Pastor Edward Carothers seems like a barrel of laughs. He’s the man behind a church sign outside the Born Again Independent Baptist Church in Harlem, Georgia, that’s been raising eyebrows. It reads:

SANTA IS SATAN

Also:

SANTA GREAT IMPOSTER

So what’s Carothers’ beef with the big-bellied gift-giver from the North Pole?

“We believe that Santa Claus is robbing Christ of his glory,” the pastor said. … “We have come to the point where we have replaced Jesus Christ and his birthday with a fictitious character named ‘Santa’ and we have lifted him up instead of lifting up the savior.”

Fine. But by equating Santa with the Evil One, pastor Carothers seems to have bitten off a little more than he can chew. People were annoyed beyond reason, he says incredulously.

“It’s amazing to me that people would get this upset over a fictitious creature,” he [told] News 12.

Read that line again. Isn’t the lack of self-awareness just precious?

“They grow up believing in Santa Claus, they grow up believing in the Tooth Fairy, they grow up believing in the Easter Bunny, they grow up in some homes believing in Jesus Christ. Well when they get older they find out the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus ain’t real. So, what about this fourth person called Jesus?” he said.

Good question, kids! Keep asking it!

In case you hadn’t noticed, Carothers is miffed.

“You look all over the country and people have Santa Claus and reindeer and everything else up but no Jesus,” the pastor said.

Except in millions of mangers, in hundreds of thousands of Christmas sermons, and on the lips of about 150 million prayerful Christians.

For the folks who have spoken out against him, he has a message. “I want them to know that we believe in Jesus and we’re going to lift up and magnify him on his birthday. It’s his birthday. It’s not Santa’s birthday,” he said.

I’m confused. Weren’t atheists supposed to be the Grinches?



