children and punishing the naughty.

Others trace Santa to the Norse god Thor. Thor was generally represented as

an older, friendly man who also sported a long white beard. He was associated

with the element of fire and generally wore red attire.

His mode of travel was a chariot drawn by two white

goats named Cracker and Gnasher. He, too, lived in

the “Northland,” had elves to assist in craftsmanship,

was said to come down the chimneys and perform

benevolent acts for humans.

More ominously,

though, according to Scandinavian mythology he “was

regarded as the chief antagonist of Christ.”

In fact, in

many traditions from Holland, Scandinavia, Germany,

Bosnia, the Sinter Klaas did not travel alone but was

accompanied by a sinister, demonic being known

variously as Hans Trapp, Knecht Rupprecht, Krampus,

the Dark Helper, and Black Pete(r) whose

responsibility it was to punish children and even drag

them to Hell. The Pennsylvania Dutch had their

version of the Dark Helper known as Belsnickel, “Furry Nicholas,” or “Rough

Nicholas.” The Dark Helper was not only “dark” by nature, but also because he

was covered in soot from his travels up and down chimneys. Though Thomas

Nast is rightly credited for creating the modern image of Santa, some argue

that his inspiration was not St. Nicholas at all, but rather the Dark Helper.

Images of Saint Nicholas portray a tall, slender man attired as a Catholic bishop

and look nothing at all like Santa. Drawings of the Dark Helper, however,

portray a horned man clad in fur and carrying a bag on his back. The Dark

Helper actually does bear some resemblance to modern Santa leading many

researchers to argue it was actually he, rather than St. Nicholas, to whom

ultimately owe our conception of the iconic yule-tide figure. Researcher Phyllis

Siefker states:

It seems obvious, therefore, that Santa Claus can be neither the alter ego of

Guerber, H.A. Myths of Northern Lands (New York, NY: American Book Company, 1895,

pg. 61).

Davidson, H.R. Ellis. Scandinavian Mythology (New York, NY: Peter Bredrick Books,

1982, pg. 133).

Krampus

Saint Nicholas nor the brainchild of Washington Irving. ...If we peek behind the

imposing Saint Nicholas, we see, glowering in the shadows, the saint’s

reprobate companion, Black Pete. He, like Santa, has a coat of hair, a

disheveled beard, a bag, and ashes on his face. In fact, it is this creature, rather

than Irving’s creation or an Asian saint, who fathered Santa Claus.

The truth of Santa’s history is hard to know for certain, but there certainly

seems to be enough evidence to make plausible the theory that his origins are

not quite as genteel as popularly imagined. Though Santa’s origins may be of

interest to some, for the vast majority of people, Santa is about as far from

ominous as one could get. He is a gentle, roly-poly, grandfatherly figure who

gives good gifts to children once a year. What could possibly be the harm?

Right?

Characteristics and Attributes

We now get to the meat of the matter. This is where I must ask you as much as

possible to put aside personal preferences, majority opinion, tradition and

preconceived notions in general dealing with Santa Claus. Here is where I ask

that you consider the following information from a purely biblical point of

view. In this section we will examine who Santa is and Who God is. We will look

at his characteristics and attributes and compare them to God’s characteristics

and attributes. Until this past year I had never given this much thought at all. In

fact, just a little over a year ago I was in much more need of reading an article

such as this, not writing it. I invite you now, though, to join me as we “take

every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5) and consider if

there is biblical warrant for us to give Santa, pause.

Eternal – Santa is often portrayed as having a wife, but never a mother

or father. He seems to have no real beginning and certainly no end. He’s just

always been around and always will be. Eternality is one of God’s attributes. As

with all of His attributes, eternality is uniquely His. He is the great I AM. He has

always been and always will be (Ex. 3:15; Is. 41:4; 43:13; Ps. 90:1-2; Col. 1:16-

17; Rev. 1:8).

Siefker, Phylis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint

Nicholas (Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, Inc., 1997, pg. 15).

Immutable – Closely related to his eternality, Santa is also, apparently,

immutable. In other words, he does not change. Year after year after year on

December 24

he boards his sleigh and makes his appointed rounds with just

as much energy, enthusiasm and strength as he has in years past. Time seems

to stand still for Santa. Unlike all of the other created plants, animals and we

humans who grow old and undergo decay, Santa appears immune from the

passage of time and the curse of the Fall. He never gets sick, never tires, and

never seems to age. God is also immutable (Mal. 3:6; Hebrews 6:17; 13:8;

James 1:17).

