It's hilariously OTT--the kid learns Santa isn't real and IMMEDIATELY GOES ON A KILLING SPREE.
What's even funnier is that (speaking from personal experience) if you're the one kid on the block who doesn't literally believe in Santa Claus, it's pretty good practice for being the only atheist in your class later on.
My parents were pretty well lapsed from religion by the time it became an issue, and they played the games but decided they'd tell me it was all just pretend if asked straight out. That worked out pretty well, to my mind.
I think one problem a lot of adults have is that they've forgotten the distinction between pretending and lying, so they think that any imaginary game has to be drawn out into a passionately defended literal belief system. Kids understand the difference--they know how to play.
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dancing_serpent
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Date: 2007-05-13 12:41 pm (UTC)What's even funnier is that (speaking from personal experience) if you're the one kid on the block who doesn't literally believe in Santa Claus, it's pretty good practice for being the only atheist in your class later on.
My parents were pretty well lapsed from religion by the time it became an issue, and they played the games but decided they'd tell me it was all just pretend if asked straight out. That worked out pretty well, to my mind.
I think one problem a lot of adults have is that they've forgotten the distinction between pretending and lying, so they think that any imaginary game has to be drawn out into a passionately defended literal belief system. Kids understand the difference--they know how to play.