God is just Santa Claus for adults - Thought Catalogue 3
An article from Thought Catalog (link at the end) proclaims at point 3 that God is just Santa Clause for adults. The atheist makes 13 ‘blindingly obvious points’. Let me just deal with the first four which are representative. But before that, I’ll comment on the Santa Claus assertion.
God as Santa Claus
The title of their point is revealing. Their understanding of God is that he is primarily (only?) concerned with whether people have been good or bad and he gives out presents or not, accordingly.
A insightful critique involves knowing something about the subject. So, let’s do a comparison between the claims about the Christian God and Santa Claus. This doesn’t make these claims about God (or Santa) true. But it is worth seeing if the comparison is a good one.
Creator God - maker and sustainer of the heavens and the earth and everything in them. Greater than all that exists and an infinite Spirit.
Santa Claus - maker of toys.
Creator God - holy and awesome making humanity for an eternal relationship with himself and providing the way into that relationship by coming in the person of Jesus.
Santa Claus - a giver of toys.
Creator God - revealed down through history by prophets, the nation of Israel and then finally in Jesus, accepted by mainstream historians as a figure of history. This is based on the sources found in the New Testament, among others. Myth turns out to be an adult reality.
Santa Claus - known to be a myth that you grow out of.
Now to some of the statements
Statement
1. “It’s blindingly obvious that all world religions are the product of extremely ignorant (not stupid) near-barbarians who didn’t understand much about the world around them and made up stories to explain things the best they could.’
Response
I can’t speak for all the world’s religions. But let me share with you just one paragraph of the Christian scriptures exploring the view of some ignorant near barbarians and you be the judge.
Solomon’s prayer from 1 Kings 8 in which he dedicates the temple in Jerusalem to God.
“But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.
This is a highly sophisticated picture of God. It recognises that the creator God does not dwell on the earth. And nor is he contained by the highest heavens for he is the Creator. If he created them, then he must be greater than in some way (note Genesis 1:1). But this great divine being is willing to listen and has set aside a place where people can engage with him and seek forgiveness. Does Solomon strike you as a near barbarian? And ignorant? And all this shared in an incredibly sophisticated temple.
Statement
2 It’s also blindingly obvious that most people who say they believe in God believe in the God that is worshipped by the culture in which they grew up. And everybody is convinced that their religion is the only ‘right’ one. They can’t all be right, but they can certainly all be wrong.
Response
If this is true then Christianity would not have spread. Ever. But currently, 2 billion people say they are Christians in one form or another from every continent and culture of the world. If the above argument is true then all of these 2 billion people are the direct descendants of the small community of original disciples and grew up in an unchanging culture since 30-100 AD.
The reality is that Christianity spreads through persuasion and reasoning.
As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. Acts 17
Statement
3 It is also blindingly obvious that the universe is just too vast and full of stuff not in any way related to humans to seriously believe that it was all made just for us and that we are the pinnacle of all creation.
Response
Now, I grant that the incredible size of the universe ought to fill us with awe. And I grant that it ought to make us realise how tiny and fragile we are. But neither of those is directly connected to meaning and significance.
For it is a strange argument - that size equates to meaning. The argument is - because something is very, very big it is impossible for it to have a specific meaning. But this isn’t true. Take a marriage of 50 years that is filled with vast and immeasurable moments. Yet it finds its specific meaning in just a handful of spoken words made 50 years earlier. Or take our DNA. Small? Impossibly small. Significant? Absolutely.
The second strange argument isn’t an argument. It’s an assertion. ‘Since I can’t see how all the stuff in the universe is related to humans it mustn’t be.’ That’s a bold assertion with, dare I suggest, a lack of humility.
Statement
4 It is also blindingly obvious that the religious beliefs of today are substantively the same as every other discarded superstitious belief of the past. If it’s silly to believe in Thor and Osiris, it’s just as silly to believe in Allah or Jehovah.
Response
Oh dear! Regarding Christianity, this atheist needs to get off youtube and read some history books. They could read Dominion by Tom Holland. Or Destroyer of the Gods by Larry Hurtardo. Or, they could read some of the Ancient Greek myths and then read one of the gospels about Jesus. Just a few pages would do.
You could read the rest of the assertions on the Thought Catalogue article. On the whole, they seem strong and clear until you give them an intellectual poke and then they fall apart.