Via Jeffrey Osthoff on Google+
Earlier today I read a witty bit of satire on the blog de-conversion, in a post entitled “Salvaging Santa.” But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the approach to Santa depicted in that post – and the approach to faith it was intended to parody – is in fact one that I’d advocate and view positively.
I think it is the fact that some people still approach the Bible or other aspects of traditional religion differently than they approach Santa that is at the heart of the problem – and its solution.
Most people find that they can indeed embrace both science and Santa. Many of the “new atheists” criticize liberal Christians for saying that their religion is not about fact-claims, and is neither against science’s conclusions nor subjectable to scientific verification. Yet many of those same individuals are, I imagine, able to incorporate Santa into the lives of their families. The assumption that Christian faith and Christmas celebration involving Santa are fundamentally different is not necessarily correct – although I can already hear conservative believers and atheists lining up together (as usual) to disagree with me.
Including Santa in Christmas celebration is a way of symbolizing generosity and the “magic” of “the most wonderful time of the year.” But most of us can see that it is a combination of individual, family, community and cultural effort that enables us to have that special feeling at this time of year. One can find places in the world where December 25th is just another day – nothing special, no special feeling. We create that feeling through tradition, ritual, and music – and of course gift-giving and having at least one day off work. But should we allow the fact that one can study Christmas scientifically, sociologically, historically and musicologically – and find no actual literal magic therein – lead us to give up “believing in” and more importantly practicingChristmas? Or is such a conclusion unnecessary, and Christmas – including Santa – something that might be worth preserving even though it can be subjected to the same rationalistic analysis as faith traditions – and seem to come up short in many of the same ways when thus analysed?
For at least many liberal Christians, even many of those who continue to pray as though expecting some outside source to intervene and change things, in fact are reconciled in practice to the fact that, if “miracles” are to occur, it will be through human beings acting and not some inexplicable occurrence. Some of us even consider humans caring for others in some ways “more” of a miracle, but that’s another story.
Of course, as with God, so too with Santa there is a danger that we will use him for ideological or commercialistic ends.
What do you think? While some view similarities between Santa and figures from this or that faith tradition as reasons to reject religion, and others try to emphasize that their central figure is not really like Santa, it seems to me that the similarities in fact do clue us in to what religion is all about – and why it can be worth hanging on to.
That is, more or less, the name of this Romanian Christmas Carol:
Polycarp and Bible Shockers linked to two different news clips about this story. Here’s the one that could be embedded:
There is a funny parody site about ED Theory – i.e. external delivery. This is a great pre-Christmas present. Enjoy!
(ht: Pharyngula)
I have long loved the Christmas decoration that depicts the four phases of life in terms of Christmas. These are:
The Four Stages Of Life:
- You Believe In Santa Claus
- You Don’t Believe In Santa Claus
- You Are Santa Claus
- You Look Like Santa Claus.
These actually correspond quite well to phases in psychological maturation, faith development (Piaget), and interpretation of symbolic stories and myths (Ricoeur). Theologians have embraced these insights down the ages (think of Tillich’s treatment of myth, faith, and truth). Religious leaders who try to keep people insisting on the literal factuality of the stories are actively trying to keep people from growing and maturing in their faith, in the hope that they will be more submissive to their own authority. Jesus, Paul, and the key figures worth listening to down the ages in the history of Christianity (and other religions) emphasize growing in maturity. Indeed, Jesus himself exemplifies this, as I explore in my book What Jesus Learned from Women, which takes as a key starting point the explicit statement in the Gospel of Luke: Jesus grew in wisdom and maturity. (Some translations render that last word as stature. The Greek is ambiguous. Unless you mature in faith and your treatment of texts you won’t cope well with this ambiguity, but it is there inherent in the text).
If you like the four phases you can get it as a physical sign to hang up at the holidays. Of course, it won’t reach you in time for this Christmas, but you’ll get to enjoy it this year, and it isn’t a bad way to use your Amazon gift certificate you received for this Christmas.
You may also want to take a look at my Christmas-themed TikTok videos. My historical work doesn’t keep me from appreciating the stories and celebrating the holiday. Here I am with my family singing some Romanian Christmas carols at our church yesterday, Christmas Eve. We wish a merry Christmas to all who celebrate it, and joy and happiness to all regardless of whether today is a special day or not, and regardless which stage of life you are at. Now, let me get back to being Santa…and yes, looking more and more like him as well.
Previously on this blog:
Here’s what I’m doing at the American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature joint annual meeting in Denver, Colorado. The first of my two papers on Monday 21 November is in session S21-136 of the Q program unit, which will take place from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM in Room 203 (Street Level) of the Convention Center (CC). Here are the title and abstract:
Q as a Source of Knowledge about John the Baptist
In her groundbreaking study Baptist Traditions and Q, Clare K. Rothschild argued that in the Q material in the New Testament we are dealing with teaching of John the Baptist that has been transferred to Jesus. The present paper will argue for a similar yet distinct conclusion, namely that much but not all of the Synoptic material identified as stemming from Q can so plausibly be ascribed to John due to the fact that Jesus was originally part of John’s movement and continued the practices and emphases of his mentor to a larger extent than is typically acknowledged. This conclusion does not preclude the possibility that individual sayings of the Baptist may have been ascribed to Jesus for precisely this reason. The approach adopted and conclusions argued for here, however, support a more wide-ranging conclusion, namely that the teaching of Jesus as a whole (and not only the Q material) constitutes an important source of information about the aims of the historical John the Baptist. This thesis will be supported by close inspection of several sayings attributed to Jesus in Q that cannot easily be ascribed to John because they address the relationship between John and Jesus, yet which indicate that Jesus understood his own message, activity, and authority to be linked to and a continuation of John’s.
Another paper that I will be presenting related to my current research is in session A21-329 of the Traditions of Eastern Late Antiquity Unit program unit. The theme of the session is Texts and Identities in Late Antiquity and it takes place Monday 21 November, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM in Convention Center-109 (Street Level). Here are the title and abstract of my paper:
Michael Paulus will be leading a roundtable discussion of AI 2041 in which I am also a panelist. I blogged about it previously. Here are the details from the AAR program book:
A19-329
Theme: AI and Religion in 2041Saturday, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PMHyatt Regency-Mineral D (Third Level)This roundtable explores the book AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future (Currency, 2021), a work of technical forecasting and speculative fiction by AI expert Kai-Fu Lee and science fiction writer Chen Qiufan. Focusing on religious language, images, practices, and beliefs that are conspicuous in the book’s narratives, roundtable participants will discuss the interrelationship between religion and technology, possible futures for religion and spirituality with artificial intelligence, and the role of speculative narratives in shaping faith.
Also on AI:
Artificial sleep helps an AI retain what it has learned (just as sleep does for humans)
AI 2041 Panel at #SBLAAR22 (and a Conversation with #BlenderBot about Religion)
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