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Are we deceiving children ....

K

ktn4eg

New Member
.... when we tell them things that we know are not true?

This time of year one often hears discussions of whether or not parents allow their children to "believe in Santa Claus."

I've had different ideas about this, but what about other "white lies" such as "The Tooth Fairy," etc.?

I'd like to read your take on this, preferably including God's Word to back up your position.
 
padredurand

padredurand

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
ktn4eg said:
.... when we tell them things that we know are not true?

This time of year one often hears discussions of whether or not parents allow their children to "believe in Santa Claus."

I've had different ideas about this, but what about other "white lies" such as "The Tooth Fairy," etc.?

I'd like to read your take on this, preferably including God's Word to back up your position.
Click to expand...

Just keep the Boogie Man and the Easter Bunny out of the conversation. :tongue3:

I remember a rather lengthy conversation in seminary about whether all of the parables of Jesus were literally true. Was there really a wise man who built his house on rock? A foolish one who built on sand? Did the have names? Families? Where did this happen? When? Were they real men or did they serve only to illustrate the point?

If they were not real people than what are we to make of Jesus' use of them to teach an important lesson?

Matthew 7:24-27 if you wanted to look it up.
 
T

thisnumbersdisconnected

New Member
padredurand said:
I remember a rather lengthy conversation in seminary about whether all of the parables of Jesus were literally true. Was there really a wise man who built his house on rock? A foolish one who built on sand? Did the have names? Families? Where did this happen? When? Were they real men or did they serve only to illustrate the point?

If they were not real people than what are we to make of Jesus' use of them to teach an important lesson?
Click to expand...
A synonym for "parable" is "allegory." It was not expected they were true. They were an illustration. If the intent of the discussion was to make Jesus out to be a liar, they didn't really understand the verbiage used in Koine Greek.
 
webdog

webdog

Active Member
Site Supporter
ktn4eg said:
.... when we tell them things that we know are not true?

This time of year one often hears discussions of whether or not parents allow their children to "believe in Santa Claus."

I've had different ideas about this, but what about other "white lies" such as "The Tooth Fairy," etc.?

I'd like to read your take on this, preferably including God's Word to back up your position.
Click to expand...

Considering I'm the one buying the gifts and dressing up in the red suit, not to mention knowing if they have been bad or good or asleep or awake, where is the lie? :). I also moonlight by exchanging teeth for dollars.
 
padredurand

padredurand

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
thisnumbersdisconnected said:
A synonym for "parable" is "allegory." It was not expected they were true. They were an illustration. If the intent of the discussion was to make Jesus out to be a liar, they didn't really understand the verbiage used in Koine Greek.
Click to expand...

If you knew where I attended seminary you would know they had trouble understanding the verbiage of American English, too. :smilewinkgrin:

Let's talk about Nicholas of Myra. 4th Century bishop. Imprisoned under Diocletian for being a Christian. Benevolent. Anything about him that could be beneficial?
 
Baptist Believer

Baptist Believer

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
thisnumbersdisconnected said:
A synonym for "parable" is "allegory." It was not expected they were true. They were an illustration. If the intent of the discussion was to make Jesus out to be a liar, they didn't really understand the verbiage used in Koine Greek.
Click to expand...
I agree.

One of the most frustrating times I have ever had in a seminary classroom was in the Introduction to Biblical Interpretation class where the professor casually mentioned (referencing parables) that Jesus "invented" these profound stories to capture the imagination of his hearers. That statement immediately led a couple of the students to interrupt the lecture and demand to know if the professor believed that EVERY parable was LITERALLY true. He said that he did not place an expectation that any of the parables were LITERALLY true in the sense that Jesus was referring to specific persons, but that they were slice of life images that had parallels in the everyday lives of His audience. The professor was then immediately denounced as a "liberal" who taught that Jesus frequently lied to people. :BangHead:

Fortunately, those students dropped the class after a few more sessions and stopped interrupting the lectures.
 
A

Aaron

Member
Site Supporter
Teaching children to believe in the existence of Santa Claus (the jolly old elf who lives at the North Pole and delivers presents to all the good boys and girls of the world on Christmas Eve) is not something that Christ nor any of His Apostles would approve.
 
evenifigoalone

evenifigoalone

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure what to think. I believed in Santa Claus and the Easter bunny until I was 8 years old and it never hurt me. I'm inclined to think things like that just adds a fun element of imagination and fantasy and is harmless. But I don't have a really set opinion.
Anyway, not something I'm going to debate about. Against it? Okay with it? Whether you let your kids believe in these things or not will not affect me in any way. It's none of my business, so I don't care.
 
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T

thisnumbersdisconnected

New Member
Aaron said:
Teaching children to believe in the existence of Santa Claus (the jolly old elf who lives at the North Pole and delivers presents to all the good boys and girls of the world on Christmas Eve) is not something that Christ nor any of His Apostles would approve.
Click to expand...
Here's a new avatar for you, Aaron.

scrooge.jpg
 
Salty

Salty

20,000 Posts Club
Administrator
questdriven said:
...Anyway, not something I'm going to debate about. Against it? Okay with it? Whether you let your kids believe in these things or not will not affect me in any way. It's none of my business, so I don't care.
Click to expand...

But it could be your business - suppose the SS teacher tells your 5 year old son that beleiving in Santa is a sin? How would you deal with that.
 
A

annsni

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Yes, we are deceiving our children. But I don't think it is as terrible as some make it out to be. We didn't do Santa or the Easter Bunny because we want these holidays to be about the One who makes them important but we did do the tooth fairy. :) Our kids enjoyed that whole thing and were not surprised when they found out - they had kind of guessed at that point.
 
N

North Carolina Tentmaker

New Member
No Santa Clause?

After surviving a period of unbelief that ran from adolescence until I became a parent myself; I now know the truth and have a much stronger belief in Santa now than I did as a child.

(Well, well, let him think so, the dear little elf,
'Twould be cruel to tell him I did it myself.")

Blind father! who caused your stern heart to relent,
And the hasty words spoken so soon to repent?
'Twas the Being who bade you steal softly upstairs,
And made you His agent to answer their prayers.
Click to expand...
Sophia P. Snow (Closing lines of the poem Annie and Willie’s Prayer)
 
M

michael-acts17:11

Member
Site Supporter
How many of us have deceived our children as to where babies come from, or the anatomy of the opposite gender, or the nature of a mentally disturbed relative(we all have at least one), or one of a myriad other examples? Children believe in fanciful tales, imaginary creatures, & talking yellow sponges. It is a part of childhood. Belief in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, talking animals, or baby-delivering storks has no negative effect on children. Some people just aren't happy unless they are micro-analyzing & judging the lives of others.
 
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