Transitioning From Santa Clause To God

[Stayed Too Long]

As a child, Santa Clause brings us gifts he promises to deliver if we are a good boy. Throughout the year, little Johnny anticipates what Santa will bring him Christmas morning, all for cleaning his room and emptying the garbage. He is reminded by his parents of the consequences Christmas morning, if the garbage is not taken out on time.
And low, and behold, long before dawn, he awakens, runs down the stairs, and spots the shiny new toy waiting for him under the Yule tide tree. All his good works have been worth it…Santa does reward good behavior.

Then, little Johnny figures out Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, and Tooth Fairy are nothing more than a figment of his imagination. But, then there is always God, who will save you, and reward you with heaven, if you are a good boy, and do what he demands. Throw in some crowns given out to  at the resurrection, and more kudos for rightly dividing His word, and you will be set for all eternity. 

One can only imagine the horrible fate that awaits those who do not heed the instructions you have been entrusted with by God. Those who do not have access to the words and illistations you have received, will surely suffer a horrible life after death. Unknowingly, they have condemned themselves to eternal damnation. 

If this were the actions of mother or father of a child here on  earth, they would be, at the least, prosecuted  for child abuse. But, somehow, people cling to this abusive God? 

 

[Nathan_Jr]

I thought Victor taught those who reject his teachings won’t got to hell or eternal torment, they’ll just go to sleep for the 2nd and final time. No passing GO. No crowns. Just unbelieving sleep forever.

I’m probably misremembering. It’s hard to keep up with all the bull$hit dogmatic doctrine. I need to renew my mind to remember accurately. Surely, someone can correct me, as one might correct a dog

[Rocky]

6 hours ago, Stayed Too Long said:

Then, little Johnny figures out Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, and Tooth Fairy are nothing more than a figment of his imagination.

Santa Claus is REAL. Not a real person at this time, but a real cultural entity. Culture is real. Culture is an important aspect of humanity.

He's the central figure in a cultural story.

So is God.

 

Edited July 23, 2022 by Rocky

[waysider]

22 hours ago, Nathan_Jr said:

I thought Victor taught those who reject his teachings won’t got to hell or eternal torment, they’ll just go to sleep for the 2nd and final time. No passing GO. No crowns. Just unbelieving sleep forever.

Hence the term, "Empties floating by".

[cman]

Maybe it's time to grow up and out of using the imagination to point at extraneous material gain, blaming everyone else, and point that imagination at yourself and soon to learn that peace, prosperity, joy, love, hope, faith is there for you when the reality of what has been done in you begins to surface.

[Stayed Too Long]

4 hours ago, cman said:

Maybe it's time to grow up and out of using the imagination to point at extraneous material gain, blaming everyone else, and point that imagination at yourself and soon to learn that peace, prosperity, joy, love, hope, faith is there for you when the reality of what has been done in you begins to surface.

I really don’t know what you are attempting to say or what your message is from your post. 

My hope is, at the point people stop believing in Santa and the rest of his made up gang of rabbits and fairies, they do not trade them in for a god who is just as illusional.  Believers site accounts for his existence from a book written centuries ago that absolutely no one can agree upon what it really says or means. There are as many interpretations of this scroll as there are colored eggs found on Easter morning. There are more ways discovered in the bible  to enter heaven than there are nickels and dimes found under the pillows of children losing  a tooth. 

I just purchased a bread machine, and there is no indication from anyone, that it can be used to build a privacy fence or pilot an aircraft. The interpretation of what is does is quite clear, bake beautiful bread. The same accuracy is absolutely missing ftom the bible.
 

 

Edited July 24, 2022 by Stayed Too Long

[cman]

Reminds me of Scrooge who didn't realize he had so much to give until he saw his own tombstone. Most people won't see much until they die, which is not a bad thing, just happens like that. Old Scrooge died that day, and things changed inside of him.

[Rocky]

4 hours ago, Stayed Too Long said:

My hope is, at the point people stop believing in Santa and the rest of his made up gang of rabbits and fairies, they do not trade them in for a god who is just as illusional.  Believers site accounts for his existence from a book written centuries ago that absolutely no one can agree upon what it really says or means. There are as many interpretations of this scroll as there are colored eggs found on Easter morning. There are more ways discovered in the bible  to enter heaven than there are nickels and dimes found under the pillows of children losing  a tooth.

That's a HUGE hope. My understanding is that you may have unrealistic expectations. May I suggest pursuing cultural knowledge and understanding to grasp how our culture came to believe and incorporate stories of Santa Claus and God into it.

 

5 hours ago, cman said:

Maybe it's time to grow up and out of using the imagination to point at extraneous material gain, blaming everyone else, and point that imagination at yourself and soon to learn that peace, prosperity, joy, love, hope, faith is there for you when the reality of what has been done in you begins to surface.

