The 28 ways that Santa Claus Counterfeits the Character and Mission of Christ Jesus

'For Thou Hast Said,....I Will Be Like The Most High'
28 Ways Santa Claus Counterfeits the Character and Mission of Christ

Let the love of Jesus come into your heart and crowd out SIN, THE WORLD AND BABYLON

JESUS CHRIST		SANTA CLAUS
Has white hair like wool.	Rev. 1:14 Dan. 7:9	Has white hair like wool
Beard - curly and white.	Isa. 50:6 Rev. 1:14	Beard curly and white.
Throne is in north of the temple.	Ezek. 1:4 Ex. 26:35 Psa. 48:2 Isa. 14:13	Comes from the North Pole.
Omniscient - all seeing, all knowing.	Rev. 10:6	Omniscient - knows about all.
Ageless, eternal.	Rev. 1:8 Rev. 21:6 Heb. 13:8	Ageless, eternal.
Judgments from book of life death.	Rev.20:12 14:7; 21:27 2 Cor. 5:10	Makes lists of judgments.
Investigative judgment.	Dan. 8:14 Ecc. 12:1 Matt. 10:26 1 Cor. 4:5	Checks list twice.
Salvation by faith that works by love to all in book of life.	Matt. 24:21 Rev. 21:27 Rev. 22:14	Gifts given on basis of a list. (Gifts by works along).
Day of Atonement and forgiveness once yearly.	Lev. 23:26-32	Christmas rewards once yearly.
Confess sins to Jesus.	1 John 2:1 1 Tim. 2:5 Ezra 10:11	Confess wrongs to Santa.
Keep law in Christ's strength.	Jn. 14:15,21 Jn. 15:10 Psa. 119:60 1 Jn. 2:3 1 Jn. 5:2	Promise to be better next year.
Obey your parents in the Lord.	Eph. 6:1 Prov. 6:20 Col. 3:20 Ex. 20:12	Asks children to obey parents to please him.
Takes eyes from man to Jesus.	Heb. 12:2 2 Cor. 4:18 Ps. 141:8	Comes on Christ's Birthday, taking eyes from Jesus to man.
Hour of His coming a mystery.	Lk. 12:40 Mk. 13:33 Matt. 24.36 Acts 1:7	Hour of his coming a mystery.
Christ is the giver of good gifts.	Lk. 11:13 Matt. 7:11 Jas. 1:16-17	Gives good gifts to children.
Called children to His knee.	Matt. 19:14 Mk. 10:14... Lk. 18:16	Calls all children to his knee.
Sits on royal eternal throne.	Matt. 19:28 Matt. 25:31 Heb. 1:8-9 Ps. 45:6	Sits on royal, eternal throne.
Judgments come like a thief in the night.	1Thess 5:2.. Lk. 21:34 2 Pet. 3:10	Visits late at night.
Judgments come in "one day".	2 Pet. 3:8 Rev. 18:8 Isa. 47:9 Jer. 50:27	Swift visitation to whole world in one day.
Omnipresent - desires to be in all!	Ps. 139:7... Prov. 15:3 Jn. 15 Gal. 2:20	Omnipresent - in every shopping mall.
Only God is good and can impart obedience.	Matt. 19:17 Psa. 25:8 Col. 1:29	Be good for goodness sake.
Eyes likes flames of fire.	Rev. 1:14 Rev. 2:18	Has a twinkle in his eye.
Wore red robe stained with blood.	Matt. 28:38 Rev. 19:13	Wears a red suit.
Comes in clouds of heaven.	Acts. 1:9-11 Rev. 1:7	Comes in cloudy winter sky.
Throne moved by powerful angels.	Ezek. 1 Rev. 4:2-10 Ps. 104:3-4	Sleigh powered by mystical powerful reindeer.
Lives in sparkling, clear city.	Rev. 21:18..	Lives in sparkling ice palace.
Served by millions of angels.	Rev. 5:11 Dan. 7:10 Heb. 12:22	Served by many alien elves; origins unknown.
Only giver of righteousness.	Rom. 3:10 Rom. 5:19 Rom. 10:4 1 Cor. 1:30	St. Nick - Name implies he has righteousness of himself.

