Quote:
Originally Posted by Igzy
Santa Claus is not a "doctrine." He's a mythical figure like Superman or Harry Potter. I do think parents can oversell him. My oldest boy believed in Santa well past ten years-old. That made me uncomfortable. His younger brother talked him out of it. I understand the parallels between Santa and God. We teach kids about this invisible, benevolent, powerful person. Then we go "just kidding!"
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All societies use all-knowing mystical beings to manipulate children's behavior. "
He knows if you've been good or bad, so be good for goodness sake."
When I studied Brethren history, Neatby (
excellent history btw and available online) pointed out the Exclusives use of BugBears in order to manipulate their members. A BugBear, like our Bogeyman and in some ways our Santa Claus, was an imaginary being invoked to frighten children in order to manipulate their behavior.
The LCM may have discarded Santa, but they have long perpetuated their own repertoire of
BugBears. The resulting fears which so grip her members are much harder to shake than any Santa Claus myth. Talk to any ex-member.
Hate to keep harping on this, but it was the evils wrought by the LSM "Office" and Witness Lee himself on dear brother John Ingalls which helped to release me from all of their entrenched BugBears. Doing what they did, there is no way any sane man would still believe they are God's best, and His only "true" church testimony.