The Theology of Santa Claus

(On this Christmas Eve, I thought I'd re-run this post from 2007.)
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Have you ever considered what kind of theology we can glean from Santa Claus? "No," you say, "why should we?" Well, think about it. Who is omnipresent? Who is omniscient? Who is benevolent? Who knows who is "naughty and nice" and rewards people based on that? It doesn't take a lot of thought to realize that Santa is a god. No one else can do what he does without being supernatural. And then there is the natural connection of Santa Claus to Christmas, making him theologically connected from that angle as well. So ... what kind of theology does Santa give us?

"He knows who is naughty and nice." Santa Claus is supposed to know who is good and who is bad. Based on this, Santa will either give nice gifts to the nice and a lump of coal to the naughty. So far, so good. God, too, knows who is good and who is bad. It's easier for God, however. "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one" (Rom. 3:10-12). "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). Santa's theology, then, is that people are basically good. There are a few naughty, but down deep people are, by nature, good.

How does one go about getting on the good side of this minor deity? It's very simple; be good. To curry the favor of Santa Claus, all you have to do is good works. You know ... the standard worldly means to curry God's favor.

What about the naughty folks? Well, we all know that they are supposed to get nothing from Santa (or, at best, coal). That's "justice". On the other hand, have we ever actually seen that happen? Does Santa ever really refuse a child a gift at Christmas? Well, despite all the warnings, we all know that the red-suited guy is too kind to shortchange children. The theology? Relax ... there is nothing to fear. There is no justice. There is no punishment. There are no consequences for sin.

What is the point of Santa? What is he all about? Santa is all about making people happy. His entire existence is devoted to giving people what they want. Theologically, then, we can easily conclude that the purpose of deity is to cater to the desires of humans everywhere. His whole purpose should be to make people happy ... especially by giving them what they want.

Think about it. If we were to devise a deity, what would he be like? He'd be old and white-haired -- a very common conception. He'd be a smiling deity. An angry God is just not acceptable. He'd be interested in good and bad, of course, but not so much so that he'd actually do anything really harmful to anyone over it. No, he'd be a jolly type that would cheerfully warn against doing bad without actually intending any consequences. His sole, overarching concern would be our happiness. There is, after all, nothing more important than us and our happiness.

Why is it that, even in Christian circles, Santa is sacrosanct? Don't question him. Don't even suggest to children that he doesn't exist. It is wrong -- evil -- to tell children there is no Santa. Why is it that we lie to our children about Santa and expect them to believe us when we talk about Christ? Santa denies absolutely fundamental biblical theology like Man's basic sin nature, God's grace (unmerited favor), justification by faith apart from works, the justice of God, His hatred for sin, His holiness. Instead of God and His glory as the central issue, Santa makes us and our happiness the central issue. There is so much false theology to overcome. And there is the damage of parents who knowingly lie to their children. What could possibly be the up side of teaching our children that there really is a Santa Claus?