Fractured Christmas Bible Studies, take 3

I figure I’d share one more passage. This is one that many of you may have forgotten, but nevertheless, it is a stunning prophecy from the book of Ecclesionomy. I will add some comments of my own afterwards.

Ecclesionomy 4:1-5

1 And in that day he shall come, from out of the sky, unto all the world. And he shall be on top of their houses.

2 And the gifts of the children of all the nations will be upon his shoulders.

3 And his name shall be called Santa Claus, Saint Nick, Chris Kringle, Father Christmas, Viejo Pascuero, the Elfmaster,

4 the man with all the toys, the man in the big red suit, the pride of the North Pole, the hope of Vixen, and the joy of Rudolph.

5 And the children shall believe in him. They will write him letters, and he will bring them gifts.


Many of you are no doubt aware that the beauty of this passage has been largely overshadowed in a storm of controversy. The debate revolves around the phrase in verse 5 “they will write him letters,” and raises the question: Does a child have to do good works in order to “earn” presents, or does he or she need simply to believe in Santa Claus? In the academic world, this is known as the classic question of “faith vs. works Clausology.”

On the one side, some scholars think that “writing letters” strongly implies that children must do good deeds in order to receive gifts. In other words, children write letters to Santa Claus not just to make their gift requests known, but to affirm that they have done enough good works during the year to deserve such gifts. Traditionally, these good works have centered on the child’s obedience to his or her parents, doing assigned chores around the house, and being nice to siblings.

On the other side, many scholars maintain that all a child must do is believe (or, have faith) in Santa Claus, and the child will receive presents. They explain verse 5 by saying that good behavior and letter writing are not prerequisites for receiving gifts, but rather a child’s heartfelt response to a loving Santa.

So which is it? Does a child have to do good works in order to get presents, or merely believe in Santa Claus? This is a very complex question. Allow me to observe the following.

First, we must always remember that our Santa is an omniscient Santa. He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good. These weighty words describe the very nature of Santa, and exhort us that we had better be good, for goodness sake! So, it appears clear that there is at least some expectation of good deeds. However, this leads to the inescapable conclusion that bad children will not receive any presents, which is difficult for many to accept.

But, there are problems with this logic. If Santa already knows if you’ve been bad or good, why bother writing a letter telling him your good deeds? One answer to this might be that writing a letter to Santa allows children to acknowledge Santa and to deal with their own sense of greed. Also, think about our common experience. Have you ever known a child to not receive presents? Come on, we all know at least one kid who probably never deserved a present in his or her entire life. But they all receive gifts nonetheless. So I have come to the conclusion that gifts really are not dependent on a child’s behavior. In other words, I do not subscribe to a works-based Clausology.

Well, as I said, this is not an easy issue. My thoughts here have just scratched the surface, and many Clausologists would undoubtedly disagree with my view. But I share this with you because I think it is vitally important that we understand exactly why we believe the things we do about this most special time of year.

Fractured Christmas Bible studies, take 2

For this next passage, I recommend making yourself a cup of hot cocoa, cuddling up next to the fire, and putting on some soft Christmas music in the background. Make it a warm, comfy atmosphere for this most-inspiring story from the book of Philesians.

Philesians 5:6-21

6 And behold, wise sages from the east did see a bright star in the sky. And the star shone with exceeding brilliance. It was brighter than any star had ever been, before or since.

7 And so the sages mounted their camels, and bearing much costly and precious gifts, set out on a long journey to follow the star.

8 And it came to pass, on the third day of their journey, as darkness drew nigh, that the wise sages took up lodging for the night in the town of Izmus.

9 And behold, one of the sages, Melchior, approached the entrance to the inn, and he saw nearby a small, plastic star which did rest on top of an exceedingly green tree.

10 Melchior was thus smitten by the tree and did inquire of the innkeeper, saying, “From whence camest such a tree?”

11 And the innkeeper replied, “Lo, this tree is exceedingly green, and its leaves, though needle-like, do never change their color.”

12 Melchior said, “May it be as you have said. Allow this sojourner the joy of approaching the tree.” And the innkeeper gave his consent.

13 So Melchior summoned the other wise sages who were with him, and they all marveled at the exceedingly green tree. And the tree was adorned with a plastic star on top, and tassels of silver all around (see footnote).

14 And behold, after a good while, Melchior, filled with awe, said,

“O Izmus tree, O Izmus tree, how lovely are thy branches.
O Izmus tree, O Izmus tree, how lovely are thy branches.

15 Thy boughs so green in summertime,
Stay bravely green in wintertime.

16 O Izmus tree, O Izmus tree, how lovely are thy branches.”

17 And again, Melchior, along with the wise sages, did inquire of the innkeeper, asking, “Wilt thou give us the tree for a fair price?”

18 And the innkeeper, thinking this was good, did cut down the exceedingly green tree, wrapped it tightly in nylon mesh, and with the help of an assistant, hoisted it on top of one of the sage’s camels.

19 And the sages left the innkeeper and his assistant a small tip.

20 And then the wise sages returned immediately to their home, setting up the exceedingly green tree. And alas, it took three whole days for the wise sages to set up the tree such that it appeared to stand straight from all angles.

21 And the sages placed the costly and precious gifts under the exceedingly green tree.


Footnote: In verse 13, tassels of silver comes from the Greek word tinselos, from which the English word tinsel is derived.

Fractured Christmas Bible studies, take 1

If you’re like me, you just love the Christmas season. So much joy, so much fun. A time to see relatives, a time to see loved ones, a time to see people that you only see once a year but that’s okay because you don’t really like them that much anyway. . . just kidding. I thought I’d take a few moments at this special time of year to share a few passages with you, maybe to help us remember what Christmas is really all about. Today will be the first installment.

Sometimes I will provide commentary and reflections, and other times I will just let the passage speak for itself. Today’s entry comes to us from the book of Hesitations, Chapter 7.

Hesitations 7:5-13

5 And behold there were three workers of the field, each with a sum of money they had earned; the first had 10,000 denarii, the second had 5,000 denarii, and the third had 1,000 denarii.

6 And the owner said to the first, “The expected one has come. Therefore, go out and buy gifts for a bunch of other people.”

7 So the first worker went out and spent 20,000 denarii to buy gifts for all of his relatives, loved ones, and others (many of whom he did not even like). Thus the first worker incurred 10,000 denarii of debt. One month later, the first worker realized that he could not repay the debt.

8 In the same manner, the owner told the second worker to go; and behold, the second worker took his 5,000 denarii and spent 10,000 denarii on gifts for his relatives, loved ones, and other people that he did not really like.

9 Thus he incurred 5,000 denarii of debt. One month later, he too realized that he could not repay the debt.

10 Then the owner told the third worker to buy presents in the same way. But the third worker bought only one gift, of great value, costing him 2,000 denarii.

11 And he took the gift to a great party, where the gift changed hands seven times before finally being claimed by his sometimes-friend Matthias the shepherd.

12 Then the owner called the three workers together, saying, “You have spent more than you had, and lo, before there are leaves on the trees, you shall not be able to repay your debt. Go and do likewise next year.”

13 And behold, there stood a youth at the side of the owner, who was the owner’s servant. And the youth said, “What does any of this have to do with the expected one?”