This article is intended to stimulate a light-hearted discussion between parents and their children as we once again count the days until Christmas. Hopefully, dear parents, you will approach this topic in the ‘spirit of the season’ as you make this a ‘fun’ discussion with your children. Children are ‘open-minded’ by nature, and parents, if you can still remember back that far, you were once children too! But even ‘bah-humbug’ parents are encouraged to participate, because a thought provoking discussion about this topic can be educational for adults as well as children—and perhaps even more so for the adults.
I’m sure more than a few Christian parents over the course of time have had their own children ask them “is Santa Claus a Christian?” I would say this is an excellent ‘hypothetical’ question posed by a child! After all, Santa often gets accused by Christian adults as being ‘too secular’ to be totally embraced by the Christian community, because they feel he has become a distraction from the true meaning of Christmas, which is the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in Bethlehem. However, I am going to present some evidence in this article to try and show that Santa may be more spiritual than most people realize. But, before we begin our discussion, do you think Jesus appreciates Santa’s ‘cause’? I can’t say for sure, but we do know that Jesus often utilized ‘parables’ during his three years of teaching while here on Earth, and this article could be considered a bit of a modern day parable ‘used to illustrate religious principles’ as defined by the Webster Dictionary, and that is the very purpose of this article—to illustrate some useful Christian principles for all of us while we discuss Santa Claus.
But now, before we get deeper into this article, what is your current opinion, would you say Santa is a Christian? Well, it is obvious we cannot be absolutely sure, because there is no written evidence recorded in history as to whether Santa ever ‘repented’ of his sins—asked God to forgive him—and then believed in and accepted Jesus Christ to be his personal Lord and Savior. Also, there are no eye witness testimonies to say one way or another if Santa is or isn’t a Christian, and I’ve personally never heard Santa publicly profess his Christian faith. How then are we to say if Santa is a Christian or not? Should we hold it against Santa that he has the same letters in his name as Satan? Before we judge Santa so harshly and quickly for being too secular as to be a Christian, perhaps we should compare the personal ‘character’ of Santa against the ‘fruits of the Spirit’ as found in the Word of God, the Bible. After all, there must be some good reason why Santa’s original English name was ‘Saint Nicholas’, derived from his Dutch name ‘Sinterklaas.’ And it wasn’t until 1773 that St. Nick first became known as ‘Santa Claus’ in America.
O.K…it’s time to make a case on behalf of Santa being a Christian, and then we should let the children decide if Santa is a Christian or not. After all, Jesus said in the gospel of Matthew, “Unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” So, let’s begin kids, please read the following and then tell your parents if you think Santa is a Christian or not, and then see if your parents agree.
“God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7
Ho, Ho, Ho!!! Sure sounds like Santa to me! Always jolly, very giving and generous.
Jesus said, “Let the children come unto me”. Matthew 19:14
Santa follows this example, established by Jesus, at Santa’s countless shopping mall appearances and other events where children are in attendance! And Santa loves children of all nationalities and races equally, the same as Jesus.
“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye”… I Corinthians 15:52
Santa must have learned to come and go in the ‘twinkling of an eye’ from reading his Bible, wouldn’t you agree? And one day, each one of us Christians will have our own ‘twinkling’ moment at the future time of ‘The Rapture.’
“They dash to and fro like lightning flashes.” Nahum 2:4
What does Santa like to say to his reindeer—dash away, dash away, dash away all!
Again it would seem that Santa has read and knows Bible scripture very well, and has applied much of what he has learned in the Bible to his everyday life.
“…Adam and his wife (Eve)…” Genesis 3:21
Santa has honored God’s biblical view of marriage as spelled out in the first book of the Bible, because Santa has been married all these years to the same woman—Mrs. Claus.
“With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation” (Psalm 91:16)
We don’t know exactly how old Santa is, but it is safe to say he is hundreds of years old.
Also, Santa knows the difference between ‘good and bad’. As you know, he keeps a list of who’s naughty and nice! There is no fuzzy gray area with Santa, as to what is good and what is bad. The same is true with God and Jesus Christ.
I have a favorite Christmas card showing Santa taking time out of his busy delivery schedule on ‘the night before Christmas’ to kneel before a manger scene, with his hat in his hands, to reverence and worship Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
But, I have saved my closing and most impressive argument on Santa’s behalf for last.
“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:19-23
So which sounds more like Santa to you? Does he exhibit the ‘deeds of the flesh’ or does he practice the ‘fruit of the Spirit’? The answer seems pretty obvious to me!
After reading the evidence presented, what do you think, kids, is Santa a Christian or not? What do your parents say? And I wonder what all the ‘bah-humbug’ adults have to say.
As with all of us, only God and Jesus Christ know the ‘heart’ of each person as to whether that person is a Christian or not, but if we are truly Christians, that is if we are believers in Jesus Christ, then our names have been written in the Lamb’s ‘Book of Life’ –and that is a very good thing, in fact, that is the BEST thing that can ever happen to us!! Having our names recorded in the ‘Book of Life’ means we are ‘guaranteed’ our eternal membership into Heaven—for eternity!!! And that’s what I definitely call the ‘Good News of Jesus Christ’!
In conclusion, as to whether Santa is a Christian—I would simply suggest that all adults and children, including many Christians, would do well by being more like Santa Claus in allowing the ‘fruits of the Spirit’ to manifest themselves in our daily lives. I pray we will ALL display the ‘fruits of the Spirit’ better in the coming year!
Oh, and by the way kids and adults, try to set aside all the ‘tech gadgets’ for at least a little while this Christmas and just take time to enjoy your family. As time goes quickly by—you will be glad you took time to make memories with family members at this time.