Prove or Disprove the Tooth Fairy

[Richard III]

No, it's very different, because unlike God, Santa or the Easter Bunny, I know of no marketing campaign to support the Tooth Fairy.

 

[FredLC]

Come on, don't you know that all the dentists in the world work for the tooth fairy, in a worldwide conspiracy to get everybody's teeth without paying the correct values, and use them to build a giant 5-stars fairy hotel in the neverland, where all fairies in the world can relax and watch male strips from Peter Pan?

All the evidence back me up. How many of the tooth you lost you still have? have you ever considered where they are going to?

Do you know that each they there are more dentists in the world?

And who do you think sponsor the giant candy industry, which's clear purpose is to boost the probability of us taking our children to the dentists.

I got it from a dentist I used to date.

Scout's honor!

 

[Mrogreturns]

I once fell asleep with my head under the pillow and when I woke up- all my teeth were missing. I was compensated, however, by a pile of coins

Warning- Fairy spoiler ahead

I guess that every child eventually spots their parents doing the "dirty work". When children become parents themselves, they take over that role. Perhaps the same doesn't apply to the works attributed to god/s.

 

[floppa21]

You have a point Mrogreturns... Except that God does not do SH*T. Whereas the Fairy supposedly left us money or a toy, God does not do ANYTHING for us. God never left me money, or a chocolate bunny, or a colored egg.

 

[Gainy]

Floppa, God was the means for the best selling book in the world

Saying this i prefer the money...

 

[floppa21]

HERD MENTALITY is responsible for the best selling book in the world.

You ever hear a television referred to as a 'Devil Box'? Maybe we should rename it 'God' as so many do as it says.

 

[CurtSibling]

The tooth fairy is in the same bracket as god, being a fantasy character.

I think this thread's premise is perfectly acceptable.

I guess that every child eventually spots their parents doing the "dirty work". When children become parents themselves, they take over that role. Perhaps the same doesn't apply to the works attributed to god/s.

Actually it does. A winning quote.

This example can be used to attribute the reason why religionism and god-worship survives in this day and age.
From a young age, a child is usually forcibly converted, conformed and his personality crushed, much like his parent before.
When the kid becomes a parent, he takes over his parents job of carrying on the indoctrination and continuation of worship/fabrication.

 

[Japanrocks12]

Tooth Fairy!

Good Joke!

 

[Mrogreturns]

Originally posted by CurtSibling
The tooth fairy is in the same bracket as god, being a fantasy character.

I think this thread's premise is perfectly acceptable.

I guess that every child eventually spots their parents doing the "dirty work". When children become parents themselves, they take over that role. Perhaps the same doesn't apply to the works attributed to god/s.

Actually it does. A winning quote.

This example can be used to attribute the reason why religionism and god-worship survives in this day and age.
From a young age, a child is usually forcibly converted, conformed and his personality crushed, much like his parent before.
When the kid becomes a parent, he takes over his parents job of carrying on the indoctrination and continuation of worship/fabrication.

What I mean is that we don't catch our parents out creating the universe, and we don't go on to do that ourselves when we grow up- these being the works attributed to god/s).

 

[floppa21]

My point is you can find out the Tooth Fairy is fake because the Tooth Fairy is attributed with DOING SOMETHING. What does God do now? NOTHING. How can you catch God in the act when he does nothing?

 

[Perfection]

Originally posted by Richard III
No, it's very different, because unlike God, Santa or the Easter Bunny, I know of no marketing campaign to support the Tooth Fairy.

You should see "Red Dragon!"

 

[Mrogreturns]

Originally posted by floppa21
My point is you can find out the Tooth Fairy is fake because the Tooth Fairy is attributed with DOING SOMETHING. What does God do now? NOTHING. How can you catch God in the act when he does nothing?

Well I agree with you- but that's really just my opinion- for all I know god might be guiding my fingers as I type this .... he he lets see if he makes a spelling mistake.

 

[h4ppy]

I can disprove it. Different people get different amounts of money from their parents. I got $1, a poor kid I knew got a quarter, a kid with generous parents got $2. The toothfairy would not hate all children who are poor, and if he/she/it does then he/she/it better stay out of my house. besides I have other anti-fairy info. Once I forgot to tell my parents but I put the tooth under my pillow anyway but it was there when I woke up. One kid I know found her baby teeth in her house when she was older.(her parents saved them)

 

[gael]

Theres an aweful amount of sh*te gets talked here sometimes.

