Santa Claus: the false god

Most of you are probably familiar with the song “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” written by J. Fred Coots and Henry Gillespie early in the 20th Century, but have you ever examined the lyrics to the song? The character they portray (Santa) bears a striking resemblance to the Lord Jesus.

If you have been lying to your children about Santa Claus, you have been encouraging a belief (if even just “in fun”) in a false christ. If you are a Christian, “for goodness’ sake” repent of this nonsense and spend your time extolling Jesus and leave the idols to the lost.

The following Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version, and the lyrics are from Christmas Songs.

It is not only remarkable to me the number of ways Santa rips off Jesus, but there are several notable similarities between Santa’s yearly coming and the anticipated return of the Lord Jesus. If you give children yearly encouragement to expect the coming of someone who never comes, how much patience can we expect them to show regarding the return of the Lord Jesus?

You better watch out
“Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming,” Matthew 24:42.
You better not cry
Better not pout
“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready,” Revelation 19:7.
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” Revelation 22:20.

He’s making a list,
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who’s naughty and nice.
Santa Claus is coming to town

“And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire,” Revelation 20:12,15.

He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake

“The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men,” Psalm 33:13.
“Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You,” Psalm 139:12.
“I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left,” Luke 17:34.
He knows if you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!

“O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, you know it altogether,” Psalm 139:1-4.

Those are just a few of the similarities that can be found between Santa and Jesus, leading to the undeniable conclusion that Santa Claus is a false christ and has no place among Christians anymore than Satan himself. For a thorough comparison of thirty-seven different traits, check out James W. Knox’s booklet Santa Claus: The Great Counterfeit.

3 thoughts on “Santa Claus: the false god”

  1. Hahaha! I love this! I think it is creepy how it is so similar. And I agree, I don’t think we should promote the Santa as he is promoted. Possibly, we should understand that he is a fictional character based off St. Nicholas, who was charitable and gave gifts to children at Christmas time? I don’t know, if anything, that is what I would do with my children, if I have them. Of course, I would still teach them the biblical aspect of Christianity, ensuring that they know it is true. But, I won’t leave out the truth of the modern version of Christmas, either. Anyways, this is just my thoughts on the matter. :) Enjoy!

  2. This is a really tough one. I have herd both sides of this argument and Christians I know are very passionate about each one. It’s easy if you don’t have children I guess (which I don’t) but as a youth leader it is still an issue.

    Do you have Father Christmas (as us Brits like to refer to him) at your Church Christmas party for example. I’m going to sit on the fence and hope that somebody else makes the decision this year *smile*

    Maybe this has a deeper root? Maybe the fact that Christmas is basically a pagan festival that us Christians have hijacked and tried to re brand basically means we are actually fooling only ourselves. Maybe I’m just waffling *smile*

    Is this any different from the way Halloween is treated in the U.S. (increasingly in the U.K. too)? Is it just a bit of fun, or is it something more sinister that we should be warey of? Just some thoughts. Great post.

  3. Personally, I think both Christmas and Halloween are very good times to spread the Gospel. People already do it, from what I hear, anyways.

    “Maybe the fact that Christmas is basically a pagan festival that us Christians have hijacked and tried to re brand basically means we are actually fooling only ourselves.”

    Oh, I don’t know if it is basically a pagan festival. In a sense, sure, but when we bring to light the truth of Christmas, it isn’t. I dunno, like you, I’ve heard both sides, somewhat. I think this is one of those disputable matters that Paul talked about that should be decided upon by the Christian himself or herself. Granted, I do believe we should declare what Christians believe Christmas to be all about, but whether one practices it as it is commonly done or not, that should be up to the individual. Unless, someone can provide me with sound biblical evidence that says we should not take part in this holiday.

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