# How come Jesus can be reincarnated but there's no Easter Bunny or Santa Clause? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 16, 2017, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590 "2017-04-16T22:47:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/21 "2017-04-17T11:39:14Z")
Nicholas of Myra was a historical figure. Believers and I seem to agree that there were mythical details added to his story. That’s the difference between him and Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/22 "2017-04-17T12:14:57Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I don’t have an answer for this question. I’ve wondered the same thing for a long time. My religious parents played up Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny big time. I guess they believed that Jesus’ realness is so self-evident that they didn’t have to worry about confusing us kids with other tales of wonder. And I don’t remember having a crisis of faith after I stopped believing in SC and the EB. Ditto for me. Not believing in the EB/SC and my loss of faith (so to speak) were totally unrelated incidents that came years apart and had nothing at all to do with each other. Also, and this is probably at least partially related for most people, even though we all knew the meaning behind Easter and Christmas and we made damn sure to get to Church on those days, ultimately it was a day of hanging out with the family and giving/receiving gifts. If we spent the day reflecting religious aspects, things might have been different, one way or another. > [@](#): > > I will say this: As a kid, Easter filled me with a ton of fear. For one thing, I was terrified of the Easter bunny. I’d be afraid to open my eyes upon waking because I just _knew_ I’d catch him hopping around in my bedroom. And of course that thought filled me with terror. So I’d keep my eyes squeezed shut until I heard my parents get up. I think that somewhat common. I mentioned to my sister that I got off lucky in that my daughter puts teeth she’s lost right outside her bedroom door. Sure beats trying to get my hand under her pillow at 11pm. She told me that one of the kids she babysits for is so terrified of the Easter Bunny that the he conveniently, for some reason, leaves all their gifts on the front porch and never has to come in the house. > [@](#): > > But there was another reason why I was scared to open my eyes. Jesus. I had somehow gotten into my head that Jesus sometimes made guest appearances on Easter. And not the nice clean Jesus, but the bloody one with the thorns stuck in his head. [Really wish I could find that It’s Always Sunny Clip, but no luck] > [@](#): > > A giant rabbit is scary to me personally Elwood P Dowd, let me give you one of my cards. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/23 "2017-04-17T12:21:31Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And because they both are said to do certain things, which are provably done by someone else. Not so fast there. I woke up Sunday at 6 am (and promptly texted my brother, “I am risen”, as is my yearly tradition) and found a basket of candy, light sticks, tic-tacs, and a $25 gift card to my favorite bar, on the side porch. Assuming it was from our neighbors, I thanked them that afternoon when I saw them in their garden. _They denied any knowledge of the basket._ :eek: It would be impossible to drive up to our home without the dogs barking. At this point, although I’m an atheist, and until proven otherwise, I do believe in the Easter bunny. And he/she is awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/24 "2017-04-17T13:29:11Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > If you accept that there is this all seeing, all knowing God who runs the Universe, and this God decided to send his son/self in human form to be sacrificed and then come back to life a few days later, why is the existence of Santa and the Easter Bunny considered absurd? If Jesus was in the small consumer goods distribution game, this would be a more accurate test. It’s harder to compare “will I get jelly beans” to “will my immortal soul experience a blessed afterlife” though. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/25 "2017-04-17T15:07:27Z")
Simple. Compartmentalization. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/26 "2017-04-17T15:58:39Z")
Probably the same way someone can believe alien life exists in the universe, but they don’t believe the movie Independence Day depicts true events. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/27 "2017-04-17T16:00:01Z")
My answer: of the three, Jesus is the only one who actually existed. You are comparing something that probably didn’t happen to someone vs. two fictional characters. Okay, maybe you can make the case that comparing the real St. Nicholas to Santa and comparing the real Rabbach Jeshua ben-Joseph (if I heard the name correctly) to the biblical version of Jesus, but I don’t see it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/28 "2017-04-17T16:01:14Z")
Yeah, I used to wonder that folk would fervently believe in some irrational, unprovable stuff, but not others. I believe Shermer addresses it to some extent in How We Believe, but it is a while since I read it. Why does someone believe in christianity, but not fortune telling? Or ESP? Why not Scientology? Or John Smith’s Angel Moroni? What do christians have in their favor other than age and numbers? How could ANYONE express the belief that THEIR religin is true, and someone else’s equally unprovable beliefs are not? [QOUTE]If the Jesus story had come explicitly from people making up stories, then those who follow him would consider him fake, too. But the Gospels describe him as a historical figure. [/QUOTE] I’m pretty sure people are capable of making up stories in which they describe characters as historical figures. > [@](#): > > Because Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny were intentionally made up. The only people that were ever told they were real were children. And because they both are said to do certain things, which are provably done by someone else. My wife has said that the most influential person in history was whoever had the bright idea to hide the body! 😃 Not sure what God or Jesus has supposedly done that hasn’t provably been shown to have some other cause. Unless you praise the “God of the gaps.” And if something is simply unknowable (such as what existed before the big bang), I wonder why someone chooses to select a particular fairy tale to explain it. When my eldest kid was pre-school - maybe 3, she had a friend down the block. It pissed us off that they would teach their kid in a manner such that she told our kid that there was no Santa and that Jesus was the reason for the season. We told our kid that if the “friend” ever said anything about it again, to say that every x-mas morning Santa leaves presents and eats the cookies we leave out . What comparable signs does she have that her supposed Jesus exists? :dubious: Actually, we never tried to tell our kids that any superstition was wrong. We just told them to look to the evidence supporting whatever claims and make up their own minds. Of course, we expressed the reasons we held our beliefs. Took them to various houses of worship and enrolled them in comparative RE classes. And told them every person could choose to believe in whatever they wanted, and we couldn’t say whether such beliefs were right or wrong for that person. Formula succeeded in raising 3 skeptical, rational heathens! