Pastor tells kids waiting in Santa Clause like that Santa isn't real
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R
I was using Santa as an example...many children use Disney characters and dream about meeting prince charming and living happily ever after. Does this really happen? The likelihood is very slim, but why crush a little girls spirit and dream?. God gave these to us and we should utilize them and teach them it's normal. Little boys dream of being a hero and many do utilize this gift but not enough. In the bible God says to come as a little child. What does that mean? It means the innocence and without doubt, come to him,
But like I said why crush them when it will fade away on its own?
But like I said why crush them when it will fade away on its own?
E
I think this is a very dangerous thing to do --
YES - This pastor IS telling the truth
However; this method is something even Paul the Apostle would NOT do.
This is spiritual warfare and the honest child-like belief in Santa Clause makes many children understand either by themselves or by the parents, that Santa is NOT real.. so they go on to believe that Jesus is not real either..
And why should they not? The relationship between them and Santa Clause was a fraud.. it was fake, it was NOT real.. the prayers to Santa Clause being answered was only being answered by the parents with the presents and gifts.
So why pray to Jesus when he does not give you gifts under the tree on Christmas morning during the Holidays before Christmas? Why be 'good' for Jesus Christ when Jesus does not promise gifts, but he promises suffering, and to 'Pick up your cross and walk with him' -- trials and tribulations for His cause?
They never experience anything 'supernatural' with Santa Clause, so how can they expect anything supernatural with Jesus? Why bother even trying and repenting of your sins with Jesus if it never worked with Santa?.. see where I am getting at?
I agree that the belief in Santa is quite dangerous for children but , this method is very dangerous and only draws many people away from Christ. It does more harm than good..
So what did Paul the Apostle do when he encountered other beliefs and religions , and wanted to tell them about Christ?
Did Paul tell those religious people that their gods were all fake, and its all about Jesus? ABSOLUTELY NOT! IT WOULD HAVE DONE NO GOOD! So here was his approach,
THE PROPER WAY THIS PASTOR SHOULD HAVE HANDLED IT
Acts 17
16 [FONT=Helvetica Neue, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]While Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens, he was upset because he saw that the city was full of idols.[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]'''Paul was indeed upset like this pastor was, however, he did not just come and condemn everyone to hell and straight up tell them all their gods were false, like this pastor did.. Paul was smart, he knew that God's word must be preached gently with these people, otherwise they will not be drawn in.. instead they will kick Paul out'''' Here is how he handled it
[/FONT][FONT="]22 Then Paul stood up before the meeting of the Areopagus council and said, “Men of Athens, everything I see here tells me you are very religious. 23 I was going through your city and I saw the things you worship. I found an altar that had these words written on it: ‘ to an unknown god.’ You worship a god that you don’t know. This is the God I want to tell you about.[/FONT]
[FONT="]24 “He is the God who made the whole world and everything in it. He is the Lord of the land and the sky. He does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 He is the one who gives people life, breath, and everything else they need. He does not need any help from them. He has everything he needs. 26 God began by making one man, and from him he made all the different people who live everywhere in the world. He decided exactly when and where they would live.[/FONT]
[FONT="]27 “God wanted people to look for him, and perhaps in searching all around for him, they would find him. But he is not far from any of us.28 It is through him that we are able to live, to do what we do, and to be who we are. As your own poets have said, ‘We all come from him.’[/FONT]
[FONT="]29 “That’s right. We all come from God. So you must not think that he is like something people imagine or make. He is not made of gold, silver, or stone. 30 In the past people did not understand God, and he overlooked this. But now he is telling everyone in the world to change and turn to him. 31 He has decided on a day when he will judge all the people in the world in a way that is fair. To do this he will use a man he chose long ago. And he has proved to everyone that this is the man to do it. He proved it by raising him from death!”[/FONT]
[FONT="]32 When the people heard about Jesus being raised from death, some of them laughed. But others said, “We will hear more about this from you later.” 33 So Paul left the council meeting. 34 But some of the people joined with Paul and became believers. Among these were Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus council, a woman named Damaris, and some others.