Omnipresent – Santa is, in effect, everywhere at the same time. True, he

does go from one house to another to another but he visits every child’s house

in the world all in one night. In my research I came across a rather humorous

engineering analysis of Santa’s feat of flying. Assuming that Santa does not visit

Buddhist, Hindu, or Islamic children, etc. he still manages to visit some 91.8

million homes in one night. Just to be generous, this author

allowed Santa a

full 24 hours with an additional 6 provided by different time zones with the

assumption of east to west travel. According to this author, Santa must visit

822.6 homes per second so, for all intents and purposes, we can say that he is

omnipresent. Humor aside, omnipresence is one of God’s attributes. He is

limited neither by space nor time and is everywhere present in His fullness

(Deut. 4:39; 1 Kgs. 8:27; Ps. 139:8; Jer. 23:23-24; Eph. 1:23).

Omniscient – This is one of Santa’s creepier attributes. He seemingly

knows everything. Consider the words of John Coots and Haven Gillespie’s

1934 song “Santa Clause is Coming to Town:” He knows if you’ve been sleeping,

he knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good so be good

for goodness sake. From his home at the North Pole Santa possesses the ability

to know when each and every child (and presumably adult) on earth is sleeping

and awake. Compare Santa’s power with that of God: Proverbs 15:3, “The eyes

of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” Eerily

similar, is it not? Santa knows our behavior and is apparently qualified to make

judgments as to its meritorious value. He sees all and knows all. Omniscience is

also one of God’s unique attributes (Job 21:22; Ps. 33:13-15; 139:1-4; Mat.

Source: http://www.inflection-point.com/jokes/86.htm

6:4).

Goodness – Santa is portrayed as kind, gentle, jovial and good via his

authority to determine which children have been “bad or good.” “Good” is a

word that we often use to describe everything from people to some desired

outcome or to fried chicken. Some will undoubtedly think I am stretching here,

but describing Santa as “good” is problematic when coupled with all of the

other divine attributes ascribed to him. God’s standard of goodness is moral

perfection and complete obedience as measured by the Ten Commandments.

None of us measure up to that standard. We have all sinned (Rom. 3:23) and

all of us have hearts that are “deceitful above all things and desperately

wicked” (Jer. 17:9). The Apostle Paul knew that “nothing good dwells” in us

(Rom. 7:18) and that there are “none good, no not one” (Rom 3:10- 11). Except

Santa. Santa is good by his nature. This, too, is in direct opposition to Scripture.

In a statement affirming His own deity, Jesus told the rich young ruler plainly,

“No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). God’s goodness (His

omnibenevolence) is original to Him and is not possessed by any of the fallen

created order (Ps. 52:1; 107:8; 119:68; 1 Jn. 1:5). Santa’s “goodness” separates

him from every other created thing and puts him in the class of God.

Gift Giver – That Santa gives gifts to good children and leaves lumps of

coal for the bad is inextricably tied to his goodness. Only One who is

intrinsically good by character and nature is truly qualified to make judgments

about good and bad behavior and render the appropriate rewards and

punishments. Aside from this, though, Santa’s activity all year is for him and his

elves (ponder that Santa has elves and God has angels) to create toys for

worldwide distribution. He is a gift giver and gives with no expectation of

anything in return (save for the milk and cookies dutifully left by children). In

this aspect, too, Santa looks just like God. God is the only true gift giver

because only He gives with truly pure motives. He gives light (Gen 1:3), He

gives man the fruit of his labor (Ecc. 3:13), He gives individual personal abilities

(1 Cor. 7:7), He gives love (2 Tim. 1:6-7), He gives spiritual gifts (Rom. 11:29),

He gives faith and repentance (Heb. 12:2 and Acts 5:30,31; 11:17; 2 Tim. 2:24-

26 respectively) for the gift of salvation (Eph. 2:8-9) in the Gift of His Son, Jesus

Christ (Jn. 3:16). God is not only the ultimate gift giver, but it also the only true

gift giver for “every good thing and every perfect gift is from above, coming

down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).

