Author	Thread: How does your Christian heart and spirit feel about "harmless white lies"? Are they TRULY "harmless'" in a Christian lifestyle? Is "Santa Claus" a "white lie" that God sees as "harmless" and OK for Christians to be a part of fostering in their younger children's lives, like the world believes?
Admin	How does your Christian heart and spirit feel about "harmless white lies"? Are they TRULY "harmless'" in a Christian lifestyle? Is "Santa Claus" a "white lie" that God sees as "harmless" and OK for Christians to be a part of fostering in their younger children's lives, like the world believes? Posted : 9 Nov, 2010 09:06 AM How should Christian parents and relatives TRULY deal with "Santa Claus" at Christmastime to bring honor, glory and praise to God in the parenting of their children at EVERY age? This question is for the gals AND guys, of course ... and one that always come up as bothersome to my heart and spirit at this time of year ... I keep wondering why it should even be considered as a "fun necessity" for younger children and "harmless" to lead them to believe there is a "Santa Claus" who brings them their Christmas gifts? I'm "none the worse for wear", I admit, because MY parents allowed ME to believe in the myth of "Santa Claus" delivering our Christmas gifts at that age, but still ... I think I would've been just as pleased to know that the gifts I received at Christmas were given out of love by my relatives without "Santa Clause's" involvement at all, as representative of God's love for all of us and His giving of His Son in the birth of Jesus as the Savior of the world from sin, which is what Christmas was originally and is STILL what it SHOULD only be about for Christians!!! So ... this is another two-fold question ... first about "harmless white lies" in general ... then, specifically, about the so-felt by so many "harmless white lie" of telling young children there is a "Santa Claus". Steve Post Reply
DaughterofYeshua View Profile History	How does your Christian heart and spirit feel about "harmless white lies"? Are they TRULY "harmless'" in a Christian lifestyle? Is "Santa Claus" a "white lie" that God sees as "harmless" and OK for Christians to be a part of fostering in their younger children's lives, like the world believes? Posted : 9 Nov, 2010 09:13 AM For me I do not teach my child about " Santa" or the "tooth fairy" or " Easter bunny" ...... I do not care for "white lies" even if the truth hurts but I try to live my life treating people and my children the way I want to be treated( with God's love, forgiveness,mercy,etc.) Post Reply
View Profile History	How does your Christian heart and spirit feel about "harmless white lies"? Are they TRULY "harmless'" in a Christian lifestyle? Is "Santa Claus" a "white lie" that God sees as "harmless" and OK for Christians to be a part of fostering in their younger children's lives, like the world believes? Posted : 9 Nov, 2010 11:38 AM Santa wears a red suit. Santa sneaks in your home at night Rearrange the letters in Santa and it spells Satan But seriously, I have some strong feelings on this, but will let others post first. Post Reply
Tulip89 View Profile History	How does your Christian heart and spirit feel about "harmless white lies"? Are they TRULY "harmless'" in a Christian lifestyle? Is "Santa Claus" a "white lie" that God sees as "harmless" and OK for Christians to be a part of fostering in their younger children's lives, like the world believes? Posted : 9 Nov, 2010 01:25 PM I don't ever remember being told that Santa was real. He was a "fun game" or something like that. Post Reply
Tulip89 View Profile History	How does your Christian heart and spirit feel about "harmless white lies"? Are they TRULY "harmless'" in a Christian lifestyle? Is "Santa Claus" a "white lie" that God sees as "harmless" and OK for Christians to be a part of fostering in their younger children's lives, like the world believes? Posted : 9 Nov, 2010 01:27 PM I don't ever remember being told that Santa was real. He was a "fun game" or something like that. Post Reply
View Profile History	How does your Christian heart and spirit feel about "harmless white lies"? Are they TRULY "harmless'" in a Christian lifestyle? Is "Santa Claus" a "white lie" that God sees as "harmless" and OK for Christians to be a part of fostering in their younger children's lives, like the world believes? Posted : 9 Nov, 2010 02:27 PM Hey, twosparrows!!! ... that's RIGHT!!! ... I've never thought of THAT before, rearranging the letters of "Santa" spells "Satan" ... hmmmm .... makes ya think, huh, coupled with the "red" suit and "sneaking in the house" situation too!!! Oh my!!! ... Steve Post Reply
View Profile History	How does your Christian heart and spirit feel about "harmless white lies"? Are they TRULY "harmless'" in a Christian lifestyle? Is "Santa Claus" a "white lie" that God sees as "harmless" and OK for Christians to be a part of fostering in their younger children's lives, like the world believes? Posted : 9 Nov, 2010 03:29 PM In my childhood, I was the youngest of three...there was never an opportunity to believe in Santa Claus. :rolleyes: In our home, we celebrate Advent, we attend midnight services on Christmas Eve and open presents on Christmas day. I have always taught my daughter (7yo) that Christmas was about the birth of Christ...not a about Santa Claus. Santa Claus wasn't really a 'lie' because it wasn't about 'believing' in him. He, along with his reindeer (which were really more interesting to her), were just another story or 'tale'. Sometimes we talk about St. Nicholas. She wasn't brought up to believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy...other than the Tooth Fairy sleeps through the night, forgets the tooth in her tooth box and makes direct deposits into her savings account. :rolleyes::laugh: Post Reply
