I believe that the time has come to let the Santa myth die. There, I said it. This is probably the most controversial statement that I make to my students each year. But hear me out. Starting the children early First of all, I think that the story of Santa Claus is great. I really enjoy Christmas movies (especially Rankin-Bass films (even Rudolph's Shiny New Year )). I believe that the imagery is good. The whole idea behind Santa as a benevolent Big Brother figure is comforting. It is the belief in an actual entity bringing presents that I take issue with. Here is why: The theological difficulty: When you are a child, you are taught that there is a man who watches you from afar, knows if you are being good or bad, and if you are good will reward you. This description (for many Christian children) could apply equally to Santa or Jesus. Two problems here: Only one of these persons is real. This description is actually a very poor descriptor of Him. When children co...
Blog started at my students' urging. Many different things will be talked about here.