Friday, December 3, 2010

My Anti-Santaism...

Please note this is the first in a series of posts about my Anti-Santaism. I will explain why I am Anti-Santa in a later post.
No Santa
(This image was found here)

I'm sure that most of my reader's won't be surprised (if they don't already know) that "Santa" doesn't visit our home. However, not many people know exactly how Anti-Santa I am. I don't judge those who celebrate Santa, but often it takes me aback at how far they go to defend their beliefs. When I try to share my side, I am often attacked and labeled as attacking innocence, or not knowing the true 'spirit' of Christmas. In the past I have taken this with a grain of salt and moved on.

As always, December brought on this Santa debate again this year. But something struck me this year. Maybe I'm taking my Anti-Santaism too far. I cannot and will not violate my beliefs though. I can't/won't lie to my children, and I can't/won't ask them to lie to yours. So what do I do? I want to be respectful without violating my beliefs.

How has this Santa business came so far that Christians believe that it is okay to lie to our children and/or ask them to lie to others? At the time of the year when we are suppose to be celebrating the birth of our Savior, who is the TRUTH, how have we embraced this non-truth to the point of defending sin? I don't understand. Not only do we embrace the sin of lying at this time of year (and encourage our children to do so as well), we start talking about being full of the 'Spirit' of Christmas. The Bible only addresses two kinds of spirits (not including the Holy Spirit) that we should recognize: the Spirit of Truth, and the Spirit of falsehood. What would you say that Santa is?

I don't understand how other Christians can ask me to fill myself with the "Spirit of falsehood" on the day that marks the birth of our Savior, who came to free us from sin. If you ask me, Satan is having a hay day. It's a complete mockery, but how far is too far for me to take this? I want to be respectful of other people (especially my sisters in Christ), but when my reasoning for why we do things the way we do is attacked by other Christians, how can I truthfully and gracefully stand up for my beliefs that Santa (not who he was, but who he has become) is from Satan? How can I gently and lovingly respond to my sisters in Christ (because my non-Christian friends and family understand, it is my Christian family that doesn't), without having to defend my faith?

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