Posted on 12/15/2016 2:49:35 PM PST by PghBaldy
PHILADELPHIA (CBS/CNN) — It was a story many wanted to believe: A terminally ill child gets his last wish to see Santa and dies in his arms.
But the Tennessee newspaper that ran it first now says it can no longer stand by the account and now there’s conflicting reports as to whether this happened.
The Knoxville News Sentinel story quickly went viral after it was published Sunday. USA Today republished the column, which was written by News Sentinel columnist Sam Venable. A host of national news outlets gave it additional coverage, including CNN, who spoke to Santa actor Eric Schmitt-Matzen about his interaction with the boy in his final moments.
“When you get to those pearly gates, you tell ’em you’re Santa’s No. 1 elf, and I know they’ll let you in,” Schmitt-Matzen recalled telling the boy.
(Excerpt) Read more at philadelphia.cbslocal.com ...
What? A media source lying to get ratings? Tell kit ain’t so! /S
Better than worshiping an idol friend.
I side with Christ. Those that don’t will be completely miserable for all of eternity. And eternity is a long, long time.
Knoxville does have a Children's Hospital that serves the region. The hospital is kid friendly meaning you are likely to go in and see volunteers dressed up as characters. I went over there years ago with a grandchild close to Halloween and workers were dressed up. Hospitals and workers must maintain patient privacy. IOW no names released without a signed permission. Simply because the family can not be located or will not come forward doesn't mean it didn't happen.
I stopped reading the paper due to the liberal management of it and it's liberal slant which has gotten worse since Scripts Howard sold it to USA or Gannet.
There is a reasonable possibility it could have happened and the family has a right to their privacy. Just because it didn't show up in the Obits means nothing either. The hospitals in Knoxville seeing most children will then be sent to the Children's Hospital for specialized care instead of other hospitals one even next door under protocol because children's doctors are in an adjoining profersional building and next door to a cancer center. Childrens Hospital serves not just Knoxville but most counties in east Tennessee are and many in Kentucky and SW Virginia. The hospital has a helo-pad and many get flown in form more remote areas. As well with the ever increasing funeral cost and the high cost of a newspaper Obit not all deaths make it to the paper.
Unless the person playing Santa says it didn't happen there is no way to verify nor for that matter deny.
TL; DR
I read it and thought something was off. Then I felt bad for thinking that. One of the things that bothered me was that the mother wasn’t in the room. Your child is dying and you are out of the room ... when your kid is there with Santa? It didn’t make sense.
I felt like a Grinch for what I thought, but as usual, my gut was right.
If you ever took a Child Evangelism course, you'd know that 70% of children that will accept Christ, do it by age 13. After that, it is a huge drop off. So yeah, the issue does matter for Christians.
If it came from CBS, and it is fake news, it is OK ... they have held the copyright on “fake news” and “fake but accurate” news for over 15 years.
Oh, I know, it's just so horrible! We're all going to BURN IN HEEEEEEIILLLLL!! Fire! Flame! Burn! Eternity!
You cared about Santa more than you cared about me, Little Johnny, so I'm going to throw you into a SEA OF FLAME UNTIL THE END OF TIIIIIMMMMEEEE, because I'm jealous, and I can't handle it!
MERRY CHRISTMAS, EBENEEZER!
I choose to point people to Christ rather than a false idol.
Incidentally, "Ebenezer" is a stone set up in 1 Samuel 7:12 as a foreshadowing of the Messiah, or "Christ," which pictures Him as a strong rock.
What better time to be a child then at Christmas?
Too bad it’s lost on you.
I care about souls, not trinkets. I was brought up on the fat guy in a red suit, wishing my parents had told me the truth so that I could have dedicated my youth to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior.
Do you see the two competing world views? Why is that so hard to understand?
I bet you are the life of every Christmas party.
You have got to be fending off invitations with a stick at this point.
Am I going to see you on a highway neutral ground Dec. 25 yelling loudly at cars stopped at the stop light?
First of all I wouldn’t be dressed up in a Santa’s outfit. Secondly, I wouldn’t refer to heaven as pearly gates as if the child knew what that was. Thirdly, I would tell him how much he is loved by Jesus and his parents. . .no need for the elf thing. Unfortunately many adults reading the story thought it was cute and they along with Santa and Mrs. Santa don’t know the “real story” of Christmas or what awaits people after death. Come to think of it, I don’t really remember believing in Santa. A girl in my 5th grade class was still believing in him and her mother made a nasty phone call to my mother because I told the gal the truth not knowing at the time she still believed in Santa. Time on this earth is very short and unfortunately this country majors in the make-believe. Just look at the election and what or should I say who many of the electorate “believed in”.
May the Lord lead you to his truth.
He already did, but I thank you for you kind wishes, and I hope you have a Merry Christmas.
Exactly - nor disproven. But the libs can’t have a story like this strengthening peoples faith so rather than print a headline that says additional confirmation can’t be proven they say the story is completely unraveling.
Like he said - if they want to call him a liar let em - he doesn’t care - he knows what is really important and he hasn’t changed his story after multiple times.
You two are the kind of “Christians” that turn people off to the church and God. Calling yourself a Christian is amazing because you act like anything but Christ-like. Jesus was a grace filled, loving, kind man/teacher. You’d probably meet the woman at the well and condemn her rather than give her grace and make her want to follow you. Self-righteous people like you two are just like the Pharisees - you think you’re better than others and can’t see the pride and intolerance in your own souls and the log in your own eye!
I would think a child would want to see JESUS.
I formed propositional statements on what is true, and was met with ad hominem attacks, a very liberal/democrat tactic. If one cannot win by facts, then come the attacks.
Jesus most certainly was graceful, but he didn't suffer any fools either. He CORRECTED bad doctrine. The Pharisees for their part, were the result of bad doctrine and their hardened hearts prevented them from accepting who Jesus is: the Christ.
Did Jesus ever claim to be God? Yes He did, and the Pharisees sought to stone Him. They didn't want to hear the truth.
The issue with Satan Claus is: it blinds our children to truth. That is my point. I experienced it in my own life, and I've experienced it in ministry. My proposition is: our country would be in a far better position if we abandoned the fat dude, and reinstated Jesus to His rightful place. There is nothing Pharisaical about that.
Even if it was a true story, getting teary eyed over a child dying in Santa's arms is ridiculous. Not hearing about the truth of Jesus Christ is what should bring us to tears.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.