The Santa Claus argument against God

[Samof94]

When I was a child, the idea of a pro-social lie came to me only with difficulty.

It took me a long time to accept that Santa wasn't real, because even at an age when his absurdity should have been obvious, I could not accept that my parents would perpetrate such an egregious lie. My embarrassingly late clinging to the Santa delusion directly led into an embarrassingly young crisis of faith.

I couldn't download the PDF, so I don't know if that has anything to do with this paper.

It makes sense. If Santa’s not real and Zeus is not real, then why not the Christian deity too!

[Samof94]

It makes sense. If Santa’s not real and Zeus is not real, then why not the Christian deity too!

To a child, perhaps. Most adults have reasons for believing in God beyond "my parents wouldn't lie to me."

Why Christianity and not, let’s say Hinduism. If you were born in Bali, you’d probably be a Hindu? Seems equally valid to me.

[Samof94]

It makes sense. If Santa’s not real and Zeus is not real, then why not the Christian deity too!

To a child, perhaps. Most adults have reasons for believing in God beyond "my parents wouldn't lie to me."

Why Christianity and not, let’s say Hinduism. If you were born in Bali, you’d probably be a Hindu? Seems equally valid to me.

If you were born elsewhere, educated differently, and had a different relationship with media, your beliefs would very likely be different. Social learning is not a distinctive feature of religious worldviews. It's a universal characteristic of human experience.

I’d agree with you on that.