Monday, November 22, 2004
I Have Not Come to Praise Santa, But to Bury Him
I'm in favor of the pro-Santa camp, but here is a dissenting view. I know him. He's a nice Catholic man and isn't unbalanced, etc.
I'm in favor of the pro-Santa camp, but here is a dissenting view. I know him. He's a nice Catholic man and isn't unbalanced, etc.
A priest tells kids the truth and gets in trouble for it. (Link from Amy Welborn’s blog.) IOW, the alleged followers of “the Way and the Truth and the Life” think that perpetuating silly lies about demigods and heroes is a good thing for kids.
Balderdash. Children can enjoy Santa just fine without believing in him. Just as they enjoy Barney, Thomas the Tank Engine and Spiderman. Santa is great make-believe, but telling children that he’s real is a horribly stupid thing to do. I attribute my early skepticism and atheist directly to having been lied to about Santa, and I’ve met loads of people who say the same thing.
If you want to raise skeptical atheists, by all means tell them Santa is real. Go ahead. Destroy your credibility with the kids. Teach them they can’t believe their own parents. What a great idea!
