Nehushtan

The following article comes from the desk of David Bobbitt, one of the men of the Madisonville church of Christ.

​During the reign of Hezekiah, the bronze snake that Moses had made in the desert to save the Israelite people from the bite of poisonous serpents was destroyed.  For generations the Israelites had carried it with them, calling it Nehushtan and venerating it as a holy object.  According to 2 Kings 18:3, they had even burned incense to it!  Recognizing that it had taken the people’s focus away from the Lord, Hezekiah destroyed it along with all the other idols and high places where the Israelites worshiped.

Man’s capacity for doing evil seems boundless and Americans have followed in the ways of ancient Israel by creating mythical beings to be venerated by children.  The Bible commands us to teach our children the ways of the Lord, not foist upon them stories of beings, who like God, give them good things.  Whether it be Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, or any other such mythical being, are these not idols who usurp the praise and devotion rightly belonging to God?

The History of Santa Claus is revealing.  The modern-day version of Santa Claus appears to be a combination of Saint Nicholas, England’s Father Christmas, and the Norse god Odin, who gained access to homes to leave gifts by going down the chimney.  Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop of Myra, which today is part of Turkey.  He was known for his generosity toward the poor and downtrodden.  He is said to have given three impoverished daughters of a pious Christian dowries to prevent them from falling into prostitution.  He was the patron saint of children, whose feast day was celebrated on December 6th. Puritans and other Protestants initially rejected the celebration of Christmas, on the grounds that it was inconsistent with Bible teachings, but eventually, accommodations were made.  Protestants coopted the holiday by giving gifts to children on December 24th and 25th instead of December 6th to avoid any association with the Saint Nicholas celebration and its ties to the veneration of saints, which they considered to be idolatry.

In America, once Protestants secularized the celebration of Christmas, the holiday devolved into a riotous affair featuring drunken mobs roaming the streets damaging property and threatening the upper-classes.  Presbyterians, Baptists, Quakers, and other Protestants continued to regard December 25th as an ordinary day without religious significance throughout the first half of the 19th century.  Nonetheless, by the 1850’s many Protestant churches had invited Christmas back into their assemblies.  They discovered that by embracing a secularize form of the holiday, which included Santa Claus, a decorated tree, and gift giving, Bible class attendance was greatly improved.

Although it may not be a sin to celebrate Christmas in the privacy of one’s home, three things ought to become apparent.  First, Santa Claus has no place in the church whatsoever because God should receive thanks for all good things that we receive, not some mythical being.  Second, like the Israelites of old who worshiped Nehushtan, we risk committing idolatry by replacing God with some mythical being with gift-giving powers.  Finally, we jeopardize the souls of our own children with our lies and deceptions.  One study found that one in sixteen children suffered long-term negative effects once learning the truth about Santa Claus. Some children went so far as to reject the religious beliefs of their parents once they discovered that they had been lied to.  They reasoned that if their parents had lied about the existence of Santa Claus, they might also have lied about the existence of God.  Philosopher David Kyle Johnson wrote, “It's a lie, it degrades your parental trustworthiness, it encourages incredulity, it does not encourage imagination, and it's equivalent to bribing your kids for good behavior.”

Yet even today some Christians can be heard telling their children or grandchildren that if they are not good, Santa Claus won’t come to see them!  Shouldn’t we rather be concerned about them pleasing God?  A poem about Saint Nicholas ends with these words: “Saint Nicholas, my dear good friend! To serve you ever was my end, if you will, now, me something give, I’ll serve you ever while I live.” Ironically, Jesus refers to the bronze serpent made by Moses in John 3:14-15, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”  God has given us the greatest gift possible, eternal life through the blood his son Jesus.  We should thankfully obey him and serve him only.  Acknowledge the Lord, and him alone, as the only giver of good gifts.