 

[Perfection]

Originally posted by h4ppy
I can disprove it. Different people get different amounts of money from their parents. I got $1, a poor kid I knew got a quarter, a kid with generous parents got $2. The toothfairy would not hate all children who are poor, and if he/she/it does then he/she/it better stay out of my house. besides I have other anti-fairy info. Once I forgot to tell my parents but I put the tooth under my pillow anyway but it was there when I woke up. One kid I know found her baby teeth in her house when she was older.(her parents saved them)

Nope, the tooth fairy is an elitist snob. And sometimes stupid parents get to the kids first.

 

[Shadylookin]

kid with generous parents got $2

bah i once got $10 a tooth when i had to have 2 teeth drilled out of my jaw. mabey she compensates for the amount of work it took. personaly i would have accepted the narcotics the dentist gave me as payment, but i guess she doesn't know anybody in the buisness.

 

[Mrogreturns]

Originally posted by CurtSibling


I think this thread's premise is perfectly acceptable.

I agree, and itfs certainly a fascinating point to ponder- why do people who dismiss the tooth fairy out of hand persist in a belief in god?

Looking at the various threads on religion, there seems to be two broad viewpoints. In the following discussion I'll just refer to a single male god purely for convenience

1st viewpoint: There is a god. Perhaps this god makes himself known on a personal level to those who are open to / seek it.. etc

2nd viewpoint: People are simply following what they have been taught to believe.

I am going to bypass the first point of view. No offense to the religious, but as has been remarked upon many, many times- we can't really examine the issue.

So on to the second point of view- religious people are simply following what they have been taught. If correct, this raises a number of questions

1. Why did religious ideas originate in the first place? Why did so many (perhaps all?) cultures develop the notion of divine beings?

A number of posters have stated the view that the notion arose to explain the world around us. Fair enough- but why did that particular explanation crop up so often? Why is it, seemingly, such a natural explanation?

2. Given that we now have better explanations to account for the phenomenona we encounter, why do many people still retain a belief in god?

Itfs easy to say they are stupid, gullible, unthinking, irrational etc. But, there are intelligent people who are religious. I know an active researcher into Huntington's disease who is a creationist, I know of a number of other religious people who are also engaged in scientific research. There are posters on these forums who believe in god and are clearly very intelligent.

Perhaps we could argue that, while generally intelligent and rational, they have a blind-spot for this issue. So the next question is- why this issue?

Perhaps it is because the belief was instilled at an early age, making it difficult to overcome, perhaps the believer is not even consciously aware of this influence. Perhaps it reflects a fear of death- no need to fear it if you are in god's good books. Perhaps it gives them an ego-boost being the loved son/daughter of the allmighty creater?

Well I think that these or similar factors account for some people's belief (maybe most, maybe a minority- who knows?), but there is at least one other factor that should be considered.

Some people have, what they precieve to be, spiritual experiences- a sense of an other-worldly prescence. IMO the proximal cause of this lies in the function of the central nervous system. Consequently, the experience would be just as real as anything brought to you by your senses.

Which leads to my final question (possibly linked to the first question above)- Why do our brains (or at least some of them) have the capacity to generate such experiences?

 

[floppa21]

There was a time when I was "open & seeking"... But I digress.

Why did religion come up all over the place? People are HERD ANIMALS. Majority are followers or audience, minority are leaders or stars. People need to be led. People are more than willing to follow. People need something to believe in, unfortunately, they don't choose for it to be themselves.

Why retain a belief in God? Because if you have bad legs and you toss your crutches away, you will fall. Without a floaty, you will sink. There's always a possibility your legs are healed, or maybe you can actually swim on your own now... But why take the chance? Better to be SAFE than SELF-sufficient.
This is not intelligence related, but SELF related. Low Self-Esteem? Religions propagate that. Inferiority complex? Religions further that. HERD MENTALITY? Religions feed off of that. GUILT? Religions would die without it.

A fear of death? It could be argued that religions are death cults. They fill it's followers with guilt and try to change the natural state of humans. They tell us things we desire naturally from birth are abominable and sinful. Change your ways or burn in Hell. Ever hear of stress? Ever hear of eustress? Roller coasters, bungee jumping... People are death obsessed. They don't need to wear black. It's in the media, on the radio... No news is good news? BULL. Bad news is good news. Who wants to hear happy things on the news. People would stop watching if it was only good & happy things. Again, not an intelligent thing, a LEARNED thing.