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/29 "2017-04-17T16:38:17Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Claus, not Clause Regardless of our differing beliefs, I think we can all agree we don’t want to wake up to find Tim Allen stumbling around our house. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/30 "2017-04-17T17:44:47Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Claus, not Clause And, once you consider that the fat old fellow is the comercialized version of Saint Nicholas of Bari, who says he didn’t exist? Saint Nick of Bari did; the comercialized thing does. But the comercialized thing isn’t a saint. ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2017, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/31 "2017-04-18T01:23:07Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Claus, not Clause _Up on the rooftop reindeer paws, out pops dear old subordinate clause._ Actual grammar joke - from 7th grade, I think. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/32 "2017-04-18T01:59:51Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Because people can believe things that you don’t believe, without also believing _other_ things that you also don’t believe. > > The OP’s question struck me as a non-sequitur, at least slightly related to an “[Appeal To The Moon](https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/43/Appeal-to-the-Moon).” That’s not really the same thing. It’s more a slippery slope where if you open the door to one “supernatural being”, it opens the realm of possibility to others. If there’s Jesus, then why not St Nicholas / Santa. And if there’s Santa, then why not elves and flying reindeer, Krampus, Belsnickel\*, Black Pete and so on. - I thought this was something Dwight Shrute made up on The Office. My wife’s family is from Eastern PA area and apparently it’s an actual thing. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2017, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/33 "2017-04-18T03:11:58Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > That’s not really the same thing. It’s more a slippery slope where if you open the door to one “supernatural being”, it opens the realm of possibility to others. Okay, fair enough. The believer in Jesus would still need a reason to believe in those other things, and/or a lack of reasons to disbelieve in them (beyond merely that they are supernatural). Just because you believe in some _natural_ things, does that mean you have to believe in anything and everything that isn’t supernatural? [QUOTE=G. K. Chesterton] 'Well, I do believe some things, of course," conceded Father Brown; "and therefore, of course, I don’t believe other things.” [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2017, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/34 "2017-04-18T05:36:55Z")
I don’t understand the connection that the OP is trying to make. Christmas and Easter are Christian holidays. Santa and the Easter Bunny are secular characters created for kids. They give kids and young-at-heart adults a light hearted connection to the holiday. We always took our family to Easter Services and had a Easter egg hunt afterwards. Giving our kids the religious and secular experience. Same thing for Christmas. We attended early morning service and opened presents afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2017, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/35 "2017-04-18T09:59:00Z")
This is a question that gets wrestled with at times in fantasy and horror fiction. Suppose you found out that, say, werewolves as presented in lore and pop culture were 100% real. What, if anything, does that say about the existence of vampires? Ghosts? Aliens visiting Earth? The objective truth of any religion? If you find out one “impossible/supernatural” thing is true, how far does the door open to ANYTHING impossible/supernatural? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2017, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/36 "2017-04-18T10:58:36Z")
I like to say that there’s more evidence that Robin Hood and King Arthur were real, than there is for Jesus existing, let alone performing miracles. Santa at least has a clear historical record of origin. The Easter Bunny really ought not be lumped into the Santa level of belief, he has nothing to back him up. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2017, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/37 "2017-04-18T11:33:32Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I like to say that there’s more evidence that Robin Hood and King Arthur were real, than there is for Jesus existing… What evidence about King Arthur are you referring to that is better historical evidence than Josephus? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2017, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/38 "2017-04-18T11:38:25Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > What evidence about King Arthur are you referring to that is better historical evidence than Josephus? Not much. Which is my point. I don’t know if I’m correct in saying it, I just like to say it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2017, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/39 "2017-04-18T11:48:58Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Not so fast there. > > I woke up Sunday at 6 am (and promptly texted my brother, “I am risen”, as is my yearly tradition) and found a basket of candy, light sticks, tic-tacs, and a $25 gift card to my favorite bar, on the side porch. > > Assuming it was from our neighbors, I thanked them that afternoon when I saw them in their garden. _They denied any knowledge of the basket._ :eek: > > It would be impossible to drive up to our home without the dogs barking. At this point, although I’m an atheist, and **until proven otherwise** , I do believe in the Easter bunny. And he/she is awesome. (post shortened, then reverted back to full post) (Bolding mine) So, I no longer believe in the Easter bunny.☹ I used the gift card from my Easter basket yesterday after work. The bartender said, “that was so sweet of your gf to make you an Easter basket!” I never suspected her. She was right there when I thanked our neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2017, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590/40 "2017-04-18T11:53:38Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Not much. Which is my point. > > I don’t know if I’m correct in saying it, I just like to say it. OK, but it’s the other way around. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-jesus-can-be-reincarnated-but-theres-no-easter-bunny-or-santa-clause/784590.md?page=3)