What the (2): Santa, Dutch Sailors and Coca-Cola!

At this point, after reading the title, you are probably thinking ‘I know where this is heading and I get that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus’. I can still remember the excitement as a child, the nativity stories and Christmas craft at school, the photo with ‘Santa’ and the huge wish list of presents. Then there was Christmas Eve with my brothers and the sleepless night before the big day where we got to open our presents and eat all the Christmas chocolates. It was heaps of fun!

As a young boy, I understood that the meaning of Christmas was about the birth of Jesus, which was for some unknown reason really special. “So what”, I thought, “Thousands of children are born every day”. Additionally, Santa, in my warped understanding, was somehow an agent of Jesus in delivering presents to “good” children. Santa was apparently Omnipresent (everywhere) and Omnipotent (all powerful). He saw your every move and was making a long list. Strangely, this was my understanding of God- that he was sitting in heaven demanding unattainable actions from me and marking down my every false move.

What is Christmas all about?

The general consensus is that Christmas is about Santa, family, fun and friends. After doing some research, I found that St Nicholas, or better known as Santa, was a Catholic man who did miraculous deeds (apparently raising many Dutch sailors from the dead). He would donate gifts on Christmas to ‘good’ children and the Dutch called him Sinterklaas, which is how we get Santa Claus.

This phenomenon hit the States when many Dutch sailors, who adored the story of St Nicholas, arrived in New York, spreading his legend everywhere. Coca Cola grabbed hold of the story and used Santa Claus as their Christmas icon. Today, Christmas is really all about Santa and presents.

Jesus, the birth of the King and Saviour

For thousands of years, the Jews had been waiting for a long awaited King who would rescue them and re-establish the Kingdom of God (Genesis 3:14-15; Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Isaiah 9:6). In eager expectation they waited for a child, who would be born of a virgin, born in Bethlehem, from the blood line of David (a Jewish King, see 1st and 2nd Samuel Old Testament), anointed by God as the Christ and would be God incarnate (God in a human body). The Jews had been decimated, as you would notice if you read 1st and 2nd Kings in the Old Testament, not to add the reign of the Greeks and Romans. The Jews long awaited freedom, which would come through this King!

Jesus arrived on the scene about 2 000 years ago, fulfilling all these prophesies, which were predicted in the Old Testament. Jesus was and is the King of the Universe, who came to earth to re-establish the Kingdom of God and rescue all of humanity from their sin. He claimed that every human is sinful and evil and in need of him. The arrival of Jesus was a huge event, which was received both warmly and bitterly. He was ultimately crucified on a cross and resurrected three days later conquering sin, Satan and death.

Santa vs Jesus

So what does all this have to do with the Christmas celebrated today? To be truthful, absolutely nothing! If anything, the story of Santa Claus is totally antithetical to the real Christmas story. Jesus came to give the good gift of eternal life to the messed up, troubled and normal people, contrasted to Santa who gives gifts to ‘good’ people. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of the incarnate God and our saviour and not a fat man who has prejudice against troubled people!

Am I suggesting that we discard celebrating Christmas this year? Absolutely not; Christmas is a great time of year, but I am urging you to reconsider, embrace and present the real meaning of Christmas this year. Why not give your children a gift not from Santa but rather from you, explaining that God gave his children the free gift of eternal life through his Son Jesus; not to good people but people who are broken and in need!

Resource Review: The Message of Creation

I have been reading this fascinating book, which I recommend to those who are interested in the overlap of science and theology. It is a heavy book; essentially this book is a commentary thick with bible references and theological jargon. However, it is understandable if you are willing to learn. Personally, I find this book a gem, as David Wilkinson holds degrees in both theology and cosmology (study of the Universe in its totality).

With the eyes of a theologian and a cosmologist, David Wilkinson explores the message of creation in God's Word. Focusing on the beginning, the songs, the fulfilment, the lessons, and the Lord of creation, he brings the texts into lively conversation with contemporary concerns.

Paperback, 304 pages
Price: Approx. $16.95

Gospel Blog Index (2): August to October

The Gospel Blog was launched in March of this year. To keep everybody up to date, I have created a post with links to all of the articles between the months August to October. I have excluded the Resource Reviews as each review has a separate link in the right hand column of the Blog. I hope this helps you navigate around the Gospel Blog.

The ‘Religion vs Gospel’ series is aimed at examining whether Christianity is truly a ‘religion’ that is proclaiming the same message as the other world religions.
Religion vs Gospel (1): It Stinks
Religion vs Gospel (2): Do all Religions walk the same Path?
Religion vs Gospel (3): Unreligious Jesus for the Religious

Additionally, there is a linking series, which examines the true nature of the biblical ‘Gospel’.
Gospel (1): The Glorious Gospel
Gospel (2): What is the Gospel

The ‘Who was Jesus’ series thus far is a five post series. Do you know the real Jesus or are you relying on popular culture to inform you? This series, which is still in progress, aims at clearly presenting the historical Jesus.
Who was Jesus (1): He is God, the Big Man Upstairs
Who was Jesus (2): He was “the Man”
Who was Jesus (3): The Man on the Cross
Who was Jesus (4): Great Business Man, Brilliant Teacher or Something More?
Who was Jesus (5): Jesus Claimed to be the Absolute Truth

The ‘Owned’ series aims at presenting the impact the Lord Jesus has had on real people living in a tough world. This series currently has three articles:
Owned (1): A Rocker’s Faith
Owned (2): A Thirsty Faith
Owned (3): An Addictive Faith

Professor Richard Dawkins claims that Science has advanced to a level where we can now say that God does not exist. What do you think about these claims? Does Science disprove Christianity? The ‘Science’ series is now into its third article and still building.
Science and Jesus (1): Has Science Buried God?
Science and Jesus (2): Do the Bible and Science Correlate?
Science and Jesus (3): ‘Why’ the Bible and ‘How’ the Science
Science and Jesus (4): Did God create the World in Six Days?
Science and Jesus (5): All Scientists are Atheists... Aren’t they?

