Recently someone told me the saying “God is the Santa Clause for adults.” In the conversation I was in and at that moment, I felt lead more to listen than talk so I didn’t respond to the statement. However, I thought the statement itself (especially since I have heard it before) would be a good starting point for a response.
With that, let’s start with the implications of the statement….
The intended implication of the phrase is this, God is a well meaning, not too harmful, but none the less fictional concept that people who are immature, uneducated, and/or need a positive thought to get through the days need. More than likely, any one who believes in God does so because their parents told them He is real and they are still waiting for that day that they over hear another kid at school say that his mommy let him in on the secret that it was all a big lie.
Here’s the problem with the comment (outside of the obvious to me that Santa Clause is fictional and God is not); it is WAY too simplified of a concept for me to even take serious. Let me explain…..
Santa is based off the life of a real man named Nicholas(who was raised as a Christian) and did incredible acts of goodness. He used his inheritance and resources to do good for the needy in an attempt to follow Jesus’ instructions as found in the Scriptures. He never claimed to be Santa Clause, others created this persona over time.
Like Nicholas, Jesus was a real person. There are few who dare to debate otherwise. He is a historical figure, based in a historical time, with not only being referred to within the Bible but outside sources as well. This can not be debated any more than if Nicholas ever lived. So this, the stories have in common. (Wait, Jesus? I thought we were talking about God being an adult version of Santa Claus!?! Stay with me, I appreciate your patience.)
Now if Jesus was a heck of a guy, great teacher, and all around role model that later other people turned into a super hero by building on his reputation, then DING, DING, DING…..we have a winner. People are trying to push their own purpose (rather good or bad) by making Jesus something bigger than He was. Hence, we see an example of the comparison in the above statement. Since Christians claim that Jesus is not only the Son of God but that He is God, then I could partially buy the statement.
However, here’s the start of the differences….Christian don’t just claim Jesus is the Son of God and that He is God….Jesus claimed these vital facts. Again, these claims are not only found in Scripture but also kept in history by outside sources.
For instance, Flavius Josephus (AD 37 – c. 100) notes the following….
About this time lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was the achiever of extraordinary deeds and was a teacher of those who accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. When he was indicted by the principal men among us and Pilate condemned him to be crucified, those who had come to love him originally did not cease to do so; for he appeared to them on the third day restored to life, as the prophets of the Deity had foretold these and countless other marvelous things about him, and the tribe of the Christians, so named after him, has not disappeared to this day. (All Josephus citations, except the next, are from P. L. Maier, ed./trans., Josephus –The Essential Works(Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1994).
About this time lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was the achiever of extraordinary deeds and was a teacher of those who accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. When he was indicted by the principal men among us and Pilate condemned him to be crucified, those who had come to love him originally did not cease to do so; for he appeared to them on the third day restored to life, as the prophets of the Deity had foretold these and countless other marvelous things about him, and the tribe of the Christians, so named after him, has not disappeared to this day. (All Josephus citations, except the next, are from P. L. Maier, ed./trans., Josephus –The Essential Works(Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1994).
It is clear in even the most casual glances of the evidence that those who argue that Jesus never claimed to be anything more than a good teacher have little to stand on. I have heard those who try to follow the “DaVinci Code” mentality that later people try to make Jesus the Christ. This is very weak and would not hold up in any court.
Jesus claimed to be the Christ, his immediate apostle’s who had their life changed claimed Him to be the Christ, early historians inside and outside of Christianity claimed Hm to be Christ, the Gospels were written within the first century, the letters of Paul (who previously was a skeptic to say the least) were written first century… there is overwhelming proof of who Jesus claimed to be as well as the devotion and change in the lives who witnessed and believed.
Just for fun, let’s talk about the evidence even before Jesus was born in that barn…. there are many propheciesthat Jesus fulfilled pointing to His claims that He made. Prophecies that were written hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth. Again, there are mountains of evidence of these texts of Scripture (Old Testament) have been in existence for thousands of years. Including the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, there is an undeniable amount of proof that these texts are original and could not be manipulated to fit anyone’s agenda later down the road.
