Dr Paul Allen

Santa Claus.  What should Christian parents do with Santa Claus ? What should we do with old St. Nick? As you know, there’s a fourth century Greek historical figure named Saint Nicholas . But most parents are concerned about the mythic, white-bearded, red-suited, reindeer-flying Santa Claus — that guy.  What do you think about Christian parents who allow their children to believe Santa Claus is bringing them gifts on Christmas ?  After Easter , Christmas should be the happiest day of the year in Christian worship. The reason I say “after Easter” is that Good Friday and Easter is the goal of Christmas. The death and resurrection, the salvation of sinners through the death and resurrection of Jesus , is the goal of Christmas. Christmas is not the goal of Easter. Christmas is a means. The salvation of sinners on Good Friday and Easter is the goal. “The salvation of sinners on Good Friday and Easter is the goal of the incarnation on Christmas.” Jesus came at ...

It might surprise many today to find out that Saint Nicholas (spoiler alert) is a real person after all. Is he the white-bearded man with a red suit, a cap, and a sleigh? Not quite, but he probably was bearded, did wear a hat, and did travel in horse-drawn, not reindeer-drawn, transportation. The legend behind Santa Claus is Saint Nicholas, the fourth-century bishop of Myra. His hat was the bishop's mitre. Nicholas was born in modern day Turkey to a rather wealthy family. Losing his parents at a young age, Nicholas dedicated both his fortune and his life to the Christian church. Very quickly he was appointed the bishop of Myra, on the southern coast of modern day Turkey. These were days of persecution for Christians. Roman Emperor Diocletian, who reigned from 284–305, hated Christians and stuffed Roman jails full of them. Bishop Nicholas spent the first few years of the fourth century in jail and faced routine beatings. In the next decade, Constantine legalized Christianity and ...

Icon depicting the First Council of Nicaea. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) William Wordsworth sounds the warning: Sweet is the lore which Nature brings; Our meddling intellect Misshapes the beauteous forms of things: We murder to dissect . Dissecting Christmas carols can be musical murder. Unless the disassembly fits together again more beautifully and more fully felt. That’s my goal. “O Come All Ye Faithful” is near the top of my favorites. As I ponder why, I see it’s because of three marriages in this carol. Heaven and Earth First is the marriage of heaven and earth. Of course, that is what Christmas is: “Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.” But this glorious fact is not what I have in mind. What captures my attention here is that, as we sing, we summon all the faithful on earth to come, and we summon choirs of angels to come — both to see and adore Christ . Verse 1: “O come, all ye faithful. . .” Verse 3: “Sing, choirs of angels . . .” And so the “us”...

English: Santa Claus with a little girl Esperanto: Patro Kristnasko kaj malgranda knabino Suomi: Joulupukki ja pieni tyttö (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Santa Claus was a fourth-century pastor named Nicholas of Myra who was later considered a saint by the medieval Roman Catholic Church . He was a favorite of Dutch sailors who called him, “ Sinter Klaas ” (or “Saint Nicholas”) which then came into English as “Santa Claus.” The modern version of Saint Nicholas bears absolutely no resemblance to the fourth-century pastor from Asia Minor. The real Nicholas did not live in the North Pole. He was not Scandinavian. He did not drive a team of magical caribou. He did not work with elves. Nor did he travel the world every Christmas Eve exchanging presents for milk and cookies. He was a pastor. He worshipped the Lord Jesus Christ . And he would have been appalled at the way his legacy has been used to obscure the true meaning of Christmas. There are several historically-based legends about Ni...