Santa, Fact and Fiction

A Christmas re-post.

It is unfortunate that many disassociate Santa Claus with Jesus at Christmas time. He is regarded by many as an acceptable secular symbol of festivity. The origins of Santa are widely debated. Time and folklore has enhanced the Santa “myth” to an extent that much of what is presently attributed to Santa has little to do with history.

Resurgence have posted a good summary of the historical background of Saint Nicholas, the likely start point of the modern concept of Santa. While he may have owned reindeer and been generous with gifts at the end of the year, he probably shares little else with our present day Shopping Centre icon. The original Nicholas, Bishop of Myra was one of the defenders of the faith. He likely attended the Council of Nicaea which ratified and confirmed what is still held as orthodox belief about Jesus today – namely that he is very God of very God, begotten not born – our Lord and Saviour.

Hail to Saint Nicholas – a servant of Jesus!

 

Commercialism, schmercialism!

This Douglas Wilson quote about the use of technology reminds me of how to approach the commercial brouhaha that erupts each year in December. Rejecting the abuse of a thing doesn’t mean you have to, always, reject the thing. Enjoy your eggnog and what not this Christmas. Be especially and sacrificially generous to the poor as well. But do not think that having a dowdy demeanour in some way gives you the monopoly on the meaning and significance of Christmas. The sin is not, necessarily, in your gifts under the tree, it is in your heart and will remain there regardless of how full or empty your stocking is on December 25th.

The Bible contains no warnings about technology as such, but is crammed with warnings about the bias of wealth. Which way does wealth set us up? The Bible says that the wealthy are tempted to hubris, self-sufficiency, lack of concern for the poor, oppression, and the rest of that sorry lot. Wealth is a good thing, but it brings temptations. A lot of wealth is a lot of a good thing, but it brings with it a lot of temptations.

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We have always had worriers. Plato worried about the written word. At the birth of the modern era, others worried about the typeset word. Now we worry about the digitized word. And, let it be said, the worriers always have a point. There are always examples of folly that they can point to, and they are not making it up. But the fact that you are not making up the bad examples does not mean that you are fitting those bad examples into the right paradigm of interpretation.

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The constant and ever present temptation in the Church is the gnostic temptation of locating sin in the stuff, sin in the matter, sin in the wealth, sin in the technology . . . instead of locating it where it belongs, in the heart of man.

Another post by Wilson summarises the matter well. Go overboard! Jesus did, for you!

 

So many public holidays

This is an extra long weekend in Australia due to ANZAC Day falling immediately after Easter Sunday and the long Aussie tradition of having an extra day off after Easter. This means both Monday and Tuesday have been declared in most States and Territories as Public Holidays.

Do we need more time off? Phillip Jensen makes some comments on the value of public holidays and tolerance and how they mark our identity as Australians:

Christian nations do not seek to impose Christianity upon people by force of arms. We welcome strangers and protect people of different beliefs, cultures and practices. We have developed what is called tolerance. By which we mean “a willingness to allow things that we do not necessarily agree with or even like without interference”. Tolerance does not mean relativism – “the acceptance that all views are equally valid” – nor does it mean abandonment of your own position in favour of others. Rather it is the refusal to impose your beliefs on other people as necessary for membership in society.

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It is part of our tolerant society that not everybody has to observe or like public holidays. We are not dragooned out for compulsory celebrations. People can stay in bed or go fishing. They can even complain about it. Not everybody likes to celebrate our involvement in war on Anzac day, nor the European invasion on Australia day. But these events were foundational to who we are as a nation. In the same way there are Australians who do not like Christianity, but celebrating Easter and Christmas is an appropriate and Australian way to commemorate the foundational role that Christianity plays in our culture and nation.

 

Social Network Christmas

If the very first Christmas had taken place in 2010…

 

Santa Fact or Fiction

A Christmas re-post.

It is unfortunate that many disassociate Santa Claus with Jesus at Christmas time. He is regarded by many as an acceptable secular symbol of festivity. The origins of Santa are widely debated. Time and folklore has enhanced the Santa “myth” to an extent that much of what is presently attributed to Santa has little to do with history.

Resurgence have posted a good summary of the historical background of Saint Nicholas, the likely start point of the modern concept of Santa. While he may have owned reindeer and been generous with gifts at the end of the year, he probably shares little else with our present day Shopping Centre icon. The original Nicholas, Bishop of Myra was one of the defenders of the faith. He likely attended the Council of Nicaea which ratified and confirmed what is still held as orthodox belief about Jesus today – namely that he is very God of very God, begotten not born – our Lord and Saviour.

Hail to Saint Nicholas – a servant of Jesus!

 

Santa Fact and Fiction

A Christmas re-post.

It is unfortunate that many disassociate Santa Claus with Jesus at Christmas time. He is regarded by many as an acceptable secular symbol of festivity. The origins of Santa are widely debated. Time and folklore has enhanced the Santa “myth” to an extent that much of what is presently attributed to Santa has little to do with history.

Resurgence have posted a good summary of the historical background of Saint Nicholas, the likely start point of the modern concept of Santa. While he may have owned reindeer and been generous with gifts at the end of the year, he probably shares little else with our present day Shopping Centre icon. The original Nicholas, Bishop of Myra was one of the defenders of the faith. He likely attended the Council of Nicaea which ratified and confirmed what is still held as orthodox belief about Jesus today – namely that he is very God of very God, begotten not born – our Lord and Saviour.

Hail to Saint Nicholas – a servant of Jesus!