"All that mankind has done, thought, gained or been: it is lying as in magic preservation in the pages of books."
-Thomas Carlyle

Primum Mobile Magazine welcomes feedback from any of our readers, and will publish many reader letters here. If you wish to send a letter to our editors, please use our Respondere page.

On "Santa and the Church" by Paul Lytle:

Dear gents,

I really enjoy the magazine. I especially enjoyed Paul's reflection on the relative merits of Santa. Here's how I approach the issue with my own five year old boy.

I found a great illustrated kid's book on Nicholas of Myra, which we read for bedtime. He was enthralled, just as he is with all his bible stories. This image of goodness will stick with him and give him a type of wonder which Santa simply can't provide.

Now, mind you, I do not deny Santa outright. His mother, a unbeliever who divorced me last year because of a growing antagonism to the faith, uses Santa pretty heavily. It is a grim irony that modern folk, who claim to be so enlightened, sometimes cling desperately to replacement myths; perhaps because they have abandoned a true sense of judgment and reward. At any rate, for me to be pedantic about Santa might only promote discord between mother and son for no good reason.

So, I humor Santa without anxiety, knowing that my boy's spiritual imagination is being well-formed when he is under my care. Since we seek the kingdom first above all other good things, I know all the good things — like discernment — will be added to us as we grow. Someday he will view Santa with the true jolliness he deserves, because he will know who Santa really is. With an ancient Christian view, he will be able to enjoy his own imagination much more than any enlightened modern could ever hope to enjoy their own.

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