--------------------
Isn't this the more appropriate way to give the Good News? Instead of going in there and condemning everyone to hell about worshipping false idols, Paul looked at one of their statues.. he seen it was 'unknown god' ... then instead of saying "YOUR ALL GOING TO HELL FOR WORSHIPPING FALSE IDOLS! YOUR SINNERS!" -- He instead said with a gentle tone "I see you are all very religious people.. I think I have an answer about who your unknown god is.. you do not know this God personally, but I do.. let me tell you about Him" -- BAM! Drew people in..
Instead of being kicked out by aggressive people with an aggressive approach, he got different response.. some walked away and said he was nuts, some had mixed feelings.. but SOME were saved.[/FONT]
YES - This pastor IS telling the truth
However; this method is something even Paul the Apostle would NOT do.
This is spiritual warfare and the honest child-like belief in Santa Clause makes many children understand either by themselves or by the parents, that Santa is NOT real.. so they go on to believe that Jesus is not real either..
And why should they not? The relationship between them and Santa Clause was a fraud.. it was fake, it was NOT real.. the prayers to Santa Clause being answered was only being answered by the parents with the presents and gifts.
So why pray to Jesus when he does not give you gifts under the tree on Christmas morning during the Holidays before Christmas? Why be 'good' for Jesus Christ when Jesus does not promise gifts, but he promises suffering, and to 'Pick up your cross and walk with him' -- trials and tribulations for His cause?
They never experience anything 'supernatural' with Santa Clause, so how can they expect anything supernatural with Jesus? Why bother even trying and repenting of your sins with Jesus if it never worked with Santa?.. see where I am getting at?
I agree that the belief in Santa is quite dangerous for children but , this method is very dangerous and only draws many people away from Christ. It does more harm than good..
So what did Paul the Apostle do when he encountered other beliefs and religions , and wanted to tell them about Christ?
Did Paul tell those religious people that their gods were all fake, and its all about Jesus? ABSOLUTELY NOT! IT WOULD HAVE DONE NO GOOD! So here was his approach,
THE PROPER WAY THIS PASTOR SHOULD HAVE HANDLED IT
Acts 17
16 [FONT=Helvetica Neue, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]While Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens, he was upset because he saw that the city was full of idols.[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]'''Paul was indeed upset like this pastor was, however, he did not just come and condemn everyone to hell and straight up tell them all their gods were false, like this pastor did.. Paul was smart, he knew that God's word must be preached gently with these people, otherwise they will not be drawn in.. instead they will kick Paul out'''' Here is how he handled it
[/FONT][FONT="]22 Then Paul stood up before the meeting of the Areopagus council and said, “Men of Athens, everything I see here tells me you are very religious. 23 I was going through your city and I saw the things you worship. I found an altar that had these words written on it: ‘ to an unknown god.’ You worship a god that you don’t know. This is the God I want to tell you about.[/FONT]
[FONT="]24 “He is the God who made the whole world and everything in it. He is the Lord of the land and the sky. He does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 He is the one who gives people life, breath, and everything else they need. He does not need any help from them. He has everything he needs. 26 God began by making one man, and from him he made all the different people who live everywhere in the world. He decided exactly when and where they would live.[/FONT]
[FONT="]27 “God wanted people to look for him, and perhaps in searching all around for him, they would find him. But he is not far from any of us.28 It is through him that we are able to live, to do what we do, and to be who we are. As your own poets have said, ‘We all come from him.’[/FONT]
[FONT="]29 “That’s right. We all come from God. So you must not think that he is like something people imagine or make. He is not made of gold, silver, or stone. 30 In the past people did not understand God, and he overlooked this. But now he is telling everyone in the world to change and turn to him. 31 He has decided on a day when he will judge all the people in the world in a way that is fair. To do this he will use a man he chose long ago. And he has proved to everyone that this is the man to do it. He proved it by raising him from death!”[/FONT]
[FONT="]32 When the people heard about Jesus being raised from death, some of them laughed. But others said, “We will hear more about this from you later.” 33 So Paul left the council meeting. 34 But some of the people joined with Paul and became believers. Among these were Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus council, a woman named Damaris, and some others.