Though we could press on and cite others, this list is sufficient to establish that

Santa Claus shares many of the very same characteristics and attributes of God.

This should be extraordinarily sobering to all who profess Christ. Santa

diminishes the glory of God by sharing in His glory. Glory is a term that we

often hear and use. We often speak of “giving glory to God,” or affirm that He

is “glorious,” but what does that really mean? I fear that the magnanimity of

this term all too often eludes us. It will elude us today as well. It will elude us

because it is really not even possible to give an adequate definition of the glory

of God. So, to define glory is to define the indefinable. The glory of God is

inextricably connected to the holiness of God. This raises the question, ‘what is

meant by holiness?’ Holiness is not one attribute among His many others, but

rather is the totality, the summation of all of God’s perfect attributes. God’s

holiness denotes the incomparable perfection of His divine nature and His

glory is the manifestation or revelation of His holiness. Glory is, in short,

holiness revealed. Jesus Christ is God incarnate and reveals to us the fullness of

God’s holiness and “is the radiance of God’s glory” (Heb. 1:3). He was God in

flesh and now is at the right hand of the Father. While incarnate on earth,

Jesus was the revelation of God’s glory and is revealed to us today in God’s

inerrant, sufficient Word.

None of God’s attributes can be fully and perfectly manifested in any of the

created beings. Santa, however, manifests not merely one but many of God’s

attributes. We have taken many of God’s unique attributes and fashioned

them into a figure known as Santa Claus. Though fictitious, by encompassing so

many of God’s attributes, he is a manifestation, of sorts, of God’s holiness. In

other words, he is a man-made reflection of the glory of God. At this point,

many will cry foul. Many will object by saying, ‘Oh, c’mon! Who thinks of it that

deeply? There’s not a kid on earth that would ever think such things! Adults

don’t even think of Santa like that! That’s not what we teach! We don’t think

Santa is God!’ This is just the point. Most of us do not think about Santa this

way. However, our ignorance, willful or not, does not change the fact that that

is who he is. Please hear me, I know that no professing Christian would ever

dream of consciously ascribing to Santa the attributes of God. The problem is

not so much that we would do this, but that it has already been done. Whether

or not we think of Santa as embodying the attributes of God does not change

the fact that he does.

Yet another one of God’s attributes is jealousy. This may at first seem

contradictory. After all, how could an omnipotent God be jealous of anything

His lesser? How could God be jealous and still be righteous and good? Though

jealousy most often carries a negative connotation, it can be a good thing. For

example, any decent husband upon seeing another man trying to seduce his

wife’s affections would become immediately and appropriately jealous.

Jealousy, unlike envy which is always bad, is often good. God’s jealousy is

always good. Of what or for what is He jealous? Himself. God is jealous for

Himself, His attributes which comprise His holiness manifested in His glory. To

some this might seem egotistical. Not at all. Pride is sinful in humans because

we do not deserve honor. God does. God is all about Himself because He is the

Creator of all things and He seeks to defend His honor and His glory. He is

consumed with Himself and wants us to be consumed with Him as well. He is

jealous of believers because we are His possession, His people. God is zealous

to protect that which is His own: His people, His name, His word, His honor and

His glory. The biblical term for “zeal” is the root word for “jealous” and denotes

an intense heat.

The Hebrew root denotes a “redness in the face that

accompanies strong emotion.” God is jealous of Himself, His attributes. He says

“I, the Lord your God am a jealous God” (Ex. 20:5) and “the Lord, whose name

is jealous, is a jealous God” (Ex. 34:14). So they would be sure not to miss the

point, God warns Israel against going after other gods: “for the Lord your God

in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of the Lord your God

will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth”

(Deut. 6:15).

