Biff the unclean

One argument I could give against this sort of rhetoric is simply that nobody would seriously make this argument. Therefore I don't have to take it seriously

Ahh yes, dust off the "metaphor" for the parts of the bible that are even too stupid for you to swallow.
So when Jesus ascended into Heaven that was rhetoric? That must mean that ressurection was metaphor also.

the_cave

I was referring to the argument that Santa Claus exists. Nobody would seriously make that argument, therefore I don't have to bother responding when someone claims they're making it (because they're not really making that argument; they're merely pretending to.)

Now, if they merely pointed out that arguments for the existence of god would be similar to hypothetical arguments for the existence of Santa Claus, I could take that seriously.

As a Christian, I assume that the resurrection and ascension refer to events that are in some sense real. But they need not be "real" in the sense that some literal portrayals might present them. Religious metaphors are metaphors that are in some sense real; they portray some real aspect of the cosmos. They are new ways of seeing the world and our relationship to it, and our human existence within it.

Biff the unclean

the_cave: I was referring to the argument that Santa Claus exists. Nobody would seriously make that argument, therefore I don't have to bother responding when someone claims they're making it (because they're not really making that argument; they're merely pretending to.)
I hate to "talk down" to people. And I'm sorry if I seem to be doing that now, but you are missing the simplest of points. When Atheists bring up Santa or Mithra or Dionysus it is not to prove to you that they exist. It is assumed that they do not. However their stories are the same stories of the God that you claim exists. We are trying to show you that you already know that these stories are false

Now, if they merely pointed out that arguments for the existence of god would be similar to hypothetical arguments for the existence of Santa Claus, I could take that seriously.
That is obviously (obvious to everyone but you) what is going on here.
Description: o Aged Caucasian male with flowing white hair and beard
o Immortal
o Has supernatural powers
o Lives in an inaccessible place of great beauty
o Attended but humanoids who also posses supernatural power but to a lesser extent
o Highly concerned with the moral state of individuals.
o Ascertains their moral standing and records it in large book.
o Rewards or punishes individuals according to their standing.
o Entertains requests from those who faithfully believe in him.

Okay, who was I describing there, God or Santa?

As a Christian, I assume that the resurrection and ascension refer to events that are in some sense real. But they need not be "real" in the sense that some literal portrayals might present them.
The main claim of Christianity is that it is not mythological but historic. That is the only argument they have against Mithra and Dyonsus who have exactly the same life stories as Jesus.
As soon as you say it is metaphoric it becomes mythological because you remove it from the world of fact and present it as symbol. That is not to say that you can't gain anything from it. Some might even argue that that is the only way to gain anything from it. But you can then no longer argue that the religions "truths" are "facts." When Jesus ascended into Heaven it now becomes a spiritual/intellectual trip and he no longer floats away into the air. Floating off physically into space is not possible. However neither the resurrection nor any of the miracles are physically possible either. They also become metaphors. And taken that way there is a lot to gain from them. However they are exactly the same metaphors that had been used and reused in religions far older than Christianity.

And that's the point to all this business about Santa. Yes, it's silly to think that Santa is real. He's a myth and a rather simplistic myth at that. One that has been so simplified because it was meant to have meaning only to very young children. But it is a simplification of the God myth. They are two versions of the same metaphor, which is why my simple list above fit both characters.

Religious metaphors are metaphors that are in some sense real; they portray some real aspect of the cosmos. They are new ways of seeing the world and our relationship to it, and our human existence within it.
Exactly! They are "Conceptual Truths." But they are not hard facts. This is something the Hellenists understood that's why they had not problem honoring a whole pantheon of Gods. It's what Cicero meant when he said that everyone spoke of the Gods but no one believed in them.

I should point out though, that your mythological view of Christianity while an intellectually honest one is also a heresy. It would have gotten you killed during most of Christianity's history.

KidFury

Here is what i wrote on the apologetics.com message board:

Santa Claus Apology

Santa lives in the North pole, It’s a big place that has not been fully explored yet. I have faith that we will find him.

People assume that all children receive gifts and that Santa has to have a huge complex in order to make all those toys. You have all forgotten the words “He knows if you have been bad or good”. He brings gifts only to good children. How many Chidren are worthy? only Santa knows.

Don’t blame Santa for all those parents who give their bad children gifts and so discredit the truth of Santa.

Santa will not bring gifts to children whose parents have already “decided” that there kids were good enough to receive gifts in the first place. These parents are practicing the pagan religion of Commercialism not to be confused with our love of dear Santa.

Only kids who are truly good and whose parents do not buy them gifts in Santa's place will receive one of Santa’s magical toys made by his elves. These children have been good THROUGHOUT the year and have not lied, broke windows, had fights in school, disobeyed their parents, Stayed awake secretly after bedtime or thrown hissy fits over who gets to watch their favorite TV show.

These magical toys can only perceived as such if you have found Santa in your heart. Otherwise they look like normal hasbro and mattel toys. If a kid is bad one year then he will forget all his toys were magical and they will come to life only when he is not around. The movie Toy Story is a good example and is actually being considered as canon by many of the Santa denominations in existence.

If you think that it's not fair and that most kids are generally good even if they do slip from time to time, Who are you to judge Santa! Santa is the giver of gifts, he is the one who decides which kid has been good. A kid who doesn't believe in Him is automatically evil and doomed to never receive his gifts forever and ever.

If you have faith in Santa and be good, he may find it in his mercy to forgive you your doubts and you may have a surprise waiting for you in Christmas 2004 (because of course, it's too late for you to be good in 2003 we are already jan 19th and you have been doubting... )

If you wanna see some Xian comments to these gohere They didn't respond all that much though. They basically said well we KNOW that Santa doesn't exist...

Proxima Centauri

Here is absolute, scientific proof that She, the Invisible Pink Unicorn exists. See how the links in the previous post turned blue!That is clearly the evil work of The Purple Oyster of Doom! It cannot be the way the computer is programmed!

Don't we see lame attempts at proof regularly when Christians try to convert us, when we visit Fundy web sites?