Living and doing this life can be full of joy and sadness. In the ‘Life’ series, we examine a couple of life’s tough times in light of the bible.
Life (1): This is my Show!
Life (2): Where in the World can I find Joy?
Life (3): You are Worth more than a Trillion Dollars

Two new series have commenced, the first looking at the different metaphors used in the bible to describe God, and the second is exploring those annual holidays that most people have no idea what they celebrating.
The Metaphors of God (1): Dad’s Global Reconcilation Plan
What the (1): What the Hall is Halloween?
The Gospel Blog Index (1): March to August

There are a range of one of posts (thus far- these may change into a series) dealing with various issues:
Our Righteousness
Love: The Essential Ingredient
Fellowship: Why is it so Important?
Noah and the Ark
Reaching Out

What the (1): What the Hall is Halloween?

A couple of days ago, you would have heard the quite knock at the door with the voice of a youngster calling out “Trick or Treat”! Halloween has become an annual celebration, if you would call it that. But do you have any idea what “Halloween” is all about? Is it evil, or anti Christian or super spiritual, or just another day and excuse to eat lots of delicious junk food?

In Australia, we have many annual celebrations, which most people have no idea what they are celebrating. I am one of these people, so I have made it my mission to reveal the true meaning behind Halloween, Christmas, Easter etc.

Halloween is big business

The name “Halloween” is short for “All Hallows’ Eve”, which celebrated the evening before “All Hallows’ Day”, or ‘All Saints Day’. On ‘All Saints Day’, Christians would gather to remember the lives of famous Christians who served as good role models.

Today Halloween is big business in the U.S. with more than 75% of families giving treats to trick or treaters. There are costume parties, masks, lollies and any other fancy product that goes with this day. For adult, it is another excuse to party and drink away the night.

All Saints Day

As I explained before, ‘All Saints Day’ was about remembering the saints of the past. But, who are these saints? Just recently, we saw Mary Mackillop recognised as a saint, but who are these saints and what do you have to do to be recognised as a saint? The bible, which I hold to be the literal word of God (2 Timothy 3:16) explains that saints are those who believe that Jesus is God, who died on the cross to pay for all their sins (Romans 8:27, 15:25, 1 Corinthians 1:2, 6:1-2, Ephesians 1:1, 15-16, Philippians 4:21-22, Colossians 1:2-4, Philemon 1:5-7, Revelation 5:8). Anyone who loves and follows Jesus is a saint!

Remembering past brothers and sisters in Christ is an awesome thing. If you pick up the bible, a great deal of it is historical narrative detailing the lives of many believers, or saints in Jesus (who is God). However, there is another side to the ‘Halloween’ story.

Pagan ritual

Halloween also represents the underbelly of the spiritual world. The bible explains that there are good spirits (angels who worship God and are his messengers) and evil spirits (who follow Satan). Halloween also includes parts of Pagan ritual, which delve into witchcraft and ghosts – Satanic practice. This arose from the practices of ancient Celtic priests who lived in Western Europe around 300 BC. These priests worshipped the god of death, a celebration which commenced on the 31st October- the Celtic New Years Eve. On this evening, the Celt priests believed that they had the opportunity to connect with the spirits of dead people (demons according to the bible). To protect them from demonic persecution, the priests wore grotesque costumes to trick the evil spirits.

Door to door knocking and pumpkins

The Celtic priests would burn bonfires to ward off evil spirits. Each priest would travel from door to door requesting fuel for their bonfires. Today, this is why people go door knocking asking for candy.

I hated eating pumpkins growing up. This would scare off anyone surely, and this is why the Celtic priests placed candle sticks in these horrible vegetables. Pumpkins with horrible carvings, according to the priests would scare off the evil spirits. Additionally, modern day witchcraft symbolizes the pumpkin as an important and powerful symbol – interesting if you consider this information!

There are many good resources that answer these myth, two that I recommend: What You Need to Know about Halloween and The Facts On Halloween.

Conclusion

I’ll conclude by saying that we live in a world that has a spiritual realm, with both good and evil. Any spirit that confesses Jesus at God and saviour is a good spirit (1 John 2:23, 4:2). Halloween has roots in Christianity, which is good and witchcraft and the a-cult, which are evil. There are Christian roots in the celebration of the saints, so I recommend that if you love Jesus, then reclaim this day for the Lord. I’m dressing up as King David, and my wife is dressing up as Bathsheba. Go with your conscience and honour God with all that you do- amen!

Resource Review: The Facts On Halloween

John Ankerberg, John Weldon, and Dillon Burroughs team up to revise and update "The Facts on Halloween," a significant book from the popular Facts On Series (more than 1.9 million copies of books from this series sold). Known for their extensive research and Bible knowledge, these authors offer readers the essential facts they need to evaluate and discuss today's issues regarding Halloween, a widely popular event in which children and progressively more adults participate. The concise, easy-to-follow information helps readers answer such questions as: When and where did Halloween originate? What customs come from pagan beliefs? What should Christians know if they choose to participate in this event?

Parents trying to establish wholesome family traditions and people who are concerned about this growing holiday will find what they are looking for in "The Facts on Halloween"-easy-to-understand, factual, and relevant information.

Mass Market: 96 pages
Price: Approx. $8.95

This resource, as with all the resources promoted on this blog, are available at Koorong Christian Bookstore (please check out this hyperlink, which will navigate you to their website).