Granted, people who do Santa in their homes are not consciously going after

other gods. Not consciously. However, the truth of the matter remains. God

describes Himself as jealous – exceedingly jealous. God says in Isaiah 42:8, “I

am the LORD: that is my name: my glory I will not share with another, nor my

praise to graven images.” We must not miss this. God will not share His glory

with another. He will not. Like it or not, dear reader, by sharing so many of the

same attributes, God is sharing His holiness, His glory with Santa. There is no

other way around it. I completely understand that very, very few people think

of it at this level. I did not myself until about a year ago - and I have two

degrees from a seminary (I say this to my own shame). Whether or not we

See Psalm 69:9 and its usage In John 2:17.

think of it at this level, however, does not make one bit of difference as to

whether or not it is right. Whether or not we intend Santa to have the

attributes of God is irrelevant; He does. Ultimately it does not really matter

what you or I think about Santa. What does matter, however, is what God

thinks about him. God will give neither His glory nor His praise to another. By

definition, Santa is a graven image that shares God’s glory. If we were able to

ask God directly, ‘Lord, are you ok with Santa?,’ how do you think He would

respond? I honestly cannot imagine any scenario in which He would say, “Yes.”

In fact, He has already told us more than enough in His Word that He is not.

Consider the second commandment:

You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in Heaven above or on

the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve

them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God Exodus 20:4-5

Some will object again by saying that we do not worship Santa because he is

not real. Neither are the graven images. A graven image is no more real and yet

just as real as Santa. No, there are no real deities behind the graven images;

those created by the Israelites were wood and stone. But we can see them just

as we can see Santa in a book, on television, or sitting in a chair in the mall.

‘But we don’t worship Santa,’ you say. Maybe not directly. However, by

ascribing to Santa the attributes of God we are, in fact, ascribing to him

worship.

This is a crucial point, dear reader, and not to be missed. By ascribing to Santa

or anyone or anything else any of the attributes of God we are ascribing to him

worship. That we think of it in this way or not does not negate the truth of it.

Truth is truth regardless of whether or not we believe it. We worship God not

primarily because of what He has done but because of Who He is. God is

worthy of worship because of His attributes and these same attributes have

been given to the fat man in the red suit.

In 1 Corinthians 10:14-22 Paul addresses an issue that had arisen in the

Corinthian church. Paul preached the Gospel in Corinth, God saved His elect

and a church was born. After spending about 18 months with them in

discipleship, Paul left the young church and went on to other destinations. A

problem arose (actually many, many problems but that’s a whole other series

of sermons) concerning the eating of meat sacrificed to idols. Some of these

young believers were going back into the pagan temples and participating at

least at some level in some of the accompanying pagan rituals including, but

not necessarily limited to, the eating of meat that had been sacrificed to idols.

These Corinthians were not going with the intent of actively participating in the

worship of pagan gods. They simply wanted to maintain friendships and

fellowship with their friends who were not believers. So, they would go to the

rituals and eat some of the meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Paul writes

to them and gives them a stern warning in 1 Corinthians 10: 14-22:

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say.

Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the

bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who

are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread. Look at the nation Israel;

are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar?

What do I mean then? That a

thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but I say that the

things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not

want you to become sharers in demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the

cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Or

do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?

Paul is warning them that simply by being present and giving implicit approval

by not speaking out against the pagan worship and by eating the meat

sacrificed to idols that they are unwittingly dining with demons. The idols did

not have real deities behind them and Paul readily acknowledged this in verse

19 and 20a. However, there were very real spiritual forces very much at work –

demons. Paul warns them that the things that the pagans sacrificed they

sacrificed “to demons and not to God.” This was not a neutral experience for

the Corinthians as they naively assumed. It was demonic because behind every

false religion no matter how primitive it may seem to us today are demons.

Satan and his demonic horde have inspired every single false religion that has

ever existed. Satan, Lucifer, the “son of the morning,” was the highest angel

created. He was closest to God and orchestrated His worship. However, he

came to desire worship for himself. He longed to have for himself the worship

rightly given to God. Iniquity and pride were found in his heart and he along

with a third of the angels whom he persuaded to follow his lead were cast out

of Heaven.

Satan longs more than anything to be worshipped and will deceive

by any means necessary to acquire it. He is worshipped by non- Christians by

For Scriptural reference see Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezekiel 28:12-19.

creating for them false religions and false gods such as Egyptian deities,

ancestor worship, deities of nature, Buddha, Mohammed, etc., etc. What he

most desires, though, is to be worshipped by those claiming to worship the

true God.

For those who profess Christ as Savior, he must be more cunning. For these, he

devises clever counterfeits. He offers the prosperity gospel, the social gospel,

worship of and prayer to dead saints and the Virgin Mary, a watered-down

gospel devoid of calls for repentance. He makes it look as close to the real

thing as possible without it being the real thing. He does not come to the

Christian red and scaly carrying a pitchfork. No, he disguises himself as

something innocent, harmless, an “angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:4). Something like

Santa.

Some of you are reading this right now and are livid, I know. You think that if

you do Santa with your children I am accusing you of worshipping Satan.

Please, gentle reader, if this is you, I am not accusing you of anything. I am

simply offering to you a warning from compassion and love. Paul was not

accusing the Corinthians, he was warning them. Note that he was not warning

them out of self-righteousness and pride. He did not consider himself any

better than they. In fact, Paul referred to himself as the “chief of sinners” (1

Tim. 1:15). He was warning them from a heart burdened with concern,

compassion, and love. He dearly loved these Corinthians. He loved the socks

off of them. As the one who first brought the Gospel to them he thought of

them as his spiritual children. Paul is warning them that by participating on any

level with the pagan rituals they are unwittingly and innocently exposing

themselves to demons. As believers they were in no danger of losing salvation

– that is not at all the issue. However, they were exposing themselves to

demonic influence and there would be spiritual consequences.

Lest you think yourself immune from the influence of Satan and his demons,

consider that Satan went after none other than the Son of God Himself. Satan

led Jesus into the wilderness, showed Him the kingdoms of the world, and took

Him to the top of the Temple tempting Him (Luke 4:1-13). What did he want?

He wanted the same thing that he wants now - Worship. If Satan had the

audacity to come after the Son of God, the One who created him, rest assured

he will not hesitate to come after you and me. It is an argument from the

greater to the lesser.

Is Santa real? No. But Satan is and Satan has always desired to make himself

look as much like God as possible and to do whatever he can to diminish His

glory. Anything that takes on the attributes of God and is the object of any

warm feelings (recall the meaning of the root word for jealous) of affection is

inspired by Satan. Children love Santa. They have warm feelings of affection

toward him. They trust him, they respect him, they even fear displeasing him.

For those who maintain that they can do Santa and still teach their children

that Jesus is the real reason for the season, allow me to pose this question: For

whose arrival do they most eagerly await? Do children lay awake at night in

their beds on Christmas Eve excited about the incarnate God or Santa? Of

course, it is Santa. They are children and can be expected to do nothing else. I

laid awake excited about Santa on Christmas Eve too. It does not make it right.

Anything that draws attention away from Christ is not approved by Christ. It is

no coincidence that on the two most revered days in Christendom, Christmas

and Easter, there are two fictitious icons possessing divine attributes which

garner much of our attention.

Considerations

I know that I will not likely make many friends with this article. It goes against

the overwhelming majority opinion and many will say that I am being alarmist,

over-reactive, legalistic, accusatory, maybe even arrogant and self-righteous. I

assure you that these are neither my motives nor intentions. Nor am I saying

that if you do Santa with your children you are a bad parent and are not saved.

Again, it was not until last year that I finally thought through the Santa issue

myself. There are however aspects of this issue which we as Christians simply

must consider.

Lying – This is an objection we have heard before but have not yet mentioned.

If we tell our children about Santa aren’t we lying to them? In short, yes. When

we tell children about Santa Claus (leaving his divine attributes aside) we are,

in fact, lying. “Thou shalt not lie” is the ninth commandment and even though

we say that it is just for children for fanciful fun once a year, the inescapable

conclusion is that it is still lying. Yes, we have all lied, this writer included.

Anyone who says he has never lied is a liar because he lied in denying that he

has lied! It does not make it right, though. We are to busy ourselves in teaching

our children the truth of God’s Word and living that truth out. I remember

vividly the day my Mom told my sister and me that there was no Santa. I can

see the scene in my mind’s eye even now, sitting at our kitchen table in some

yellow and green 70’s era chairs and Mom looking down at the table telling us

there was no Santa. It did not come as a surprise to me – I had pretty much

figured it out already. I had heard that there were (at the time) almost 6 billion

people in the world and though I didn’t know exactly how big of a number that

was, I was pretty confident it was too many homes for Santa to visit in one

night. I can remember my first thought, though: ‘My parents lied to us. What

about what they’re telling me about God?’ That was genuinely my very first

thought. Now, my parents are as kind and loving people as I could have ever

hoped to have had for parents and I love them dearly. They taught us about

Santa because they wanted us to have fun and excitement on Christmas

morning. I still remember my first thought though. Aside from this, it is still the

ninth commandment.

