God and Santa

God and Santa

Is the Belief in God the same as the Belief in Santa?

Argument: Believing in God is the same as believing in the Tooth Fairy, Santa Clause, and the Flying Spaghetti Monster (God was invented to make people happy and give hope for the afterlife—a fairytale for grown ups)

Response:
(1) A theist believes in God because the concept of God is the most rational, most reasonable, and most credible explanation for why the universe exists (i.e. why there is something instead of nothing). And a theist believes in God because the alternative makes no sense (it is more credible to believe that an eternal Being, who has no beginning or end, created the universe, as opposed to a random chaotic natural process of events creating everything for no apparent reason). Thus, believing in God is not the same as believing in the Tooth Fairy or Santa Clause (the belief in God is justified, warranted and within reason). To put it another way, it is fair and sensible to say, “The universe has a Creator and Designer because it has life, complexity and design” as opposed to saying, “The universe was not created or designed”

(2) Believing in God is a rational belief supported with reason and evidence (laws point to a Lawgiver, design points to a Designer, life points to a Designer) This cannot be said for the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus (no evidence or reason to believe the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus are real) In other words, the belief in God corresponds with reality and is supported with evidence

(3) Believing in God is not the same as believing in the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus, since there are millions of adults who believe in God, while no sensible minded adult believes in the Tooth fairy or Santa (deliberately created and intended for children). For instance, a person will stop believing in Santa because there is no reason to believe in Santa (when there is evidence that shows Santa was made up), but a person will continue to believe in God (not grow out of believing in God) because God is a rational explanation for why anything exists (a conclusion they arrive after careful thought).

(4) Believing in God is not the same as believing in the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus, as the belief in the Tooth Fairy or Santa has no significance to the way we view life and reality. For instance, most people don’t believe in Santa. But if there was evidence that Santa existed, and everyone knew Santa existed, then it doesn’t really matter. This is because the belief in Santa is not going to change the way people view the world (where we come from, why are we here, what happens after we die). This is different with God (if everyone knew God existed, it would change their perspective by answering the most important questions concerning life and reality). Thus, there are good reasons for why intelligent adults (and children) believe in God

(5) Millions of adults have died for their belief in God, while no adult has ever died for Santa (a sane person may be willing to die for something they believe to be true, but no one would die for something they know to be a lie or made up).

(6) While people don’t identify themselves as aunicorns or asantas, one must ask why anyone would self-identify themselves as atheists if they were really all the same? (the fact that it is only theism which is singled out proves that even atheists know there is a difference). To put it another way, there are people that write books on why God does not exist, and debate others on why God does not exist (atheists). But no one writes books or debates on why Santa does not exist (asantas). Again, this shows that there is a difference between God and Santa. Interestingly, many atheists will say, “I don’t believe in God, in the same way that I don’t believe in Santa”. But if this was true, then they would not self-identify themselves as an atheist, just as they don’t self-identify themselves as an asanta – nor would they waste time writing books on why God does not exist, or wear a t-shirt saying ‘there is no God’ (just as no one wastes time writing books or wearing t-shirts on the non-existence of Santa)

(7) The Christian God is a God that tells people that they will be hated, insulted, mocked, persecuted, rejected by friends, disowned by family, imprisoned, and even face death for worshipping Him, obeying Him, and believing in Him – a God that tells people to obey Him, place Him above everything and must be willing to die for Him. In other words, believing in God is a high cost/requires people to take a bold and courageous stand for their belief; to defend their belief even if it costs them their job, family or even their life (suffering and hardship! Does this sound like a fairytale for grown ups—a story that someone would invent to make them feel happy? No. In fact, many people reject the Christian God and the ‘fairytale’ Bible because they know it is a story that requires them to obey and be very different to the rest of the world (it is not a happy story to be persecuted or face death