The SURPRISING Christian History Behind Santa Claus | Ep. 247

Takeaways with Kirk Cameron

TBN

Tv & Film, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 586 Ratings

🗓️ 16 December 2025

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

You may be surprised to learn that Santa Claus, or St. Nick, is based on a real Christian pastor who lived during the third and fourth century. Professor and author, Adam English, joins Kirk Cameron to discuss the incredible life of Saint Nicholas of Myra. Stories of his generosity and devotion to God were handed down generation to generation and became the inspiration for many of our modern holiday traditions. Don't miss this informative interview on Takeaways with Kirk Cameron on TBN! Missed the last episode? Listen in as ⁠⁠⁠Lee Strobel shares his investigation into The Case For Christmas! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WATCH Takeaways with Kirk Cameron episodes for free on TBN+⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Each episode of Takeaways with Kirk Cameron features knowledgeable guests having a respectful and thoughtful conversation surrounding topics that are impacting our society every day. Kirk’s hope is that you will walk away from this show with practical steps on how to better your family, your community, and your nation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:59.9	So he was a real Christian who really did love Jesus? I mean, St. Nicholas loved Jesus. When he was
1:07.0	born, Christianity was an illegal minority faith, persecuted faith.
1:11.5	When he died, Christianity was not only legalized, but was the preferred faith of the empire.
1:17.5	How did St. Nicholas become known in history as the greatest gift giver?
1:21.9	I think he points us back to Christ, and it points us back to the biblical example of generosity and justice.
1:27.7	My first guest serves as chair of the Department of Christian Studies at Campbell University.
1:33.3	Adam English teaches Christian theology and philosophy and he's the author of the saint
1:38.8	who would be Santa Claus, the true life and trials of Nicholas of Myra.
1:44.2	I love the fact that we're talking about a real person named St. Nicholas.
1:49.5	It's not just the Chris Cringle we see in cartoons.
	...

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