Distortion of Motives for Right Behavior – Children are on their best behavior

around Christmas. Why? Because Santa is watching and “he knows if you’ve

been bad or good so be good for goodness sake.” This teaches children that

they should behave and be obedient to parents not because it is commanded

by God

but because Santa may not bring them toys. This cultivates an

unbiblical motive for obedience.

Attributes – Though I need not belabor the point into which we have gone into

so much detail, Santa looks an awful lot like Jesus. He has many of the same

attributes and he does many of the same things. As an aside, have you ever

noticed how Santa is often shown wearing a crown of holly? Holly, with its

sharply pointed leaves and red berries, was known in middle Europe as the

“Christ-Thorn” and was recognized as the archetypal reality of the Crown of

Thorns. Jesus bore the crown of thorns and yet Santa wears it too. That is too

close for my comfort. That Santa has God’s attributes is likely the single biggest

issue because its implications are so widespread. Remember the lesson from 1

Corinthians 10: Even though the pagan gods are not real, the demons that lurk

Obeying their parents is the only thing Scripture specifically commands children to do

(Eph. 6:1).

behind them are. Any phony impersonation of Christ that mimics Him and/or

draws attention away from Christ has a dark element about it. It is idolatry.

Even without active, purposeful worship, it is idolatry. Paul warns his beloved

Corinthians – Flee! Do not pass “Go.” Do not collect $200. Just flee. There is

real danger lurking behind the façade of innocence.

Training Our Children – The church is in trouble. I tell people often that the

church is safe because Jesus is her Head and His plans and promises are

irrevocable, but nonetheless, Christianity is on a steep decline. Recent studies

show that some 75 – 85% of children who are raised in church, make

“decisions” and are baptized, upon growing up and leaving home also leave the

church and do not return. Alarm bells have been sounding for decades.

The

Southern Baptists are now seeing steep declines in baptism rates. Thinking that

the church is somehow no longer “relevant,” churches have begun to look

more and more like the world to draw the world in. We have invented a

“ministry of entertainment” and softened the Gospel to make it more

appealing and less demanding. Most, not all, but most youth ministries are

heavy on entertainment and emotional manipulation but lite on the teaching

of sound doctrine. We have raised generations of young people who claim to

be Christians but have no biblical theological framework. They know the key

catch phrases and have prayed the “sinner’s prayer,” but there has been no

transformation in their lives. They can articulate on a very superficial level the

basics of the Gospel but cannot articulate why they believe what they claim to

believe. They have no ability to “give a reason for the hope” (1 Peter 3:15) they

say is within them. Our churches bear their fair share of the blame to be sure,

but not all of it is the church’s fault.

Men, I make my appeal to you here. We are the spiritual leaders of our homes.

If you are a believing father the responsibility to teach your family the Word of

God falls on your shoulders before it does anyone else’s. It falls on your

shoulders before it falls on the shoulders of the church or of any other

For a sobering look at the decline, the reasons for the decline, and how to reverse the

decline in biblical literacy among our families please purchase Ken Ham’s book Already

Gone. Ham is the president of an excellent ministry known as Answers in Genesis. The

website is www.answersingenesis.org and Already Gone may be purchased here

http://www.answersingenesis.org/search/?q=already%20gone&site=store-products

institution. Most husbands and fathers think that as long as they take their

families to Sunday School and church and say the blessing over family meals

that they are being the spiritual leaders. We think that our children are getting

everything they need in Sunday School or in the youth group. Think again.

This

mindset is the very thing that has led to the stunning drop in biblical literacy

among professing Christians today. Declining biblical literacy results directly in

a declining church which results in a declining society. Lives are not being

transformed because the only thing that can transform lives, the Bible, is being

ignored, minimized, watered down or taken so out of context that it is

rendered powerless. Men, your children need to see you reading God’s Word.