--------------------
Isn't this the more appropriate way to give the Good News? Instead of going in there and condemning everyone to hell about worshipping false idols, Paul looked at one of their statues.. he seen it was 'unknown god' ... then instead of saying "YOUR ALL GOING TO HELL FOR WORSHIPPING FALSE IDOLS! YOUR SINNERS!" -- He instead said with a gentle tone "I see you are all very religious people.. I think I have an answer about who your unknown god is.. you do not know this God personally, but I do.. let me tell you about Him" -- BAM! Drew people in..
Instead of being kicked out by aggressive people with an aggressive approach, he got different response.. some walked away and said he was nuts, some had mixed feelings.. but SOME were saved.[/FONT]
That's just wrong. Very self serving. From personal experience, I had decided long ago that, I wouldn't lie nor would I help someone else perpetuate said lie but I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to knowingly crush the lie in someone elses kid all concerning Santa and the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. If they ask, I won't lie nor will I sugar coat it, IF THEY ASK. I don't walk up to kids and randomly say "Santa isn't real." Then again, if asked, I don't dance around it.
I like to leave it to the parents to tell their kids the truth, If I'm not asked.
I like to leave it to the parents to tell their kids the truth, If I'm not asked.
M
Young children live in a make believe innocent world of
fairies, talking puppets, cartoons, Santa, learning by play etc.
They learn for themselves these things aren't real as they get older.
We all go along with it and it's innocent fun. There is no need for Christians to
be jerks about it and spoil it for them. They soon grow out of it, unfortunately
all too early these days.
I would rather a young child remain innocent of the ways of the world and believe in
Santa for a few years, than start pasting themselves with make up, dressing up sexy
and posing/pouting emulating adults, getting drunk, etc at Christmas time.
Hands up on here if any one was hurt by believing in Santa as a child?
fairies, talking puppets, cartoons, Santa, learning by play etc.
They learn for themselves these things aren't real as they get older.
We all go along with it and it's innocent fun. There is no need for Christians to
be jerks about it and spoil it for them. They soon grow out of it, unfortunately
all too early these days.
I would rather a young child remain innocent of the ways of the world and believe in
Santa for a few years, than start pasting themselves with make up, dressing up sexy
and posing/pouting emulating adults, getting drunk, etc at Christmas time.
Hands up on here if any one was hurt by believing in Santa as a child?
J
I think some kinds of people have an urge to tell everybody the truth and nothing but the truth - the way they see the truth. This urge becomes so urgent that they can't hold themselves and just have to shout it out no matter context they are in. If a buncha kids are in a Mall waiting for Santa, thats a great opportunity to set things straight. Killing the playfulness and the innocent world of the kids aint of no importance to them as long as they have told the Truth.
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I disagree with this. fairies and pretend and make believe, the child and adults all know that it isn't real. Whereas Santa is a perpetuated lie and many kids don't know and the adults in their lives go out of their way to keep them in the dark.
BIG difference. But like I said, I think it is the parents' responsibility to tell their kids the truth and (unless asked) not mine or anyone elses (unless God wants to interviene).
BIG difference. But like I said, I think it is the parents' responsibility to tell their kids the truth and (unless asked) not mine or anyone elses (unless God wants to interviene).
M
Ah but they do know, I honestly cannot think of anyone above the age of maybe 7-8 who
genuinely belives Santa is real. I can't think of anyone either Christian or non christian
who was harmed by believing in Santa for a while when they were young.
By comparison "religious" indoctrination by unbalanced Christians with an extreme
blinkered view
can cause a great deal of harm which lasts long into adult hood.
genuinely belives Santa is real. I can't think of anyone either Christian or non christian
who was harmed by believing in Santa for a while when they were young.
By comparison "religious" indoctrination by unbalanced Christians with an extreme
blinkered view
can cause a great deal of harm which lasts long into adult hood.