View Profile History	How does your Christian heart and spirit feel about "harmless white lies"? Are they TRULY "harmless'" in a Christian lifestyle? Is "Santa Claus" a "white lie" that God sees as "harmless" and OK for Christians to be a part of fostering in their younger children's lives, like the world believes? Posted : 9 Nov, 2010 04:46 PM White lies. That says it. The word lie is part of it. Therefore it is lying. And the Bible is clear that we are not to lie. As for Santa..... I don't have strong feelings on it, except for one thing. I was the second-to-the-youngest so don't remember believing in Santa, though I probably did before one of my brothers popped my bubble. I have taught and been around young children who believe in Santa. I just go along with it and seer them away from it, as they soon will stop believing. I don't think it is anything to get excited about. The exception I mentioned? Including Santa in a church Christmas program. He has NO place in presenting the Christmas story. NONE. Post Reply
paschen81 View Profile History	How does your Christian heart and spirit feel about "harmless white lies"? Are they TRULY "harmless'" in a Christian lifestyle? Is "Santa Claus" a "white lie" that God sees as "harmless" and OK for Christians to be a part of fostering in their younger children's lives, like the world believes? Posted : 9 Nov, 2010 06:12 PM I can't speak for anyone but myself, however, I know growing up I never believed in "Santa" "Easter bunny" or "tooth fairy" and the reason why is because I know I wasn't a "bad" girl but I was never left any presents from "Santa" being that my mom was a single mother working 2 full time minimum wage jobs to provide us food and a place to stay that was in a decent (safe) part of town... there wasn't enough money for presents. My grandparents bought us children winter clothes for school for Christmas and my mom received a food basket for her present. We also never went Easter egg hunting though my grandparents did buy us a chocolate bunny each year and that was it. As for the tooth fairy... my mom didn't give us anything when we lost a tooth... though she did treat me to ice cream when my brother knocked out one of my teeth (supposedly accidentally lol). I do not believe it is conducive to teach these stories to our children. They teach them to believe in "magic" and when that magic disappears and their hopes are burst we wonder why they have a hard time believing in Jesus who by that point is nothing more than another fairy story just like Santa and the Tooth Fairy. Santa has become nothing more than a way for business to over-commercialize and secularize a Christian holiday. What is sad in all of it is that Santa Claus is actually a real historical person though stripped of the truth of who he really was. Post Reply
View Profile History	How does your Christian heart and spirit feel about "harmless white lies"? Are they TRULY "harmless'" in a Christian lifestyle? Is "Santa Claus" a "white lie" that God sees as "harmless" and OK for Christians to be a part of fostering in their younger children's lives, like the world believes? Posted : 9 Nov, 2010 06:42 PM My father used to �ruin it� for kids at Christmas by declaring from the pulpit that Santa Claus wasn�t real. He got a lot of flak for that. I think the best thing is to tell the real story, at least as best we can tell it. He was Saint Nicholas of Myra and he lived during the 4th century. He was a follower of Christ and a Bishop of Myra. He was well known for giving gifts to the poor. As a side note, he was one of the attendees at the First Counsel of Nicaea, which debated whether or not Jesus was a creation of God, or if he was God. Nicholas was one of the signers stating that Jesus Christ was not a creation of God, but that Jesus and God were one in the same. Post Reply
bcpianogal View Profile History	How does your Christian heart and spirit feel about "harmless white lies"? Are they TRULY "harmless'" in a Christian lifestyle? Is "Santa Claus" a "white lie" that God sees as "harmless" and OK for Christians to be a part of fostering in their younger children's lives, like the world believes? Posted : 9 Nov, 2010 07:45 PM My main thoughts about Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, etc., is that if I allow my kids (or worse, tell them) to think that those characters are real, then they find out that they aren't real, what happens then? What's to stop them from wondering if God is real? After all, they believed in the other characters, just to find out that they aren't real. Why would God be any different? That scenario terrifies me. I think the solution is to let kids have fun with Santa et al, but always make it clear that they are just fictional characters. With Santa, there is also always the "real" story that can be told. That's what my parents did...they let us have fun with it, but my sisters and I were never lead to believe that they were real. Post Reply

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