about Santa and Father Christmas. I know that because I have been googling around the net ever since our friend decided to try and shame Christians into saying they told lies. Shame on quddus for being so childish lol
"Belief in Santa is useful: Gary Grassl believes that children can grasp the concept of Santa Claus much more easily than they can comprehend God. At a young age, they can understand a quasi-deity who can make presents, and deliver them under magical circumstances to all of the children of the world. Santa is a type of simplified God. Once children understand how Santa works, it is a relatively simple step to abandon him and accept an omnipotent, omniscient, all-loving and all-just God.
Teaching about Santa as a myth: Parents can teach the historical legends associated with St. Nicolas. They are great stories which discuss the importance of generosity and sharing even if they are based on events that never happened. At the same time, parents can teach Santa Clause as a modern secular/cultural myth. Children can still enjoy the story without actually believing that Santa exists. Families can still pretend that gifts arrived from Santa. Since the child has always considered Santa to be an imaginary person, he/she will not be disillusioned at their parents when their friends tell them that Santa does not exist"
And now I'm out of this thread, because I don't believe it was started as anything more than a trolling exercise to get everyone riled up.
about Santa and Father Christmas. I know that because I have been googling around the net ever since our friend decided to try and shame Christians into saying they told lies. Shame on quddus for being so childish lol
Here's another site:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/santa3.htm
which concluded with:
"Belief in Santa is useful: Gary Grassl believes that children can grasp the concept of Santa Claus much more easily than they can comprehend God. At a young age, they can understand a quasi-deity who can make presents, and deliver them under magical circumstances to all of the children of the world. Santa is a type of simplified God. Once children understand how Santa works, it is a relatively simple step to abandon him and accept an omnipotent, omniscient, all-loving and all-just God.
Teaching about Santa as a myth: Parents can teach the historical legends associated with St. Nicolas. They are great stories which discuss the importance of generosity and sharing even if they are based on events that never happened. At the same time, parents can teach Santa Clause as a modern secular/cultural myth. Children can still enjoy the story without actually believing that Santa exists. Families can still pretend that gifts arrived from Santa. Since the child has always considered Santa to be an imaginary person, he/she will not be disillusioned at their parents when their friends tell them that Santa does not exist"
And now I'm out of this thread, because I don't believe it was started as anything more than a trolling exercise to get everyone riled up.
[img_assist|nid=57285|title=|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=|height=0]