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Santa Claus: Innocent Christmas fun or counterfeit Jesus?
Jesus is the reason for the season, but more often than not, it’s Santa who takes front and center stage. A 2,000-year-old baby offering an intangible gift just can’t compete with the big, red-suited, jolly man and his sleigh full of toys in the mind of a child.
That’s one of several reasons Allie Beth Stuckey doesn’t do Santa with her three kids.
On this episode of “Relatable,” Allie presents a compelling case for ditching the man in the red hat and putting Jesus back on the throne of Christmas where He belongs.
Santa invites confusion
While Allie acknowledges that Santa is a “Christian liberty issue,” meaning “we have freedom as Christians to disagree,” she feels personally convicted to forgo the tradition to avoid confusing her children.
Santa “is a form of deceit,” she says.
“We want our kids to trust us … and it can cause this kind of dissonance or confusion in a child when we tell them that someone is real, is giving them gifts, is watching them … is taking a tally of the good deeds they do, the bad deeds they do … and then allocating gifts in accordance to their behavior — and then to tell them one day that that system of morality around Christmastime doesn’t exist,” she argues.
“I do believe that that causes, even if just for a moment, mistrust between the parent and child” and “confusion about what is actually true … about the mysterious and supernatural realm.”
But “causing mistrust through deceit” isn’t even the biggest issue, she says. Santa can also cause “theological confusion” in developing children.
Santa and God have a lot in common, Allie explains. Both see us when we’re sleeping, know when we’re awake, and know if we’ve been bad or good, but the key difference is Santa takes his gifts away when we fail to be good, whereas God, infinite in grace and mercy, does not dangle salvation as a carrot in front of us to keep us behaving.
Santa “is a legalistic form of Christ” and a “counterfeit form of God,” says Allie.
And then there’s the flip side of this pitfall. Children might view God as a kind of Santa Claus, who gives them material gifts in exchange for obedience or good deeds, turning Him from the perfect and holy king of kings and the savior of humanity into a “feel-good” bringer of happiness.
In either case, the similarities between the two figures can deeply confuse malleable children who are still learning to distinguish between fact and fiction, while simultaneously sowing distrust between them and their parents.
Santa distracts from Jesus
Allie’s second reason for ditching St. Nick is that he draws the focus away from Christ.
“Santa Claus is the one who will give you all of your immediate desires and will fulfill all of the temporary pleasure that you long for because he is giving you something in the form of a tangible gift. … It’s no wonder that we as people, but especially children, have such a hard time actually focusing on Christ — the real gift-giver,” she says.
To Santa sympathizers who argue that his mysterious nature “makes Christmas really magical” and stimulates children’s imaginations, Allie says that we can still foster imagination in our kids without lying to them.
And further, “The reality is that there is already a beautiful mystery of Christmas that no one truly understands,” she says. “We are natural people who were intersected by the supernatural when Jesus became Emmanuel, God with us, made flesh. That is the mystery of Christmas.”
“And so why would we create a counternarrative to that? A cheapened narrative, a legalistic narrative that gives all of the wrong lessons about morality and about what saves you and about what satisfies you and about what fulfills you?” she asks.
But Santa doesn’t just distract kids from the true Christmas story; he also distracts parents, who are stressed and spread thin trying to maintain the Santa narrative through elaborate gift displays, Elf on the Shelf, staging half-eaten cookies, and dodging pesky questions from their kids.
“It seems like when that starts to be the taker of our joy or the source of our stress and our energy and not discipling our kids and telling them what the advent, the coming of the Lord, actually means in their lives, well, then we have veered into idolatry,” Allie warns.
To hear the rest of her argument, as well as ways Christians can still incorporate Santa into their Christmas season without losing focus on what matters, watch the full episode above.
Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?
To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
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Remember when they said they weren’t doing that?
