Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: lab@fibercom.com (Lance Beckner) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Santa Claus Message-ID: Date: 18 Jan 90 04:55:39 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: FiberCom, Inc., Roanoke, Virginia Lines: 50 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu Well, for what it's worth, here's my story. My wife and I were fairly new believers and my daughter was three years old (almost four). This was two years ago. As the Christmas season approached, family friends, and even good ol' mom and dad were filling little Angela's head with stories and details of jolly ol' St. Nick: toys for good kids, flying reindeer, etc. I began to wonder, "is this right?" (H.S. Conviction maybe?). As I said, we were new believers and had been attending our church for 7 or 8 months at this time. So filling her head with spiritual things was a new thing for her too. Judy (my wife) and I talked about the Santa thing several times, expressing our concerns to each other but never really reaching a conclusion. A survey of different people in the church didn't help much either. Our Pastor, and a few others told their kids the truth. Some let their kids go on believing in Santa. The turning point came one night when Angela was getting ready to say her prayers. She said, "God, and Jesus and Santa Clause know if you've been bad or good." My wife and I looked at each other and without having to say anything, I knew we were in agreement. I explained to Her then and there that Santa is not real. He is like Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, or any other fictional character. She still went to see him, sat on his lap, had her picture taken with him. But she knows that he does not really exist. No toys come from him on Christmas morning. As far as dealing with other kids is concerned, we simply explained to Angela that some parents choose to tell their kids that Santa is real, and that it is not up to her to tell them the truth. It is not up to her to second guess someone's parents. So far there haven't been any problems with this. I am not saying that anyone who tells their kids that Santa is real is doing something wrong. I do know that for us it was wrong because Angela was putting the fat man in the red suit on the same level as the creator of the universe. Any parent who has to make this decision should do so prayerfully, seeking above all the will of God in this matter. Peace, Lance -- Lance A. Beckner INTERNET: lab@fibercom.com FiberCom, Inc. UUCP: ...!uunet!fibercom!lab P.O. Box 11966 FAX: (703) 342-5961 Roanoke, VA 24022-1966 PHONE: (703) 342-6700