They need you to teach them sound doctrine. Sunday School should be a

supplement – at most. The teaching of God’s Word should begin in the home,

not Sunday School. Did you know that Sunday School was originally designed

solely for men? Its original purpose was to biblically equip men so that they

could, in turn, biblically equip their families. It is not the Sunday School

teacher’s job to instruct your children – it is yours. Hear the Word of God:

These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.

You shall teach

them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when

you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. – Deuteronomy 6:6-

This is exactly what is missing in the vast majority of Christian homes today.

The laws, precepts, and doctrines of God are not being taught by the husbands

and fathers in the homes. Have you ever wondered why if God is the center of

our lives and is everything to us that He is so rarely mentioned six days out of

the week? If we believe Him to be as beautiful, magnificent, powerful,

sovereign, involved in our lives, and so all-encompassing then why do we so

rarely speak of Him? We do we not take joy in discussing His magnanimity with

other believers? Why do we not marvel at His goodness and discuss the

beautiful doctrines of His word? Why do we not ‘talk of them when we sit in

our homes and walk in the way?’ Could it be because we don’t know enough of

Him to talk about Him? It is not enough for you to take your children to church.

It is not enough for you to bless family meals. It is not enough for them to see

you live a moral life. Your children need you to teach them the Word of God

more than they need anything else. Biblical instruction must begin in the home.

For God’s Sake – Many will see all of this as much ado about very little. What

has already been presented should be reason enough to reconsider Santa. As I

said earlier, though, in the final analysis it really does not matter what you or I

think about Santa Claus. What matters is what God thinks about him. Knowing

what He has said about Himself, I can honestly envision no circumstance in

which God would look upon Santa with an approving anthropomorphic eye. He

is not even neutral on it. We know how He feels because we know how jealous

He is for Himself. He will not tolerate anyone or anything claiming even a single

one of His attributes. Again, the second commandment:

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in

Heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or in the water below.

He does not make an exception for Santa. Our real motive for jettisoning Santa

should not be a legalistic one. Our real motive should be out of love for God.

He has done so very much for us. How could we ever approve of anything that

shares in His glory? He is our Heavenly Father! He loves us and gave Himself for

us. We should obey Him because we love Him. We love Him because He first

loved us. Our love for God should result in us being jealous for Him. There is an

enlightening story recorded for us in Scripture. Phinehas, driven by jealousy for

God, ran a spear through an Israeli man and a Midianite woman with whom he

had joined himself in Baal worship.

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron

the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with

My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy.

Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give him My covenant of peace; and it shall be for him and his

[a]descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous

for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.’” – Numbers 25:10-13.

This is not teaching that we are to be running anyone through with spears

today, but notice how God was pleased by Phinehas’ jealousy for Him. God

subdued His own wrath. God is pleased and will honor us when we are jealous

for Him. Our dismissal of Santa should be out of jealousy for our Heavenly

Father.

Conclusion

In conclusion dear reader, please let me say again that it is not my intent in any

shape form or fashion to disparage you in any way if you do Santa with your

children. I am not saying you are a bad parent and am not saying you are not a

Christian. I am saying however, that as Christians we need to think through the

issue of Santa from a purely biblical perspective. As Christians, everything we

do should all be done – all be done – for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). There

is no way that Santa can be done for the glory of God. In light of biblical truth

there can be no legitimate reason for the Christian to do Santa. None of my

pastor friends who faithfully preach the Word of God do Santa with their

children for all of these reasons and likely more. Maybe you are reading this

and are already midstream with your children on Santa. You’ve been doing him

for years. What to do? Just tell your kids the truth. One of my friends with

whom I went to seminary just told his 8 year-old daughter the truth about

Santa. She seems to be no worse for the wear and they are all looking forward

to Christmas. Your children will understand. In fact, as they grow and look back

upon it, they will admire you for it. There’s no shame in doing the right thing.

And you know what? I can promise you that Christmas will not only be just as

meaningful as before, but even more so. The absence of Santa cannot diminish

the significance and enjoyment of Christmas for the believer. It can only

enhance it. It is my prayer that God will use this article not only to lead us to

give Santa, pause, but will also lead us to ponder anew the beauty and majesty

of our great King.

For an excellent book on the miracle of the Incarnation, see God in the Manger by Dr.

John MacArthur. Though out of print, used copies may be purchase at

http://www.amazon.com/God-Manger-John- MacArthur/dp/B000C4ST0W