Santa Claus or Easter Bunny

Remember: there was a Santa Claus (St. Nicholas). So don't lie and say there was no such thing. So the two are a bit different.

I have decided this to be an issue of Christian liberty, so I will articulate my beliefs but allow for others to hold their own as well, so long as we both come from Scripture and end at God's glory.

 

...and St Nicolas had a temper. Did he not strike a heretic at one of the councils?

 

Why, oh why, would a pastor feel compelled to do something like this in midst of a service? Aren't there far more important things to cover?

Listen, I'm all for being honest and forthright with people. If an adult comes to me and asks me heads or tails my answer is obviously no. But children are different.

I guess if a church doesn't want to keep the people on the margins of Christianity they could do this. I would never, never do this from a platform.

 

No, I wouldn't. That's the parent's decision. What would I do if a my pastor did this (assuming I wasn't the pastor), I'd say he was out of line.

 

I am thinking that there are more important things to preach about than bringing E Bunny and S Claus up.

 

When I was a new pastor I accidental suggested that Santa wasn't real in a impromptu sermon. I wasn't trying to be controversial. It was a slip of the tongue. Needless to say there were some parents who were not happy with me. But, they accepted my apology and let their green "boy" preacher off the hook.

 

Any sort of intrusions on people's religious comfort zones will usually produce consternation and small congregations. Preaching about sin, righteousness and judgement to come will not make standing room only crowds; but such preaching will produce real spiritual repentance and revival.

The fantasizing associated with Easter and Christ's Mass are quite pagan, making it difficult to be consistent when trying to show the truth. The implication of doing good to get gifts is teaching salvation by works--a very difficult thing to unlearn. Multitudes of "Christians" think they are saved by their works. This negates the Grace of God. Most of the practices of Easter seem to have originated in the worship of some fertility goddess.

"Come out from among them, saith the Lord, touch not the unclean thing."

Peace,

Bro. James

 

If Santa and the Easter bunny are not real, where do the toys come from? I hate to break it to you all, but my kids got gifts and candy from both, and the last I checked I'm very much real and typing this. As parents we play many roles. Its not for a pastor to usurp the father's authority in the home. He is the leader of the church, not over my home.

 

The person needs to get out of the church. When a pastor does something like that it tells me more about the kind of ministry that he is going to go about doing than anything else. As someone who has been in ministry for more than a few years and served alongside some really wonderful people it is not the place of a pastor to usurp the authority and traditions of parents over issues that are of peripheral worth.

If a pastor, senior or associate, at our church did this they'd be in very, very hot water. We work way too hard at reaching people who have been far from Christ for too long to have to deal with this kind of muck and mire clogging our ministry.

Imagine the spiritual repercussions, years down the road, when these children grow up and still have the image of a spiritual shepherd devastating their beliefs in this way.

What harm is there is letting little kids enjoy Santa or the Easter Bunny? Seems far more harmful to destroy their precious experiences than to let them work out of it naturally.

 

Is this a new pastor or a long time pastor? How long have they been at the church? This would play a role in how to address the situation. I would reply to him similar to my post above. I would point out it is not his place to usurp my authority in my home, nor the other fathers and their families in the church (not to mention you cannot prove a negative ). If he didn't respond to me favorably, that is when you bring a witness...and you know the rest from there.

 

If this was a church-sponsored activity, maybe he felt uncomfortable with what he feels is a "lie" and wanted to make sure the kids knew the real reason for Easter? I'm sure he meant well but just handled it badly. I think a brief talk with some level-headed dads is in order, just to let him know the parents would prefer to be the ones to decide when to "break the news" to their children. After that, I wouldn't give it another thought. It's not a huge issue that should cause great division or discouragement in the church.

 

Oh my! He really stuck his foot in the muck didn't he? Poor fella!

After I waited out my initial fury (red hair ya know, so the temper flashes hot and quick), I suggest what Scarlett and ABCgrad have suggested. Though in my case, he'd be speaking to me since my dh doesn't attend church, thereby avoiding these sorts of things.

I would NOT expect him to say anything to *my* children. I would have already dealt with them and anything further would just be confusing.

A sincere apology would clear the matter up nicely so long as he didn't repeat the mistake next year. (and I would be watching)

Next year, instead of telling the children there is no Easter Bunny he should tell them the real reason for Easter is Christ and everything else we do like egg rolls and such is in celebration of what Christ did for us and move on!

 

I simply told the children, "Let me tell you about the real meaning of Easter. It doesn't have anything to do with eggs and bunnies. It's about a man named Jesus....."