STL, what CMAN may be trying to say is that much of what we do in our mind is use our imagination. In doing so, perhaps we each can decide what we want to try to understand in this life and pursue things in that direction.

Btw, CMAN's follow up citing Scrooge is an example thereof. Scrooge IS a character in a story. In that regard, Scrooge is real, even though the story is fictional and was a product of the imagination of Charles Dickens documented in Dickens' novella, A Christmas Carol.

Fiction is often something untrue used to communicate things that are actually true.

There is no way humanity will ever give up on stories. Stories ARE humanity and the way humanity communicates most efficaciously.

[Rocky]

Cultural literacy

Quote

Social literacy is an understanding of how our prevailing culture works, what the norms of our culture are, and at least a knowledge of how our subcultures are different from the main culture and why this is so.

I don't know this author's politics or religion, just that he coined the expression cultural literacy more than three decades ago.

 

[Stayed Too Long]

6 hours ago, Rocky said:

That's a HUGE hope. My understanding is that you may have unrealistic expectations. May I suggest pursuing cultural knowledge and understanding to grasp how our culture came to believe and incorporate stories of Santa Claus and God into it.

I have no desire to look at the cultural understanding of Santa Clause or Jesus Christ in relation to the non existence of god. They can be at the center of the universe and it will not make them anymore real. They are a complete fabrication.
Murder is completely acceptable in various sub culturals of life. If someone is attemting to convince them it is wrong, would it be appropriate to justify it by saying, “looking at the cultural knowledge and understanding to grasp how its culture came to believe and incorporate stories of murder into the cultural?”
I believe that would  be completely foolish, just like trying to justify god in our cultural. He never has nor ever will exist, no matter what culture believes.
I have sited many examples of the hypocrisy inherent in the bible, but you do not want to even acknowledge they exist, let alone try to explain them.

If you are a Roman Catholic, you believe you will only reach heaven if you are water baptized, and tell your sins to a man and hope he will forgive you. If you are a Baptist, you will go to heaven if you only believe on Jesus, because salvation is not of works. 
Which one is right? They are so completely at odds with each other. And theses are only two of the options people claim is in the bible. 

Edited July 25, 2022 by Stayed Too Long

[Rocky]

Okay, so all you really wanted to do with this thread was to rant. I suppose that's acceptable in this particular (sub) culture.  

[Rocky]

11 minutes ago, Stayed Too Long said:

I have s cited many examples of the hypocrisy inherent in the bible, but you do not want to even acknowledge they exist, let alone try to explain them.

Why would I want to explain hypocrisy in the bible? It wouldn't change either your mind or the content of the bible, right?

Are you trying to get me to tell you that you are right and everyone who believe what's in the bible is wrong?

That's not how I look at it. But I AM confident that you already believe you're right and everyone who believes in what's in the bible is wrong. What more is there to say about it? 

 

15 minutes ago, Stayed Too Long said:

If you are a Roman Catholic, you believe you will only reach heaven if you are water baptized, and tell your sins to a man and hope he will forgive you. If you are a Baptist, you will go to heaven if you only believe on Jesus, because salvation is not of works. 

Which one is right? They are so completely at odds with each other. And theses are only two of the options people claim is in the bible. 

Believe it or not, there are people who believe there are more possibilities than that. But if you don't believe what's in the bible, why do you frame your question in terms of what you believe is in the bible?

Frankly, I don't think it matters to anyone other than you or me what you believe or what I believe.

[Stayed Too Long]

56 minutes ago, Rocky said:

Okay, so all you really wanted to do with this thread was to rant. I suppose that's acceptable in this particular (sub) culture.  

You can call it a rant or anthing you want. The subject of the thread is comparing god to the Easter bunny, the tooth fairy, and Santa Clause. I set forth my reason for the thread, and anyone can chose to respond to, or ignore it. But don’t expect me to dance around what I said because some cultural context is thrown out as a way justifing belief in something that doesn’t exist.

[Stayed Too Long]

M

Edited July 25, 2022 by Stayed Too Long

[Stayed Too Long]

1 hour ago, Rocky said:

M

Edited July 25, 2022 by Stayed Too Long

[Rocky]

11 hours ago, Stayed Too Long said:

You can call it a rant or anthing you want. The subject of the thread is comparing god to the Easter bunny, the tooth fairy, and Santa Clause. I set forth my reason for the thread, and anyone can chose to respond to, or ignore it. But don’t expect me to dance around what I said because some cultural context is thrown out as a way justifing belief in something that doesn’t exist.

1) I affirmatively do not expect you to either dance or change your belief/understanding of the issue.

2) My intent was absolutely not justifying anything. Nevertheless, beliefs are real cultural phenomena whether you believe them or not. If you're not curious, you're not curious. No doubt there are millions, if not billions of people just like you on that point.