Man's morality

[Tonus]

My evidence for the lack of a Santa Claus is the complete and total lack of proof that he is real. There are stories, songs, paintings, and propaganda... and yet no Santa. You know it... and I know it. Same is true for God. There are stories, songs, paintings, and propaganda... but when you get right down to it... NOTHING of the divine has EVER been substantiated.

This reminds me of the exchanges I had with jstrodel, where I used the example of the reality of the Tooth Fairy in the eyes of a child versus his belief in god's existence. It's not as easy with Santa Claus, at least in those places where his live presence is so ubiquitous (the Santa on the street corner, the Santa in the mall, etc). It's not difficult for a child to get the impression that there's something very suspicious about this Santa character, and when he is told that the old fellow doesn't exist the pieces probably just fall into place.

But the Tooth Fairy is different. You don't sit on her lap at the mall and ask for presents or see her standing on a street corner ringing a bell (well, outside of Las Vegas I suppose). All the child knows is the story, and that when he wakes up in the morning his tooth has been replaced by a shiny coin (or perhaps even more). The child has physical evidence backed by the testimony of his parents! Like Santa, at some point the parents confess and the child learns that it's just a bit of fantasy meant to make life seem a bit more magical for a short time.

Santa and the Tooth Fairy seem to differ from god in two ways: the child has less evidence for god, but is never told that he's fake. Imagine if we did that with those other icons? In light of religious beliefs and attitudes today, does it seem such a stretch to think that grown-ups would believe in them, even as they took over the task of delivering presents and slipping quarters under the pillows of sleeping children?