Again, this is just part of what we can get into as I talk about God the Son. I could go on a lot longer but I would bore some, annoy others, and I really should be working =) The main point is this, to say God is the Santa Clause for adults is an over simplified comment that can not be an apples to apples conversation.
Santa was not a real man, Nicholus never claimed to be Santa, did not have 66 books written about him written by multiple authors over 4,000 years that work in balance, does not have first hand witness accounts testifying about him, does not have very real, personal testimonies about him, is not confirmed by even outside, non believing historians………it just doesn’t fit.
Again, my observations above deal with believing that Jesus is God thus the evidence I offer in my mind is for God being real and not a modern day fable. Jesus’ claims have stood the test of time for 2,000 years. The claims of God himself have stood the test of time for 6,000 years. Not just believers but evidence. Truth is not a matter of an opion poll or even a popular vote, it is a matter of….is it true? Is there eviedence? You bet there is! The question is what are you doing with the evidence?
Here’s what Jesus, the real man, leaves us with (as best noted by C.S. Lewis)…
- “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
Let me see if I can explain why people use this phrase; in my opinion it has nothing to do with a real-life St. Nicholas or whatever may be true about the life of a man named Jesus.
When you were younger did you ever believe that Santa Claus was a real man who lived at the North Pole and that he brought toys to children every Christmas? Did you believe this story was true only to later learn that it was fiction and feel deceived?
This is exactly the experience I had, but replace the Story of Santa Claus with the story of God.
This is why some people say that God is the Santa Claus for adults – the disillusionment that comes with waking up and realizing that you have been treating a fictional story like fact is similar, but this realization tends to come early in life for the story of Santa Claus, and later in life for the story of God.
Hi there,
Thanks for the thoughts and I am fully aware of the impressions you left here and that several feel this way. I hope you will reread this post as I believe it adderess that very thought better than anything additional I could babble about.
Stop by again sometime and leave your name next time =)
Blessings and Prayers,
Thomas
I could not disagree with you more.
First, your claim that it is obvious to you that God is not fictional is extremely irrelevant, since it is absolutely no different than how obvious it is to young children that Santa is not fictional.
You say it is “WAY too simplified of a concept” for you to even take seriously, yet the only simplification you present is the fact that you feel there is evidence that Jesus claimed to be God, and you don’t know of any evidence that Nick claimed to be Santa. This seems to me nearly as ridiculous as dismissing the analogy simply because Santa wears a red suit and Jesus didn’t (as far as you know).
And regardless of how irrelevant these differences are, I also agree completely with ‘anonymous.’ This argument has nothing to do with Nick (most children are unaware of the connection anyway) or Jesus (keep in mind also that the analogy is not meant to be limited to Christianity).
Yes, it is true that the ideas of God and Jesus are older and have many books and scolarly accounts to corroborate their existence. But when I was a young child, I was exposed to a plethora of literature and accounts in support of Santa that seemed at the time to be perfectly reliable. That’s why the argument does not claim Santa is the same as God, just that God is more of a ‘grown-up’ version.
Finally, I must respond to your (and Mr. Lewis’) refutation
of God as a modern day fable. In just the same way that
Jesus’ and God’s claims have stood the test of time for thousands of years, the claims of Santa often stand the test of time well past age eight. Thousands of years ago, intelligent adults believed that one god dragged the sun across the sky and another unleashed thunder. An adult
who believed such things today would be regarded just as crazy as an adult who believed Santa brings everyone gifts on Christmas. Over those 6,000 years you refer to, humans have learned more and more about the universe, and have adapted to those claims of God accordingly, in much the same way I adapted to my parents new claims about Santa when I got suspicious about our apartment’s
lack of a fireplace. You mention non-believers and evidence, but there is nothing that can be offered in support of the existence of God that is any more significant than the “evidence” I was presented as a child in support of Santa. The only question is, how many more thousands of years must we wait before we as a global society can ‘turn eight years old’ and realize ‘there is no Santa’?