Gavin Newsom ridicules Elon Musk over his trans-identifying son — and Musk responds
Elon Musk fired back at the governor of California after he ridiculed the billionaire entrepreneur for being estranged from his transgender-identifying son.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) was defending his comments in support of transgender health care when he took a potshot at Musk and his son, which many found to be in poor taste.
‘I assume you’re referring to my son, Xavier, who has a tragic mental illness caused by the evil woke mind virus you push.’
“I want to see trans kids; I have a trans godson. There’s no governor that’s done more pro-trans legislation than I have, and nobody has been a stronger advocate,” Newsom said in the video.
Newsom posted a video of his comments, along with a snipe at Musk apparently comparing his relationship with his trans-identifying godson to that of Musk with his son.
“Correct. We’re sorry your daughter hates you, Elon,” he wrote.
Musk took the high road in his response.
“I assume you’re referring to my son, Xavier, who has a tragic mental illness caused by the evil woke mind virus you push on vulnerable children,” Musk responded.
“I love Xavier very much and hope he recovers,” he added. “My daughters are Azure, Exa (she goes by Y) and Arcadia, and they do indeed love me very much.”
Others piled onto Newsom for the bizarre insult.
“Sick bastard. Gavin, tell your henchmen to leave kids alone,” Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas replied.
“This is raw evil, from a government account. I will do anything I can to stop this cretin from gaining more political power,” Palantir founder Jon Lonsdale responded.
“One of the primary motivations of the Left in pushing gender ideology onto children is to divide them from their parents and undercut the family unit. They relish in it and will not stop no matter how many elections they lose,” Kaylee White of Fox News replied.
RELATED: Newsom gets nailed with online backlash over AI video with Trump in handcuffs
“Most vile of vile,” actor Dean Cain responded.
Newsom is considered a front-runner in the possible candidates for the Democratic nomination for president in 2028. In one recent poll, he garners 24% of support from Democratic voters, just behind Pete Buttigieg, who has support from 28% of those polled.
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Pregnant woman found dead; now sordid family-affair accusations and mystery of her baby’s grisly fate emerge: Court docs
The mother of a slain pregnant woman found in a Michigan forest has confessed to committing grisly acts against her daughter and her unborn grandson, according to new court documents. The case also has taken a shocking twist as sordid accusations of illicit family affairs have emerged.
As Blaze News reported earlier this month, 22-year-old Rebecca Park — who was approximately 38 weeks pregnant — was reported missing Nov. 4, according to the Wexford County Sheriff’s Office.
‘Your baby is gonna die.’
Following weeks of intense searches for the missing pregnant woman, Park’s body was found in the Manistee National Forest on Nov. 25 — just three days after she was due to give birth. However, Park’s child was no longer in her womb.
The Michigan Department of Attorney General stated that 40-year-old Cortney Bartholomew and 47-year-old Bradly Bartholomew “lured” Park to their home in Wexford County. Cortney Bartholomew is Park’s biological mother, who gave up her daughter for adoption as a young child; Bradly Bartholomew is her stepfather.
“The couple then allegedly tortured Park in an attempt to remove the unborn infant, resulting in the death of both,” the attorney general said.
According to MLive, Wexford County Prosecutor Johanna Carey said, “Mr. Bartholomew brought Rebecca to their home, forced her into another vehicle, and took her into the woods, where they stabbed her, forced her to lie on the ground while they cut her baby out, ultimately causing her death and the death of the baby.”
Cortney initially denied any involvement in the murder of her daughter, according to police.
However, Cortney later confessed to cops that Park was still conscious when she cut the baby out of her daughter while Bradly held a knife to her throat, according to court documents.
Cortney claimed she cut the baby out of Rebecca in an attempt to save the child so she could then take him to his father, court documents allege.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by UpNorthLive, “When she cut the baby out, Cortney said that Rebecca was still conscious, and Bradly was holding the knife to her throat.”
Court docs added that Cortney told Rebecca to lie back and said, “Your baby is gonna die.”
