Where Did Santa Claus Come From?

Christmas has been the most popular holiday in America ever since it gained it's independence from England. That makes sense being that it was a country that was founded on Christian values. They had escaped religious persecution and formed the colonies before ultimately becoming the United States. Therefore, it is only natural that celebrating the birthday of Jesus would done in a big way in this country.

Christmas marks the day where God became flesh threw his son Jesus. He was born from a virgin meaning that he was from God was the only possible explanation. It was not until about three years ago that I realized just what Christmas really is. It is a birthday party. That is the reason for the gifts.

Since I have been saved, I often wonder "where did Santa Claus come from?" "What does a man in a red suit getting pulled in a sleigh through the air by reindeer have anything to do with the birth of Jesus?"

Nobody knows for sure where the concept of Santa Claus comes from other than it started in Europe around the 4th century. He has had other names such as Chris Cringle and Saint Nicholas which kind of gives him biblical implications.

I look at the concept of Santa Claus and can't help but think that the character was based solely on Jesus. Santa gives gifts and Jesus was known for his gifts and miracles. Jesus ascended to the sky after his resurrection and Santa ascends from the sky going through chimneys.

Both know when you are sleeping and when you are awake. Both know if you have been bad or good. Both believe that you get good gifts if you be good.

Santa has his helpers, elves, which probably symbolize the angels who help Jesus. He lives at the North Pole which probably symbolizes that Jesus comes from above. The red suit could symbolize the red blood Jesus was covered in.

The connections there are fascinating and while the concept of this fictional character are about the same concepts Jesus wants from all of is, I can't help but wonder if the creation of Santa Claus is a form of idolatry. That is clearly defined as worshiping something or someone more than God. The fact is that kids get on Santa's laps at shopping centers all over the country. They tell Santa what they want for Christmas rather than ask Jesus for it in prayer. That makes me question whether or not it is idolatry or not.

I am sure Santa Claus is fine to celebrate as long as we know that he is a fictional character and we know who the real reason for the season is.

Merry Christmas Everyone.

What Public Schools Have Become

A week after the horrific shooting that killed 26 people that were mostly children at Sandy Hook Elementary, it is always hard to look back and reflect how this could possibly happen. There is no doubt that what happened in Connecticut was the work of the devil.

The liberals have used this tragedy as a vice for pushing their gun control agenda. My stance on that is what it always has been. A law abiding citizen would not do this whether he had a gun or not. But those who would know how to get a gun legally or illegally, so that would stop nothing.

I see this as if anything good can came out of this, it is maybe we can take a look at how public schools are really becoming a place for the devil to spread his influence. The sad part is is that teachers with good intentions are playing enabling it.

We don't need any new laws to stop this from happening again. How about we teach one we have already had since the Old Testament, Thou Shall Not Kill. Mike Huckabee nailed it on Fox News when he said that we escorted God right out of the building and then wonder where he was to prevent this.

The problem I have goes beyond this shooting. Public schools have systematically removed Jesus from schools to a point where the Ten Commandments are now considered offensive. I don't get that because even an atheist knows that killing, lying, stealing, etc. are wrong. My question is that would it bother you if your kids followed them? I would hope not.

The mindset is that we have to be careful to include all faiths in schools including atheists and we don't want to offend anyone by pushing our beliefs. So we teach kids that it is okay to be a homosexual. Wait a second! Isn't that pushing beliefs? Christian families aren't taught that but nobody cares about offending them.

That is indirectly teaching kids to be democrats rather than allow them to make the choice for themselves. Teacher unions have increasingly become under democratic influence making the teaching biased. I used to be a teacher myself and recall Obama being rammed down my throat four years ago at a staff meeting. The leader was pushing being an "Obama Nation."

I also recall hearing a teacher tell students that Sarah Palin is a "dingbat" during a lesson. How is that not forcing beliefs on kids? I recall another lesson teaching the difference between democrats and republicans stating that the republicans only care about the rich which is a total lie.It never said anything about how the democrats love big government.

