Santaclauszation
 
Dear Friends:
 
 In the beginning, God said, "Let us make man in our

image, after our likeness." Ever since then, man has

created God in his own image. During the Middle Ages

in the age of tyrannical kings and popes, God was

created as a cruel and angry deity against who man

needed protection. Patron saints and the Virgin Mary

were called upon to fill this need.







As of late, it appears that man is recreating God

again to the other extreme. For this new creation of

God, I have coined a new word - the "santaclauszation"

of God. What is the definition to "santaclauszation"?

It means to become like Santa Claus.







God has been recreated to be like the jolly old elf.

At one point at time, Santa just brought gifts to good

girls and boys. Have you ever heard of Santa bringing

coal to the neighborhood brat? Santa is jolly,

benevolent, never angry and gives gifts to anyone and

everyone regardless of whether they were good or bad.

He may "see you when your sleeping and know when

you're awake", and "know when you've been bad or good"

but he really doesn't care. He just loves everyone.







Shortly after the events of September 11, I heard a

clergyman on television proclaim that God not only had

nothing to do with these events, "there was nothing He

could do to stop it." This is nothing short of

blasphemy.







The truth is that God is both a God to be feared as

well a God of love and tender mercy. He is a God who

created the flood that destroyed most of mankind in

the days of Noah as well as the God who gave His only

begotten son, Jesus Christ, for us. He demands our

obedience, but is forgiving. He hates sin, but loves

sinners. Moses observed this duality in God's

character when he saw Him on the mount. God proclaimed

"The LORD God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering,

and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for

thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and

sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty;

visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the

children, and upon the children's children, unto the

third and to the fourth generation."







What is so wrong about the santaclauszation of God?

First and foremost, it is a denial of how God has

chosen to reveal Himself to us. Since He wrote the

Bible, God had the option to portray Himself anyway

that He chose. Yet, He was careful to let us see both

sides to His character. God does not want to be

portrayed in some caricature of His personality nor

does he want to be portrayed as simply benign. He

condemns Israel for such practice in Zephaniah. "At

that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and

punish those who are complacent, who are like wine

left on its dregs, who think, 'The LORD will do

nothing, either good or bad." God wants us to see Him

for all that He is.







The truly great tragedy of santaclauszation is what

lies behind it. For the most part, this philosophy is

the same line of reasoning as the serpent. The

serpent told Eve "Ye shall not surely die: for God

doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your

eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing

good and evil." The serpent argues that in fact what

God has said is not true. Eve can go and do what she

wants as God really didn't mean what He said. This is

exactly the new philosophy about God. Sure God says

for us not to steal, commit adultery, murder and so

on, but He doesn't relay mean it. Therefore, as the

serpent said, we know good and evil. In other words,

we can determine right and wrong on our own without

Divine guidance. Since God is so nice and loving, He

doesn't really care what we do.







God is not a Santa Claus anymore than He was the

bloodthirsty deity of the Middle Ages. He is a loving

Father who has offered us the world while allowing us

to suffer for a season. He has all control of natural

evil (earthquakes, disease, famine, etc.) as well as

the blessings we receive in this life.







I will leave you with a few more words from the

prophet Zephaniah: "Gather together, gather together,

O shameful nation, before the appointed time arrives

and that day sweeps on like chaff, before the fierce

anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the day of

the Lord's wrath comes upon you. Seek the LORD, all

you humble of the land, you who do what he commands.

Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be

sheltered on the day of the Lord's anger." (Zeph.

2:1-3)


Have a good week!


Kyle