Santa

Niall001 · Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2006 2:35 pm Post subject: Santa

Anyway, I can't escape Dawkins this weather.

He's everywhere.

Anway, he was on The Late Late show on an irish station last week (check you tube) and he said that while he did raise his kid to believe in Santa, he might not do it if he were raising her again.

Any other atheists agree with him, even in principle? If you have kids, would you, do you teach them to believe in Santa?

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Mr. Pessimistic · Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2006 3:50 pm Post subject: Re: Santa

I was against the Santa thing personally, but I gave in to the wife on this.

I feel that once we can stop lying to children about any make believe people (actually promoting belief in such as opposed to, say, fun with fictional entertainment) we will be on the way to lessening the impact of other irrational belief.

Mr. P.

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I'm not saying it's usual for people to do those things but I(with the permission of God) have raised a dog from the dead and healed many people from all sorts of ailments. - Asana

The one thing of which I am positive is that there is much of which to be negative - Mr. P.

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George Ricker · Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 2:08 pm Post subject: Re: Santa

I didn't raise my kids to believe in Santa. Then again, I didn't go out of my way to discourage it either. I guess they absorbed the idea from the culture——from their chums at school, aunts, uncles, grandparents and so on.

When they got old enough to ask the question——"C'mon Dad, is Santa real or what?"——my answer was "No."

I went on to explain that it probably wasn't necessary for them to burden their classmates with that bit of information, as it might earn them unwanted confrontations, etc.

My daughter was seven and my son almost six when the conversation occurred. It was never a problem. Didn't seem to bum them out at all. I've always thought they already had worked it out for themselves and were just looking for confirmation.

I did get a chuckle every now and then when one of the adults in their world would start carrying on about Santa and my son or daughter, sometimes both, would smile and nod, humoring the grownups, and give me a big wink on the sly.

I think it's wrong to lie to children, especially about things like that. There might be some justification for shading the truth to spare a child unnecessary pain, but there's no good reason to perpetuate a lie about something like Santa Claus.

George

"Godlessness is not about denying the existence of nonsensical beings. It is the starting point for living life without them."

Godless in America by George A. Ricker

MaesterAuron151 · Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2006 4:53 pm Post subject: Re: Santa

I actually think having and losing the belief in santa might weaken a person's faith not strengthen it.

I for one know that childhood christmases wouldn't have been nearly as fun if I hadn't stayed up late listening for sleigh bells.

To a little kid Santa isn't such an irrational thing to believe it. There's the presents and the bite marks in the cookies.To them thats all the physical evidence they need. As they grow older they're able to see beyond these minor signs and realize its just a little game.

George Ricker · Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 1:56 pm Post subject: Re: Santa

I've heard arguments that belief in Santa is a kind of entry-level religious indoctrination. I've heard others suggest learning not to believe may provide a valuable lesson in the development of a more skeptical turn of mind.

I'm inclined to think it's a bit of both.

When I was a youngster I remember wondering why this old dude in a funny red suit would be bringing me presents. The adult world always cautioned children about accepting gifts from strangers, yet here was this bizarre stranger giving me gifts for no apparent reason. But my parents never invested a great amount of energy attempting to convince me Santa was real. Once I was past the toddler stage, I had pretty well figured things out for myself.

I think if I were raising children today, I might handle things differently. When they asked the question, instead of saying "no," I'd be inclined to turn it around and ask what they thought. What evidence did they have for Santa's existence? How credible was it? What was the evidence on the other side of the argument and how credible was that? That approach might have some lasting value in teaching a child how to approach such things.

George

"Godlessness is not about denying the existence of nonsensical beings. It is the starting point for living life without them."

Godless in America by George A. Ricker

LanDroid · Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 2:16 pm Post subject: Merry Christmas!

edge.org/documents/xmas06_index.html

::59

Frank 013 · Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 11:51 pm Post subject: Re: Merry Christmas!

I remember that I kept my parents thinking that I believed in Santa long after I had concluded that he was not real.

I just did not want the presents to stop coming!

Later

Saint Gasoline · Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2006 2:00 am Post subject: Re: Merry Christmas!

Not that I'm ever going to have kids, but if I ever did, I certainly wouldn't teach them that Santa exists--not that there's anything wrong with doing so. Teaching the existence of Santa Claus can be valuable in teaching critical thinking by getting children to realize that people sometimes make things up.

Anna600 · Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2007 12:50 am Post subject: Re: Merry Christmas!

What...you mean Santa is not real?!!! ::11

Anna600 · Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2007 12:53 am Post subject: Re: Merry Christmas!


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