The fact is that Conservative ideals are definitely more Christian but liberal views are being pushed. Then we wonder why kids are growing up with no morals. I am not saying that this event could have been stopped by praying in school, but maybe just maybe we need to stop and take a look at the message educators are sending.

Then maybe we will have less incidents where the devil pushes his influence.

Could Obama Be the AntiChrist?

Recently Jamie Foxx committed one of the worst acts of public blasphemy I have ever heard of when he acutally referred to Barack Obama as "Our Lord and Savior" at the Soul Train Awards. Although I dislike Obama and his Marxist ideas, I can't help but be somewhat astonished on the affect this guy has on so many people.

I really never understood the phenomenon four years ago as this man just rose out of nowhere. I never heard of Barack Obama before but all I heard was how this guy was going to bring peace and prosperity not only to America but also the world.

The fact that four years later so many still believe this after his disaster of a first term just leaves me flabbergasted. All he has done is increased both debt and government. Within a year, the government will control healthcare when Obamacare goes into effect. Yet, many Americans still worship this guy and speak bad about the organizations such as the Tea Party who try to speak the truth.

This has really got me thinking about the Book of Revelation. In there it says Antichrist: The world's greatest peacemaker-He comes to power on a platform of peace-He comes in peaceably and deceives the public.

This fits Obama to a tee if you ask me. He promised peace and prosperity, but we are in worse economic shape than we were four years ago. He is the only president to isolate Israel while continually apologizing to muslims everywhere. Something about all this is just not setting well with me and anybody who can see through the lies.

The Book of Revelations does say that the Antichrist will come in many forms. Therefore, Obama may not be the final Antichrist if indeed he is the Antichrist. Having said that, now is a good time to be right with God and be prepared for the end times. I don't want to be left behind.

What The Tea Party Really Is

Shortly after Barack HUSSEIN Obama was elected president, the tea party formed. Unfortunately for them, much of their publicity is bad publicity. They are often portrayed as racists for criticizing a president who is not black and bigots for holding their strong Christian values our country was founded on.

The liberal media has chosen to divert the country from what the Tea Party really is. They are not democrat or republican. They are just a group regular people like you and me who are tired of the government continuing to raise taxes and increasing government which in turn has taken away more and more of the very idea that this country stands for. That is freedom.

The Tea Party has three very simple core values.

Fiscal Responsibility

This means not overspending and burdening the future generations with debt they didn't create. Unfortunately, our government continues to add taxes on us without exhausting other resources first.

Constitutionally Limited Government

This means that power resides with the people and not the government. Government should be done at the most local level first. It should only go to a higher level if it can't be resolved at the lower level. It is easier to hold government accountable if it is done at the lower levels first. The founding fathers believed that government power should be limited, enumerated and constrained by our constitution.

This is one core value that both democrats and republicans have violated. Every time government is added, freedom gets taken away. The fact is that while both parties are guilty of this, Mr. Obama has added over 400 agencies that we know of. That is just ridiculous.

Free Market Economics

This is a principle that made America an economic superpower. It is the idea of capitalism that allows people to come up with new businesses and innovative new ideas/inventions. It is an opportunity for those to create their own wealth. It also creates more job opportunities.

Unfortunately, the liberals have painted those who are the most successful with this as bad when success is something that should be celebrated. Government has gone out of it's way to restrict businesses creating more and more regulations and fees for business owners. Where I live, they actually have a cap on the number of permits that are allowed for businesses. That goes against the concept of free market in every way.

To sum it all up, the government continues to get bigger forcing them to create more spending. By doing so, they make it harder for businesses to prosper with added regulations. That has forced higher taxes. The end result is that we have higher taxes and less jobs. That doesn't work and that is what the Tea Party is saying.

Contrary to how they are portrayed, the tea party is exactly what this country was founded on. That is people coming together from all walks of life saying we have had enough of this corruption.