The following is a modification of the famous editorial, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” by Francis P. Church, first published in The New York Sun in 1897. 

Click here to see the original newspaper clipping: http://www.newseum.org/yesvirginia/clipping.htm

Dear Liberty Advocate:  I am 8 years old.

Some of my little friends say there is no Jesus Christ.

Papa says, "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God."

Please tell me the truth; is there a Jesus Christ?

Virginia O'Doubting

115 New Generation Way

My dear Virginia,

            Your little friends are wrong.  They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age.  They do not believe except they see.  They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds.  All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little.  In this great universe of ours man, is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

            Yes, Virginia, there is a Jesus Christ.  He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.  Alas! how dark and dreary would be the world if there were no Jesus Christ.  For Jesus Christ is The Light of the World.  There would be no childlike faith then, no hope, no joy, no peace, no love to make tolerable this existence.  We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight.  The Light of the World that fills us with hope, peace, love, and joy would be extinguished. 

            Not believe in Jesus Christ!  You might as well not believe in God!  You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the churches to catch Jesus Christ, but even if they did not see Jesus Christ appear at the altar, what would that prove?  Nobody today sees Jesus Christ, but that is no sign that there is no Jesus Christ.  The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see.  Did you see God create the world?  Of course not, but that’s no proof that He is not our Creator.  Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. 

            And, Virginia, the disciples Matthew, Mark, and John followed Jesus when He walked among us.  And what they heard Jesus say, and the miracles they saw Jesus perform are written down in the Gospels of the New Testament.

            And today Jesus lives in the hearts of men and women and children who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who came to die for our sins.  Virginia, if you continue to read and believe the Bible you will know the truth:  Jesus is the Christ.

            No Jesus Christ! Thank God! He lives, and He lives forever.  A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, He will continue to make glad the hearts of men and women and children around the world.

             God bless you and your little friends,

             Liberty Advocate

             December 6, 2008