The affidavit said Bradly told law enforcement that the baby was not alive when the child was cut out of the womb. Cortney informed investigators that the baby was not breathing or crying when the child was removed from the womb, court documents state.
Court docs also indicate that Bradly told detectives that after Cortney couldn’t revive the baby, she said, “The bitch killed my baby.”
According to the affidavit, Bradly accused Cortney of killing her daughter because she wanted another child, but the couple couldn’t adopt because he’s a convicted sex offender.
“Bradly agreed that he believes that Cortney is capable of slicing open her own flesh and blood and taking a baby out,” the affidavit reads. “He agreed that Cortney is obsessed with wanting another baby in her care and custody.”
When Cortney asked about her grandson, who had just been cut from his mother’s womb, Bradly replied, “Oh, I stuck him in a cooler, stuck him in a trash bag, threw him in the trash,” the affidavit states.
“I slit her f**king throat, bitch deserved it,” Cortney claimed her husband told her, according to Law & Crime.
In a strange twist, Cortney allegedly admitted to having a romantic relationship with her daughter Rebecca’s fiancé — 43-year-old Richard Falor — who also is the father of Rebecca’s unborn child.
“Cortney then reports how Rebecca and Richard Falor were initially dating, and [when] they broke up, a relationship between herself and Richard then commences,” the affidavit indicates.
Court documents claim Cortney rejected Falor and that he then resumed his relationship with Rebecca.
“Cortney also reported that Richard had returned to her residence and raped her, forcefully, causing her to have a miscarriage of the baby she was carrying,” the affidavit states, adding that “a report of this incident was made with the sheriff’s office, however, Cortney said Richard was not charged.”
Cortney claimed that Falor had been abusive and aggressive with Park, and she encouraged Rebecca to leave him.
The affidavit reads, “[Cortney] again claimed that this was a revenge plot because she had a sexual relationship with Richard and because Richard got Bradly put in jail. She claimed that Bradly wanted to hurt Richard.”
The 18-page probable cause affidavit alleges that Falor turned in Bradly last year on a sex offender registration violation.
Bradly received a 180-day jail sentence for an unspecified violation related to his being on the sex offender registry, according to court records obtained by People magazine.
Court documents indicate that Cortney told authorities that Bradly said Falor also deserved what’s coming to him, and it “just happened to be your daughter that’s going to pay for it.”
Cortney claimed Bradly told her that he planned to cut the baby out of Rebecca right in front of Falor after doing an internet search about C-sections, court docs say.
The stepfather asserted that Rebecca’s sister — 21-year-old Kimberly Park — also had a “relationship” with Falor.
“Bradly reported that Kimberly is jealous of Rebecca, and that he is aware that Kimberly has had a relationship with Richard in the past,” the affidavit states.
Over the last two weeks, Rebecca’s mother, stepfather, sister, and fiancé have been arrested.
People magazine reported that Kimberly has been charged with tampering with evidence, lying to a police officer, and filing a false report. She is on house arrest after her bail was reduced from $750,000 to $5,000.
Falor was charged with distributing methamphetamine, according to the New York Post. He pleaded not guilty Dec. 2.
Cortney and Bradly each were charged with one felony count of first-degree premeditated murder, one felony count of murder, one felony count of torture in a place of confinement, one felony count of conspiracy to commit torture, one felony count of assault of a pregnant woman with the intention to cause miscarriage or stillbirth, one felony count of conspiracy to commit assault on a pregnant woman with the intention to cause miscarriage or stillbirth, and one misdemeanor count of removal of a dead body.
If convicted of any of the felonies, the pair faces up to life in prison.
Court records identify Bradly Bartholomew as a habitual offender, which could result in harsher penalties.
The Bartholomews were jailed without the possibility of bond.
Court appearances by Cortney and Bradly have been postponed until Jan. 13, 2026, WWTV-TV and WWUP-TV reported.
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Hunter Biden Laptop Update!
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The post Hunter Biden Laptop Update! appeared first on Judicial Watch.
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