Which myth?

I’d say, tell the child all the religious stories from all cultures, let the kid know there are different people about with different ideas, get the kid involved in the world as it is good or bad

and I will.

Im perfectly comfortable with theology as an historic dialogue.

But I wont cultivate blind faith in my house. Faith MUST be voluntary, not programmed. And there’s no way a 4yr old can make decisions of faith. In fact IMO they cant until they are at least 15, 16, or even 20 in some cases.

GG – that gunman has clearly got a double-barrelled shotgun there and there’s four ‘birds’ down in that foto which would require incredible skill given the air speed of that species. I think that foto might be a fake.

aww poor santa who gets dead santas pressies?

Yeah I suppose it’s a bit harsh Kevevs, but Stoner can soften the blow by claiming that he didn’t mean to kill Santa. It was Rudolf and his mates that he was after – Santa unfortunately just got caught by a stray bullet. I’m sure that Junior will grow up to be a well balanced toff who fully understands the necessity of gallivanting through the British countryside terrorising and slaughtering wildlife 💡

Christmas can be wonderful without awkwardly subscribing to things that you don’t believe/ feel comfortable with. What do you want from it?

Take it away Tim:

Quite moving isn’t it?

Actually, I think that is almost the declaration: Thread closed.

The theologies of both Father Christmas (not Santa, this isn’t Power Cable, Idaho) and Christianity are remarkably similar:

Behave in a way that others tell you and good things will happen (presents/heaven).
Don’t do what you’re told to do then bad things will happen (no presents/hell).

As there is genuine factual evidence of Father Christmas and his belief system (the delivery or non delivery of presents depending on the behaviour of the child) but not one shred of evidence to prove the existence of heaven or hell, it is therefore safe to assume that Father Christmas exists, but God does not.

Hope this helps.

RS – Thats the kind of empirical logic I can work with… 😉

should you really be teaching children that a fat jolly man watches/stalks all year to see if they have been good and he’ll then visit them at night and empty his sack. 😯

alternatively teach them about mithras as it’s his birthday that the zombie jew chappy who couldn’t hold marbles nicked. 😀

good one Kunstler

Wait! Isn’t Santa Claus one of those religious saint types?

Stoner – your OP seems to suggest that the root of this problem is that your wife has faith and you don’t. I don’t feel for a second that Santa and Jesus can’t live in harmony in the mind of your offspring

It’s just one of many idiosyncrasies born of bringing up a child in the UK – it’s normal, it’s expected and why not?

Well that’s you going to hell 😆 😆 😆

The theologies of both Father Christmas (not Santa, this isn’t Power Cable, Idaho)

Pretty sure Father Christmas is an English thing, Scotland use Santa almost exclusively and always have

Childhood is really good, but too short.

White wine in the sun is a lush song. Loved mrs toasts description of Jesus!

Still Santa though, he’s not bothered if you’re queer

Still Santa though, he’s not bothered if you’re queer

What, and Jesus is ? Oh dear, I sense a trip in the Thought Police panda car for that one.

I’ve been collared for expressing that thought crime before.

Lying to your kids 😯 and filling their heads with nonsense, in my book it’s right up there with plopping them down in front of the TV, so they can become well balanced, deranged lunatics in a few years.

We don’t do the kids of this day and age any favours, up until they’re 16 they live in lala land, with no real grasp of the world. Then at 16 they’re supposed to become adults over night 😯 .

I think the point of this time of year is to reflect on what’s happend to us and learn all we can, from our experiences and contemplation and also to strengthen the bonds that we have with the people who make our lives worth living 😀

AKA the people who can loan us stuff when we really need it and the people we trust enough to loan stuff too 😆

HoHoHo!

What, and Jesus is ? Oh dear, I sense a trip in the Thought Police panda car for that one.

The book he’s a character in seems fairly clear on the subject.

Lying to your kids and filling their heads with nonsense………….We don’t do the kids of this day and age any favours, up until they’re 16 they live in lala land

You know kids who believe in Santa until they’re 16 ? 😯

The book he’s a character in seems fairly clear on the subject

A fact not lost on me, as I’ve been chastised for suggesting as much. Something which you might have picked up on had you read the whole post.

School had a go at us when my daughter who was 7 at the time informed class quite casually that Santa was just made up by parents – there were a few tears and angry parents 😯

A fact not lost on me, as I’ve been chastised for suggesting as much. Something which you might have picked up on had you read the whole post.

Ah, I see. In that case I fully endorse your subtle point 🙂

I didn’t believe any of it when I was a nipper.
I didn’t let on………
I knew where the prezzies were hidden! 😈

there’s no place for 7 year old children to have their heads filled with such nonsense as Santa. is there no room on the curriculum at that age for quantum physics or maybe learning about the holocaust ?

Every child should be forced to visit Santa’s grave……..

.

.

😆

What happens when Stoner Jr loses teeth? Does the tooth fairy visit?

He’ll soon work out it’s all tosh. But that doesn’t matter. Kids are are very good at getting enjoyment from things that know are not real, they enjoy going along with the game just for the ride.

As for Jesus nonsense. Kids get a sharp reminder from me that it’s not to be believed and not to waste too much of their attention on it. My 7 year old treats RE as a bit of an irritation, but it’s also part of her education to understand that everything teachers tell her is not necessarily true. She’s getting good at that, it doesn’t stop her enjoying the Nativity play. – It’s a fairy tale.

Having thought about this carefully I think you should teach your child to believe in Tim Minchin . He looks the part and has a lot more that’s good and true about him than either of the Myths

Which one is most likely to leave some biking-related goodies under the tree on the 25th…though i’m very grateful for the other fella for sorting out some holidays at this time of year…

sorting out some holidays at this time of year

he didnt though. He just did the re-branding exercise.

He accpepts Jesus lived

Why?

isnt there sufficient historical record of the existence of some annoying preachy bugger around that time in the middle east?

His 12-strong PR team saw to the rest.

Nope. Hearsay only.

bit more than hearsay though?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicity_of_Jesus

Erm, no.

“There is no evidence for the existence of Jesus that comes from his time—no writings or artifacts of his, no accounts of him written in his lifetime”

Woppit is Stalin…………all “inconvenient persons” are simply deemed to have never existed in the first place

There………………that should sort it out. Simple really.

bit more than hearsay though?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicity_of_Jesus

Stoner I’m not sure if you read the same article as the one you refer to there, because I a haven’t found anything in that article that makes the case for Jesus being any more than hearsay. Funny though because despite being a fundamental atheist, I always thought the the person called Jesus did exist..

der double post

Steady on toys, do not call down the wrath of the one who sees and knows all, upon your unworthy head…

Yeah I think he did that already. I’m shorter than most people..

“There is no evidence for the existence of Jesus that comes from his time—no writings or artifacts of his, no accounts of him written in his lifetime”

There’s, apparently, more evidence for the existence of Jesus than there is for Julius Caesar.

Jesus will do far more damage to your kid’s life than finding out Father Christmas isn’t real at age 9 or whatever.

Father Christmas all the way.