Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
Christmas and the Cross
Christmas and the Cross
Mar 18, 2025 6:23 PM

Two of Eric Shansberg’s recent PowerBlog posts got me thinking of some other things I had run across in the last couple weeks during the run-up to Christmas Day.

The first item, “Santa and the ultimate Fairy Tale,” quotes Tony Woodlief to the effect that “fairy tales and Santa Claus do prepare us to embrace the ultimate Fairy Tale.” Schansberg’s (and Woodlief’s) take on this question is pelling and worth considering, even though I’m not quite convinced of the value of the Santa Claus fable.

I’m still a relatively new parent (I have a three and a half year-old) and so I’m still in the midst of sorting out with my wife the best way to handle questions of the reality of Santa Claus. Until very recently, I had always been of the opinion that honesty is the best policy.

I’ve never liked the idea of putting God and Jesus on the same epistemic level (even if only for the first decade or so of a person’s life) as say, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, or Santa Claus. Rather than “preparing” the child for “embrace of the ultimate Fairy Tale,” it seems to me that such practice can foster a hermeneutic of suspicion, such that when the child finds out Santa Claus isn’t “real” in any empirical sense, he or she will, at least initially, be inclined to lump God in with other “fairy tales.” That kind of approach seems to lead as much to Freud as it does to Lewis.

I don’t mean to be a killjoy. I’m a lover of literature. I am interested (along with Tolkien) in the question of whether the proper pluralization of dwarf is dwarfs or dwarves (I too prefer the latter). I was an English major in college, and I admit to getting a bit teary-eyed when Zooey Deschanel leads a group of hard-bitten New Yorkers in a rendition of “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” at the climax of Elf.

And I agree that we need to cultivate the sense that the realm of empirical science isn’t the only or even the best way of talking about ultimate reality. But again, I’m a bit fortable with the idea that for our children we need to prepare the way for the Gospel with fiction, even well-meant fiction. If my child can’t rely on me to tell the truth about Santa, why should he believe what I have to say about God?

Rather than pointing to how such fairy tales pave the way for belief in the “ultimate Fairy Tale,” I’ve always thought that the youthful belief in Santa underscores the fundamentally fiduciary nature of human beings. We are believing creatures. We basically trust, at least at first, what other people and especially our parents tell us. We aren’t born cynical or un-trusting, but rather dependent and credulous.

This is an important thing to know about humans from a theological and anthropological point of view, but equally important is the recognition of how wrong that credulity can go. We are basically believing creatures, but without the Gospel that belief is corrupted and we create idols for ourselves. Would you say believing in Mardukh, Mammon, and Ba’al “prepare us to embrace the ultimate Fairy Tale”?

All of which leads me to the item I thought of when reading that first post: the famous “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” editorial from 1897. As you might guess from ments above, I have mixed feelings about the editorial, but I thought I’d mend it since it seems so relevant to Schansberg’s point.

The other post of Schansberg’s that caught my attention was his other Christmas Day offering, in which he contrasts the Lord of the cradle, the cross, and the throne, calling for prehensive apprehension of Jesus Christ.

That made me think of this quote from Ed Dobson about Jesus, contained in a story from the Christmas Day Grand Rapids Press (I was out of town so I only got to it over the weekend):

“Everybody loves a baby,” mused Dobson, 58. “But when you start reading the teachings of this baby, and about the sufferings of this baby, you begin to understand better who he is.”

The story goes on in a lot more detail about Dobson’s recent history since retiring from his pastorate at Calvary Church in Grand Rapids. There’s a lot more of interest in that piece.

But his quote speaks quite pointedly to Schansberg’s emphasis on prehensive Christ. We need to know of his birth, death, and resurrection.

