Do you believe in Jesus and Santa?

My son shared this with me on Friday night. A boy had posted on Facebook a question: "For those who believe in Jesus, do you believe in Santa, too?"

[A side bar, this question, quite in vogue among the neo-atheists, is not really a question. It is in the form of a question but it is, in truth, a challenge. It intentionally associates to make a comparison and the implicit point is conveyed in the asking...]

Santa is not a real person. Little children believe in Santa while adults do not. Believing in Santa (according to the question above) may be sweet, but it is silliness. The creation of the Santa-industry with endless stories and even actors dressed for the part is a human construction. All the fun and niceness are generated by our wishes. If you go to the North Pole he is not there. You cannot see him because he does not exist.

Jesus, their line of thinking goes, can not be seen either. As the real man, St. Nicholas, was layered with multiple stories and eventually morphed, with the help of all manner of legends, into Santa Claus, so the atheist questioner implies, perhaps there was a man Jesus, but all this talk about him is nothing but legends and wishes turned into narrative. Jesus, they imply, is another story told to make you be good and another load of empty promises about blessings.

The problem with this is it ignores exactly what Christians say about Jesus and then twists that ignorance into a critique of our beliefs. The Bible says Jesus lived, He was crucified and died, He rose (was raised) on the third day, Easter, and that after some period of time (Luke makes it 40 days) He was taken away from them with the promise to return. Christians do NOT expect to see Jesus, ever, until that day when He establishes His kingdom. He is GONE. He is reigning in Heaven, a spiritual realm. His presence among us is SPIRITUAL (i.e. Holy Spirit). Our faith is that we cannot, do not and will not see Jesus in our daily life; at best we can discern Him among us.

The Santa story conveys a messge. It takes history and makes it a myth. The Jesus story also conveys a message, but it takes myth and makes it history. That is why we see parallels to Jesus in other religions and ancient faiths. He is a flesh and blood case of what they are talking about and pointing to. The question, "You people who believe in Jesus, do you believe in Santa, too?" is really dismissive. It implies that Christians do not know the difference between fantasy and reality. Yet, what irritates me more, is it ignores how really demanding and hard Jesus makes life. It negates the Biblical record which reads nothing like 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. It ignores the reality of the teaching, healing and suffering of Jesus. It is shallow and lazy and does not invite dialogue.