You can make yourself see or hear anything if you really want to. This also means you can blind yourself to anything if you really want to. Possibly that is what I am doing now. But when I went to church and I wanted to know God, when I prayed and believed and opened my heart, I got nothing. I DO NOT have blind faith. I did not feel anything. Say I was expecting too much. Say I didn't pray hard enough. Say I didn't believe enough or open up enough or mean what I said enough.

In the name of Man I compell you. In the name of Love I compell you. In the name of Mental Health I compell you. In the name of All That Is Holy I compell you. In the name of Satan I compell you.

 

[Mrogreturns]

Originally posted by floppa21
There was a time when I was "open & seeking"... But I digress.

But now you are just here to set the rest of us straight?

Originally posted by floppa21

Why did religion come up all over the place? People are HERD ANIMALS. Majority are followers or audience, minority are leaders or stars. People need to be led. People are more than willing to follow. People need something to believe in, unfortunately, they don't choose for it to be themselves.

1. This doesn't tell me why it was the concept of divine\magical beings that came up again and again. Why didn't these ancesteral shysters come up with a different scam now and again?

2. People are herd animals..need something to believe in etc-

As above, this is not a useful explanation. Even assuming it is 100% true, it doesn't explain why people need something to believe in, etc.

Originally posted by floppa21

Why retain a belief in God? Because if you have bad legs and you toss your crutches away, you will fall. Without a floaty, you will sink. There's always a possibility your legs are healed, or maybe you can actually swim on your own now... But why take the chance? Better to be SAFE than SELF-sufficient.
This is not intelligence related, but SELF related. Low Self-Esteem? Religions propagate that. Inferiority complex? Religions further that. HERD MENTALITY? Religions feed off of that. GUILT? Religions would die without it.

A fear of death? It could be argued that religions are death cults. They fill it's followers with guilt and try to change the natural state of humans. They tell us things we desire naturally from birth are abominable and sinful. Change your ways or burn in Hell. Ever hear of stress? Ever hear of eustress? Roller coasters, bungee jumping... People are death obsessed. They don't need to wear black. It's in the media, on the radio... No news is good news? BULL. Bad news is good news. Who wants to hear happy things on the news. People would stop watching if it was only good & happy things. Again, not an intelligent thing, a LEARNED thing.

As I stated in my post, I consider that such considerations play a role- so no real disagreement here.

Originally posted by floppa21

You can make yourself see or hear anything if you really want to. This also means you can blind yourself to anything if you really want to. Possibly that is what I am doing now. But when I went to church and I wanted to know God, when I prayed and believed and opened my heart, I got nothing. I DO NOT have blind faith. I did not feel anything. Say I was expecting too much. Say I didn't pray hard enough. Say I didn't believe enough or open up enough or mean what I said enough.

Firstly, I may be wrong, but I get the impression that you read me as implying that the fact people have "spitual" experiences means that there is a god. That was not my intention- and I deliberatly said nothing about the possible distal cause(s) of such experiences.

What you can make yourself experience is limited by your brain. You can make yourself see or hear things because you have brain tissue specialised to generate those experiences. Presumeably, we have evolved those abilities because they allow us to refer to an internal model of the world- with obvious survival advantages.

Why do our brains (or at least some of them) have the capacity to generate "spiritual" experiences? Why do we have the ability to include them in our mental model? I don't know- could be put there by god to allow him to communicate with us, could have been genetically engineered by aliens as an experiement, could just be a wholly pointless ability that accidently evolved in conjunction with other mental processes (I tend to favour the last explanation myself- but, again, just an opinion).

What I find interesting is the posibility of a biological basis to some aspects of religion. There may be a good many controversies on the horizon related to this issue.

Originally posted by floppa21

In the name of Man I compell you. In the name of Love I compell you. In the name of Mental Health I compell you. In the name of All That Is Holy I compell you. In the name of Satan I compell you.

You seem to have an obsession with compulsion

 

[Ian Beale]

Well when putting a stocking in my sisters bedroom he fell over her CD player waking everyone up! He also responded to letters that my sister had written to him and made the mistake of keeping them in the bottom of his wardrobe. I think it's been proved quite conclusively. It's a nice idea and i enjoyed the thought of there being a toothfairy and Santa. It's part of growing up and is good for the imagination.