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai charged with another violation of Hong Kong’s repressive NSL
Newspaper publisher Lai and six colleagues were charged with printing, publishing, and selling “seditious publications,” this after being convicted on a variety of charges for their anti-Beijing, pro-freedom activities. Read More… Prominent Hong Kong media mogul and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai, along with six of his former staff members, were charged by prosecutors with an additional National Security Law (NSL) violation, this time regarding “seditious publications,” as part of their ongoing trial. Seventy-four-year-old Lai has already been convicted under the...
As SCOTUS mulls Maine religious discrimination case, anxious parents wait across the U.S.
The arguments in Carson v. Malkin have been heard but no decision has yet been made. Will families in Maine receive equal access to funding for private religious schools? Will the religious use/status distinction be abolished? Or will the ghost of James G. Blaine raise its eerie head? Read More… Earlier this month the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Carson v. Makin. The appellants in this case, co-represented by the Institute for Justice and my...
This Advent, the Christmas child calls you and me
Mary’s call and response is a powerful reminder of how Advent calls us to model her in humble obedience and service, whatever our vocation. Read More… We arrive at the Christmas stable. We have prepared. The Christ child e to us—Immanuel. We begin by taking a step back. The candle that is lit for the final Sunday of Advent reminds us of Mary, the one who brings the Lord into the world. The Protestant Reformers reacted against Catholic overemphasis on...
This billionaire from Hong Kong is standing up to China’s oppression behind bars
Jimmy Lai remains strongly rooted: first in his fervent Catholic faith, and second in his unshakable support of freedom. Read More… Hong Kong was once a beacon of opportunity, of democracy. It was a political refuge, a blip in a territory controlled munist China. Seemingly overnight, 7.5 million Hong Kongers have had their freedoms stripped from them by an oppressive Chinese regime intentsilencing any voice of dissent — and that doesn’t mean revoking the odd Twitter account. It means imprisonment...
Resolve this New Year to visit Billy Wilder’s The Apartment
The Big City can be a great place to lose yourself among a crowd, and too often lose your soul. Only love of another can help you find yourself again. Read More… Christmas movies tend to be sentimental, to emphasize the struggles that define our society and our souls, but ultimately they are hopeful and even joyful. Humanity triumphs at the end of the story—for evidence, read my series of essays on The Bishop’s Wife, The Shop Around the Corner,...
Pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai wins one in court, as Hong Kong prosecutor’s appeal is denied
In 2020, entrepreneur and Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai beat back an attempt to prosecute him for “intimidating” a pro-Beijing reporter during a Tiananmen Square Massacre vigil. The prosecution appealed, and has now lost, even as Lai remains in prison convicted on other charges. Read More… Hong Kong prosecutors lost their appeal against a magistrate’s decision in September 2020 that cleared charges against media tycoon Jimmy Lai on “intimidating a reporter from a rival newspaper,” according to the South China...
Acton Rome Fellow is making a difference in Africa
The Rev. Dr. Nicholas Chisongo is just one of many Acton fellows setting out to bring reform to the church and hope to the world. Hear what he has to say on the subject of church finance and canon law. Read More… For over 20 years, the Acton Institute’s Rome office has enjoyed a number of extremely impressive academic fellows as part of its prestigious scholarship programs offered to graduate students at pontifical universities. Aiding in the study of theology,...
Facebook is a symptom of a much deeper Big Tech problem
Facebook changing its name to Meta will not change the fact that all social media platforms make promises they can’t keep. Read More… At this point, most have heard about Frances Haugen, the whistleblower who leaked documents to the Wall Street Journal this fall detailing how Facebook knew about many of the downsides of its platform, yet chose to prioritize engagement. The documents outline, among other things, how Facebook introduced new reactions in addition to the Like button and then...
The American family needs a Miracle on 34th Street now
The ultimate Christmas classic has proved over time to be both prophetic and bitterly realistic. Read More… My Christmas movies series has hitherto considered church (The Bishop’s Wife), work (The Shop Around the Corner), and family (Christmas in Connecticut), munities that constitute America. I’ll conclude with the most famous American Christmas fairy tale of all, Miracle on 34th Street (1947), in which merce, and even marriage are all in trouble, as they are today. The story is straightforward but unpredictable:...
North Korea’s economic and cultural reversals mark Kim Jong-un’s 10th anniversary
COVID and failures at international summits have caused Pyongyang to reverse economic reforms and openness to South Koran pop culture. The future is beginning to look a lot like his father’s past. Read More… Communism has spawned only one full-scale monarchy: the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. On December 17, 2011, 70-year-old Dear Leader Kim Jong-il died. That very same day, Kim’s 27-year-old son, Kim Jong-un, was put forth as the “Great Successor” and surrounded by elderly “mentors” who were...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved