Christmas ‐ Philosophy for Everyone

Foreword: Joining the Manger to the Sleigh? ( Stephen Nissenbaum). Editor's Introduction (Scott C. Lowe). Part I: Christmas: In the Beginning. 1. Jesus, Mary and Hume: On the Possibility of the Virgin Birth (Zachary Jurgensen and Jason Southworth). 2. The Virgin Birth: Authentic Christmas Magic (Victor Lyons). 3. Putting the "Yule" Back in "Yuletide" (Todd Preston). Part II: Is Celebrating Christmas Really a Good Idea? 4. Armed for the War on Christmas (Scott F. Aiken). 5. Christmas Mythologies: Sacred and Secular (Guy Bennett-Hunter). 6. The Significance of Christmas for Liberal Multiculturalism (Mark Mercer). 7. Crummy Commercials and BB Guns: Son-of-a-Bitch Consumerism in a Christmas Classic (Erin Haire and Dustin Nelson). Part III: Santa: A Deeper Look. 8. The Mind of Santa Claus and the Metaphors He Lives By (William E. Deal and S. Waller). 9. Making a List, Checking It Twice: The Santa Claus Surveillance System (Richard Hancuff and Noreen O'Connor). 10. You'd Better Watch Out... (Will Williams). 11. Santa's Sweatshop: Elf Exploitation for Christmas (Matthew Brophy). Part IV: The Morality of Christmas. 12. Against the Santa Clause Lie: The Truth We Should Tell Our Children (David Kyle Johnson). 13. Lying to Children about Santa: Why It's Just Not Wrong (Era Gavrielides). 14. Putting Claus Back into Christmas (Steven D. Hales). 15. Scrooge Learns it All in One Night: Happiness and the Virtues of Christmas (Dane Scott). Part V: Christmas Through Others' Eyes. 16. Holly Jolly Atheists: A Naturalistic Justification for Christmas (Ruth Tallman). 17. Heaven, Hecate and Hallmark: Christmas in Hindsight (Marion G. Mason). 18. Festivus and the Need for Seasonal Absurdity (Caleb Holt). 19. Common Claus: Santa as Cross-Cultural Connection (Cindy Scheopner). Afterword (Santa Claus). Notes on Contributors (Santa's Elves).