The doctrine of Santa Claus is one that really touches my heart. Before we begin, I want to say that I am not a Jehovah's Witness, have never been and never will be. I just feel strong about the lie of Santa Claus. If you've read the table about this, you have seen that Santa is really a counterfeit of the life and mission of Jesus Christ. Why would the devil go through so much trouble to create such a character as Santa? Well, to answer that question, let's look at three things that we are commanded to do and not to do.

So the answer to the question above is Satan perpetuates the idea of Santa Claus in order to discredit Jesus and try to replace Him in the minds of our young children. Satan knows that if you corrupt the children while they are young, you can corrupt them easier when they are older. Now let's explore in more depth how the idea of Santa goes against the three commandments listed above.

After reviewing the chart above, it really can't be argued that Santa Claus is a counterfeit of the life and mission of Jesus Christ. Since this is true, and since he is a false Christ, then he must be a false god that is worshipped. He only is adored on the same day that we worship the true Christ; Jesus.

Another way that Santa supplants the true God is in the giving of gifts. As believing Christian adults we can understand the gifts that we have received from our Lord. We've live long enough to know that this world is not such a great place and that it can be downright hostile to it's inhabitants. We know that we have been given eternal life. We know that we have the gift of the Holy Spirit and forgiveness through the blood of Jesus our Lord. We know these things and understand them. Children however (especially when they're very young) know only what they directly receive. They're not aware of mitigating circumstances and frankly, they don't care about them. They only know that mom or dad are happy or sad. They don't know that dad is in a bad mood because he had a lousy day at work, or mom is sad because dad is mad. They also can't grasp all of the technical details of the Christian Faith. If they are given a choice between understanding God's love and a brand new toy, they'll choose the toy. That is why Santa has such a impression on kids, they usually get what they want, and they get it when they want, under the guise that some great old man who cares about them supplied the gift to them.

I'm not saying these things through lack of knowledge. I can remember being a child and being difficult at times. As Christmas approached I knew that I had to be nice so that I could get gifts at Christmas. We were told that if we were bad we would get coal instead of gifts. As time drew closer to Christmas we were constantly reminded that we had to be good or Santa wouldn't visit our house. We walked the straight and narrow the days before the event. When Christmas finally arrived the last thing on my mind was the birth of Jesus Christ or anything pertaining to God. Sure we went to church on that day, but the only thing on my mind was getting home to play with my toys again. Whenever I think of those times I am reminded of the scripture:

Teaching or allowing a child to believe in Santa Claus causes him or her to serve two masters. Because a parent is responsible for a child's actions and spiritual development until that child reaches the age of accountability there are grave implications for the parent of any child who allows Santa to come into their child's life. First, that adult loses credibility with their child, and second, we have the words of Jesus where corrupting children is concerned:

The word suffer in the Greek means to "send without hindrance." I can see no greater hindrance to a child's walk with Jesus Christ than to introduce the doctrine of Santa into their lives. It causes them to choose between Jesus Christ and the god of this world. I shudder to think of the anger that God feels when this is done.

A graven image is a likeness that is created in order to be worshipped. A word search resulted in many scriptures where it is used, but we will look at only one at this time:

So we are told not to make any image to worship, whether it be of a person or any animal because this is an offense to God. Yet, every year, Christian kids are taken to see the most heinous graven image that there is (Santa) and it is dismissed as just some fancy that is harmless. Even worse yet, is that this graven image isn't inanimate, it walks, talks and promises gifts to the children. It is an imaginary image that is made up every year to deceive children and to ruin their faith in Jesus Christ.

Yet the world isn't satisfied by corrupting children with Santa, they have to add other items to make the pot sweeter and complete the deception. They add mystical flying reindeer who can shuttle Santa on a whole world visit in one night and innumerable mysterious creatures called elves who produce the gifts and cater to Santa.

Every year Christians put graven images around their homes. Christmas trees are one example. Manger scenes on front lawns have been replaced with images of reindeer pulling sleds, elves, snowmen and other icons that have absolutely nothing to do with the birth of God incarnate some two millennia ago.

Let's do a little comparison of all these things. Let's look at candy versus fruits and vegetables. Let's have an imaginary store that is split in half, one half being a candy store and the other half specializes in fruits and vegetables. You take your child into that store and guess where that child will go every time? That child will gravitate to the candy side. That's because candy is pleasing to the taste buds and you can never get enough of it. What is the result of this action? Well candy, while it is pleasing to the taste is made up mostly of sugar. What are the effects of high sugar consumption? To start off, it aids in the progression of tooth decay because the bacteria that lead to this condition love sugar as much as your child does. Sugar has no real nutritional value and stinks as a food source. Excess sugar consumption can lead to obesity and even diabetes. Fruits and vegetables on the other hand are full of vitamins and minerals. They help the body to grow strong and healthy, aid in correct digestion and are wonderful to eat once the taste buds become accustom to them. The choice between the two groups is sickness and health.

In the same way the choices that we make in our lives lead to our spiritual sickness or health. Choosing Santa is like choosing the sweet shop. It is cute, the politically correct thing to teach your kid and it satisfies the desire for sweetness. But, what does it do to the soul one has to ask. It doesn't satisfy one's soul or spirit, it doesn't allow a child to grow up strong in Jesus or have a healthy relationship with him. The doctrine of Santa is poison for a child's soul and causing them to worship a graven image. On the other hand, keeping a Christ centered Christmas shows a child that their parents aren't dualists, it shows that there is only one true Christ and it doesn't lead to other problems down the road.

It is every parent's dream to have a child that will honor them. It is inherent in most children to disobey. This is due to the sin nature that we are all born with. We are slaves to that nature until we come to faith in Jesus Christ. Children like to emulate their parents. They do this because parents are authority figures and children (for the most part) respect authority figures. If the parents are moral and just, the kids will tend to want to become like their parents.

Any psychologist will tell you that the first few years are the formative years in a child's life. It is during those years that the foundation of their personalities form. They're sort of like potters clay. When the clay is brand new it is easily moldable and pliable. The longer it is out in the open the harder it gets to work. After a few days it is dry and begins to harden and you can no longer work with it. What ever shape it has taken by that time is the shape it will retain forever.

So where the doctrine of Santa is concerned in a child's life, it is important to present the truth right from their earliest years. If a child's foundation is built on lies how stable is that foundation. Think about it for a minute or so. The very people that a child trusts with their well being, the people who are most important to them in the whole world lie to them about some imaginary mystical creature who supposedly has every attribute of the Lord Jesus Christ. They build this creature up to be sort of a savior to the child, then when the child least expects it, they are told that it was all just some fabrication. Then the child is told that all children believe this until a certain age and then are told the truth. And I'm sure that some parents struggle about how they will tell their children the truth; that there is no Santa Claus, when it all could have been averted by not starting the whole mess to begin with.

Now, how could this carry over into the later development years of a child. The simple answer to that is that the child will always retain a deep seated thought that their parents don't know what they are talking about. After all, one of the first things that their parents did to them is tell them a lie about Santa Claus. So why should the child have some unwavering belief that their parents are truthful when the child is told that they shouldn't talk to strangers. Why should the child believe that they shouldn't experiment with drugs, alcohol, or sex. Why should they believe their parents when the parents question the company that the child is keeping. And finally, why should they believe their parents when they are told about God.

Now I know that some of those reading this are probably saying that I am wrong. They will say, "not my child," or "my kids won't be that way," but how can anyone be sure about the future. How can anyone be sure that a foundation that is built on the sand will all of a sudden become a firm foundation built on the rock. If you're building on the sand then you can't be sure.

Well, if you've read this and you don't think that I am a stark raving lunatic, then perhaps what has been written in this document has touched your heart. I'm sure that there are a lot of Christians who have practiced the doctrine of Santa without ever giving it a second thought. I know that my parents (especially my mom) really got into the Santa stuff and she's a good person. I know that she did it out of ignorance and that she didn't purposefully try to corrupt my young mind. I know that when my dad dressed up as Santa for a couple years he only did it to entertain his kids. But I always knew that there was a doubt in my mind as to if what they were telling me throughout my early years was really true.

Now I'm not a Freudian and there is no way that I am going to blame my parents for all of the ills that I have suffered, mostly by my own hard heart and rebellious attitude. That would be unfair and a total lie. Where Santa was concerned, they were simply doing what they thought best and they never really knew the truth. It would have been nice if there would have been information like this that they could read and that would have stimulated their hearts and minds into thinking about what they were doing. But, there weren't such things and my parents weren't "born again," at the time, so they had no guidance by the Holy Spirit. But there are many who are born again and have some strange nagging feeling about having Santa Claus invade Christmas. If you have children it's best not to indoctrinate them in the Santa doctrine. If you have children who believe in Santa you might feel trapped, not knowing a way out of your situation. Below are a few ideas that you might want to consider.

You might want to start out by telling your kids the truth, right away. You might want to start out by telling them that sometimes mommies and daddies make mistakes and that you didn't know any better. You might be surprised at how well they understand and forgive. And remember, if they see their parents as humble and contrite, they will want to be that way too. God loves humble and contrite hearts.

The kids will probably bring up the fact that all of the other kids go to see Santa and get presents from him; which might make you speechless. When presented with such questions, my mother would always ask me if I would jump off of the Empire State Building if the other kids did and that always made me recant what I had said. From a Christian perspective though, it would probably be better to explain that God has called your family to be special and holy and that because God is your father, you have to obey Him. This would be a perfect opportunity share a salvation story with your children from the Bible. Some stories could be how Moses had to stop being a prince of Egypt because of his faith in God, followed up with how God used him and blessed him. Or perhaps you could include Jesus' life and how he was set apart and special. There are tons of such stories in the Bible.

About a month before Christmas all of the media start to assault kids with ads on television, radio and paper articles. It seems that every commercial on television deals with toys that appeal to young minds. There will invariably be some sort of movie that comes out around this time that has some sort of corrupt theme about the holiday too. Because television is so ingrained in the lives of children these days it may be hard to get them away from the video beast. There are many activities to get them away from the television. The most important would be Bible centered games or perhaps reading. Now we all know that kids have short attention spans and that sort of stuff will only stay them for a little while. One thing I know for sure though is that kids love to do things with their parents. If the family is musical then fill the time with music. Little girls like to do things with their moms so perhaps arts and crafts fit the bill, or if they are old enough teach them sewing or needlepoint. Little boys like to hang out with dad, so perhaps some hobbies would be nice. They could build models together, or work out in the garage together. Little boys are even willing to hold flashlights or tools for dad while he works around the house. If the child doesn't do too well in some subject in school work on it with them. Don't be a teacher though; get involved. If you do have to use the television as some sort of babysitter then rent videos that have Christian themes. Most Christian book stores and many churches have video libraries that you can access and the fees that they charge for renting movies are quite reasonable. There are probably a lot of other things that I've missed here, but I say that if you have an imagination, use it.

Kids associate Santa Claus with gift giving and if not done properly, the giving of gifts will keep Santa alive in their thoughts and imaginations. It's best to start out by making it a totally Christ Jesus centered holiday. Going to church is very important in that it enforces to our children that there are other families like your own. It helps them to know that your family is just one part of a larger family; God's family. Gift giving should be done in a practical manner, not only from parent to children but also from parent to parent. Toys are a waste of time and money and they break too easy. One or two toys are okay, but emphasis should be made on articles that are needed, not on things that are wanted. This might not be received easily by the child, but the notion should be enforced that the giving of gifts during Christmas is to celebrate the great gift (Jesus) that God gave to us. It should also be explained that God gives us when He knows we need and not necessarily what we tell Him we want. You can tell them that you as their parents want to emulate God because you love Him and want to be like Him.

Look at some of the things that you do at Christmas and see if they're really Christ centered. There are many icons that we hang around the house or things that we set out at Christmas that have absolutely nothing to do with celebrating the birth of our Messiah. If you are interested in reading about some of those icons and their origins then click here to go the site map which links to that article.

If you've gotten this far in the article I would like to thank you for reading my thoughts and reflections about Santa Claus. I did not write it to be judgmental of anyone and I hope that you believe that. I just know how Jesus feels about children and I know what He's said about his feelings toward those who lead them away from the truth. As we draw closer to the close of the Age of Grace God is calling His People to walk in holiness, and we can't do that if we walk in the ways of the world, or hold to perversions of His truth. Santa is one such perversion and has no place in the celebration of the birth of Jesus, our Messiah. The Lord bless you as you pursue righteousness and holiness.