{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Dialog","title":"1.11 / Should Christians believe in Santa? The real St. Nicholas","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2677,"description":"At bedtime, Nick's six-year-old asked him, \"Dad, is Santa real?\" Nick wasn't going to lie to him. So he told him Santa was a real person, St. Nicholas, and what he did. Then he told him that in the way he brings presents, he's not real.\nI believed in Santa Claus until I was 13. And I still think you must believe in Santa Claus. Not the guy in the red suit. The real man behind him. In our Christmas episode, my co-host Nick Surface and I tell the story of St. Nicholas of Myra and talk about why people stop believing in good.\nShould Christian parents let their kids believe in Santa?\nIf God and Santa Claus are on the same level in your kid's mind, something already went wrong. When Nick's son learned the truth about Santa, he never once questioned God.\nWho was the real St. Nicholas?\nThe story goes that he was born around 270 AD, lost his parents to a plague, and used his inheritance to help people. He threw three bags of gold through a poor father's window so his daughters could marry. As bishop of Myra, he challenged emperor worship, was imprisoned under Diocletian, and walked out a confessor: someone who would not deny that Christ is Lord.\nDid Santa Claus really punch a heretic?\nThat's the legend: at the Council of Nicaea, Nicholas ended a heated debate with Arius over whether Jesus is fully God by punching him.\nWhat is Christmas actually about?\nHope. Jesus was set apart for an intended use, and so are we. If a person can be this great, can you imagine how great God is?\nPeople\nSt. Nicholas of Myra · Arius · Decius, Valerian and Diocletian · Constantine · Tacitus · Dan Sullivan (Strategic Coach)\nChapters\n0:00 Cold open and show intro\n0:52 A steakhouse surprise and the joy of giving\n6:20 Believing in Santa until 13\n7:12 Will believing in Santa hurt your kids' faith?\n7:53 \"Dad, is Santa real?\"\n10:55 What does it mean for something to be real?\n11:41 The death of innocence\n14:23 Villains, hunting and the Mighty Men\n17:07 Who are you a hero to?\n19:10 Why my kids will...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/7YsfA4gq5VzjhvmKvDET1pQqT0OM6yxv1laklKclR7g/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS83ZWZh/MTRmZDEzOWRjZGQz/Y2M2NThkNzYwOTJj/ODA4MC5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}