RSSDo you believe in Santa Claus?
I sure do. So do my kids. That might make us odd among Reformed-types but I am unrepentant.
This Lord’s Day evening I will be giving a lecture in apology… I don’t mean I am saying I am sorry. I will try to write the argument out and post it. For now, here is the outline:
Why I believe in Santa Claus:
Intro: Santa Claus hating is a popular Reformed pastime
1. C.S. Lewis: Myths are lies and therefore worthless, even though breathed through silver.
2. Tolkien, “They are not lies… best way… sometimes the only way of conveying truths that would otherwise remain inexpressible.
3. Ours is a world of rationalism and scientism
4. Russell Kirk, “Our time, sick nigh unto death of utilitarianism and literalness, cries out for myth and parable.â€
5. Christmas season is a time of great magic produced through the beauty of myth and fairy tale. These myths and fairy tales… including the the myth of Santa Claus, are not lies but deep truths rooted in the deep magic of the True myth.
I. I believe in Santa Claus because I affirm the deep truths of Faerie
A. Faerie is a land of signs and symbols
1. Reflect deepest truths of our experience with the transcendent
2. They reflect truth much deeper than the realm of fact
B. Myth and symbols are foundational to community
1. Legend is more important than book of history
a. Legend is shared by the village and is sane
b. Books are written the one man in the village who is insane
c. G.K. Chesterton
2. Shared symbols and myths give meaning to a people and how they relate to the transcendent.
C. So what does the myth and symbol associated with Santa Claus teach us?
II. I believe in Santa Claus because I affirm the mystical body of Christ
A. Santa Claus WAS a very real person
1. Saint Nicolas
2. Bishop of Myra
3. Attended the counsel of Nicea
4. Known for his generosity and giving of gifts:
“One story tells of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman’s father had to offer prospective husbands something of value— a dowry. The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man’s daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver.â€
B. Santa Claus IS a very real person
1. Augustine, “there are no deadâ€
2. The dead in Christ are alive in communion with us
3. Church militant and triumphant are one body
4. We have real fellowship and communion
5. The mystical body of Christ is timeless
a. How does Santa get to so many houses in one night?
b. It is just not logical? (Teach that to your kids and watch their faith grow into rationalism!)
c. How well does your four year old understand the mystical body of Christ?
d. How well do you?
e. Santa Claus teaches us much in this regard
III. I believe in Santa Claus because of what he teaches about God
A. Santa Claus is a means to teach a number of things about God
B. God’s invisible attributes include
a. Omniscience: He knows everything about you
b. He rewards good behavior
c. He shows grace and love
d. He cares for children
C. Although one must be careful not to allow the development of a God substitute, Santa Claus is an excellent, visible, symbol that makes God more easily understood.
IV. I believe in Santa Claus because the death of magic is the beginning of unbelief
A. The great enemies of the faith: modernism, rationalism, scientism,
i. Paganism is not the threat of our day
ii. Paganism a much easier convert
B. Easy for our systematic formulations of the catechism to fit neatly into a modernist faith without mystery.
C. Easy to think that we have all the answers and forget that we see through a glad dimly
D. A faith without mystery is a faith without magic and vice-versa. Kill the magic in your children, take away their ability to be captivated by mystery… and you are breeding unbelief.
E. Therefore, I say without reservation, that I believe, with all my heart, in Santa Claus.
sixteenninety
December 22nd, 2007 at 5:34 pm
If Santa were real, I’d have a lot more coal to show for it.
A very deep mystery indeed.
W.H. Chellis
December 22nd, 2007 at 5:49 pm
I hear that one. The upside is the with peak oil rumors floating around coal is like getting gold in your stocking. My kids are starting to misbehave on strictly economic grounds.
D Hart
December 23rd, 2007 at 8:22 am
Bill, couldn’t a similar argument be made for Mary, the mother of God? I see your Kirk showing. And while I have some sympathy for this outlook, I’m still struck by the way that Judaism and early Christianity depopulated the gods in the universe; they had no brook with analogies or affinities. All of which to say is that Reformed piety is stern stuff and goes with haggis and whiskey. You definitely need to acquire a taste for it.
W.H. Chellis
December 23rd, 2007 at 9:06 am
DGH- of course my Kirk is showing…. it often does.
As for Mary, Theotokos, I believe in her also. You know… the bible does mention her.
But I take some exception to what you say about early Christianity. I learned to appreciate the relationship between Fairee and the transcendent reading the 1st Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. I was/am particularly struck by Chapter 25: The Phoenix an emblem of our resurrection. Interesting stuff.
W.H. Chellis
December 23rd, 2007 at 1:14 pm
I have been thinking about this more. I can see the heart of your argument and feel its weight. If my argument is sound…. why not pray to Mary or other saints? At one level, from the perspective of union with Christ, asking favors of living friends in Christ does make logical sense. The problem is that logic without Scripture is dangerous.
What I will add to my argument is the unique nature of Santa Claus as one who transcends his actual place as a saint united to Christ and takes on a mythological status. It is the mythological status that is the heart of the question. It becomes confusing because of St. Nicholas’ authentic personality as one we do share fellowship with in Christ. Therefore I feel the tension.
Still, I think it is important to recognize that Santa Claus is a traditional folkway that should not be quickly given up. Especially when he serves as such a great illuminator of transcendent truth.
Of course, I am no Scot so maybe that is the problem. My piety reflects my German Reformed background and you know how those Germans love Christmas, Christmas Trees, and jolly Old St. Nicholas. Our piety is fed by good beers and the occasional Christmas cookie. You can keep the haggis but only if you want to pretend your a Scot, for you, my friend, are a German yourself!
So lets hide the pickle, stuff the stockings, and sing some silent night.
Caleb Stegall
December 24th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Orkneyjar Scots know Santa is a tool of Occidental/Romish oppressors intended to disenfranchise the sturdy Scot from his rightful place as ruler of the windswept frigid kingdom of the North. Sinterclawse wouldn’t last a day in the true north!
W.H. Chellis
December 24th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
So that is why the Scots hate Christmas. I thought it was just their congenital “frugality”!
In Light of the Gospel » Blog Archive » A Reformed “apology” for Santa Claus
December 24th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
[...] W. H. Chellis has an interesting defense of belief in Santa Claus. I am almost persuaded! Read his post here. [...]
GRC
January 2nd, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Was this lecture recorded? Is there a way for an mp3 of the lecture to be uploaded so that it might be downloaded?
W.H. Chellis
January 2nd, 2008 at 3:08 pm
yes- I have an mp3 file. I wonder if there is a way to post an MP3 file here?