Thanks for chiming in Les.
We will probaly have to disagree on this one of course. To me, your thoughts continue the comparrisions and don’t offer anything that refutes the main point.
Jesus was a real man. Rather or not he is the Son of God can be debated but the man Jesus is not debated. Nor are his claims that He is the Son of God. Only if He was or not is. He is not only in the Bible but in early historical documents within and outside the church. He even popped up in my High School History book (public school not private).
I think it is interesting to see what stands the test of time….
Santa does disappear after about age 8. The books from the fiction department that you refer to go in a box or sold at a yard sale and we move on with fond memories.
The belief that God drags the sun across the sky disappears after some time with a better understanding and the science books of the time are thrown away with new knowledge.
The belief that this Jesus was not nuts but truely the fulfillment of thousands of years of prophecy and the real deal continues on today even as we as a people learn more. To me, some of the points you made continue to support my thoughts.
If the only evidence is that there was a man named Jesus who claimed to be the Christ…. then Lewis’ quote is just right for you.
If you decide not to believe that there was a Jesus who claimed to be the Christ, then I have to call foul that you are ignoring history in the same way that many say Christians ignore science.
Just some thoughts…..
I like Jesus “the real man” and i wish my old Catholicism focused more on Him as the “man” rather than the Divine One who I always felt was “unapproachable.” Hey, no one can ever be like God.
Now, I am finding out that we all can be “God-like” by following Jesus, the Man.
Does that make sense? I am coming around to see it this way through the path of the Buddha. He was a “guide,” the Buddha said in his dying words. Seek your own “salvation” the Buddha said before passing.
Middle Path sounds a lot like someone in the middle road, kinda like someone who could be an “Emerging Conservative.”
michael j
Conshohocken, PA USA
Hmm, Michael….. do you wish that they focused more on the man part of Jesus or only on the man part? I agree that sometimes the church can make Jesus so untouchable that it can cause a disconnect when He came, in part, to be relational. However, it seems that you refer to Him as man only with no divine.
The challange (for even a Emerging Conservative like me =) is Jesus never claimed to be “God-like”…. He claimed to be God. If He didn’t, He wouldn’t have been killed.
Also, He claimed that He is the way, the truth and the life. That no man comes to the Father but by Him….. so I think “seek your own salvation” doesn’t match up with the teachings of Christ. We are not to seek our own slavation but to accept His salvation He provides for us.
That’s my random thoughts…. Thanks for chiming in!
Can you imagine the ineptitude of a God who cannot make it clear to his children who he is, what he wants us to do, and what the rules are?
Given unlimited knowledge, resources, future vision, and superpowers worthy of the creator, we are still left here fighting, arguing, praying, scratching our heads and searching for the truth.
Any caring being, given the powers we claim God has, could clear up the confusion and end the killing and hating in one hundreth of one second.
We are to believe that God”s gameplan for establishing his kingdom on earth was to drop off Jesus among fishermen 2000 years ago, and then leave it to humans to thrash out what he said, and what he meant, who he was, and what we are to do about it. Really that was and still is his best plan!
What an insult to intelligence! Atheist just believe in one less God than theists do. When a reasonable explaination of God comes along we will be listening.
Wow, “Me” ….. I understand we have a difference in belief on this topic but seriously, why the venom?
He has revealed Himself, He has given us His Word, He has lived this life not only as an example but to lead to His sacrifice, He has been interactive and active since the get go….. Just because you don’t believe it, doesn’t mean it isn’t so.
The God you are describing doesn’t seem to be one who reveals Himself and gives us freewill but one who steps in and forces mankind to submit.
“What an insult to intelligence”? Could you find a more insulting and conversation stopping statement? Do you also find Christians to be “closed minded” because I can’t imagine a more close minded statement concerning what others believe than the one you just used.
“When a reasonable explanation of God comes along we will be listening.” How about when a reasonable desire for conversation instead of just attacking people and their beliefs comes along, maybe we can have a more productive conversation? I be listening for that as well and be all in…… Prayers!