Tooth Fairy Bullshit

[Edwardo Piet]

Yeah, fuck society. It has no bearing on reality. I mean, it's not generally accepted in society that I am turtle!!!. But society is wrong.

[The Grand Nudger]

Truth of the matter is, that no god believer ever shied away from deriding what society finds acceptable...it's only when they find themselves the brunt of the joke that they suddenly yearn for the safety of the mob.

[Crossless2.0]

Yeah, fuck society. It has no bearing on reality. I mean, it's not generally accepted in society that I am turtle!!!. But society is wrong.

Look, I know you took it hard when the Tooth Fairy didn't leave you money. We shouldn't have lied to you about that. (Well, in any case, I shouldn't have got drunk and passed out before placing the coins under your pillow.) But, yeah, there's no Tooth Fairy. We figured that you would come to that conclusion on your own. We'd have told you sooner if we had thought it would come to this.

But now you think you have no teeth because the Tooth Fairy failed to show? And you're a turtle because you have no teeth?!? This is lunacy and must stop! We've indulged you long enough. Now take that stupid piece of plywood off your back, get dressed properly, and be ready to go to church in 30 minutes.

[Catholic_Lady]

You're acting as though belief in tooth fairies and santa clause in our society is a thing though. I mean, it's not even that it's an "uncommon" thing, it's not a thing at all! Lol. I mean, have you ever even met a grown adult person who believed in the Tooth Fairy, to know that it's totally possible for someone to hold that belief while being a completely normal member of society? I'm assuming not.  

I mean no disrespect, but I think those saying that they would not think anything was very "off" about a grown man/woman in our society believing the tooth fairy exists, are being dishonest for the sake of keeping their argument intact.

1. Whether it's a thing in our society or not makes no difference to me. I'd treat it with the same level of respect if it was a thing. I'd still respect the person and their right to believe, but I would not feel the need to respect their beliefs.

2. How's this for you then? I could make up a new religion on the spot today. Yesterday it was not a thing. Would you respect my religion if it became a thing any more than if it was not a thing? Why or why not?

1. It should make a difference to you though. Because as I explained earlier, culture matters. A person who believes something that is completely out there in relation to their culture/society (like legitimate belief in the Tooth Fairy), is probably not a very normal person. That's not me being biased bc I personally don't believe in the tooth fairy, that's just being objective and honest.

2. It really just depends on what "religion" it is. If the religion was based even loosely on something that our culture takes seriously, like perhaps a denomination of an already existing religion/ideology, then I'd probably not think you were a nutter. If this religion was you saying the Easter Bunny is God, for example, then I'd think there's probably something not quite right with your mental state. However, if this belief in an Easter Bunny God becoming a thing in our society, then I wouldn't think that subsequent followers of that religion are nuts. Because that is what they are being taught, and that is what our society believed in. I'd still think you were nuts, since you're the one who pulled that literally out of crazy land in the first place, but I wouldn't think subsequent followers were nuts if it became a thing in our society.

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Again, it's a matter of scale and perspective. Over here in the UK, belief in gods typically isn't all that common. You can go from Land's End to John O'Groats and hardly bump into anyone who believes in any god. It's all about societal normalisation, which if it isn't a real thing bloody well oought to be, now that I've gone to the trouble of typing it. If toothfairyism had spread at swordpoint over the western world, the way the Abrahamic religions did, you'd most likely have been brought up in the faith and would be saying the exact same things now.

Yes.

[AceBoogie]

Let me clarify again, in case my message was lost. 

It's not the fact that Tooth Fairy belief is false, that would make me think a Tooth Fairy believer is nuts. It's the fact that the only people who believe in them, in our society, are little children. It isn't a belief that normal adult people in our society hold. In our society, it would take a pretty nutty adult to believe in the Tooth Fairy.  

If Tooth Fairy belief was a belief that normal adult people in our society held, I would see it the same exact way as I'd see Buddhism, or Islam, or Hinduism - I would see it as being false, but would not think there was anything wrong with the people who believed in them.

It's like how in our culture, spitting on someone's shoes is seen as something a weirdo would do. Why? Because it's not a normal thing to do in our society. There might be another culture out there who sees spitting on someone's shoes as a sign of respect. In that case, the person doing the spitting would not be a weirdo, he'd just be another regular person. 

Society/culture matters. In our society, it would be very strange for a grown man or a grown woman to believe in the tooth fairy. So if someone told me they did, I'd think "uhhh ok.... you're kind of a weirdo." Not because the belief is false, but because normal people in our society don't believe in that. 

So when you legitimately equate a belief like Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, etc etc... to a belief that is only held by little kids in our society, it's very insulting to our character, our intelligence, our sanity, etc etc.

The problem is, as I'm sure others have pointed out to you, as an atheist I see belief in the Tooth Fairy, Allah, Yahweh, or whatever else, as being on the same level. They're all backed by the same amount of evidence and all require the same amount of faith. Belief in the tooth fairy "not being a thing" in our society means very little. What about Greek mythology? Once upon a time people truly did believe in Zeus and Aphrodite and all these other gods... but, what, because it's "not a thing" anymore, it's as silly as believing in the tooth fairy?

The only reason people follow religions and the gods therein is because we ascribe really important jobs to these gods (i.e. creating the universe) and since these religions provide answers to unanswerable questions for people searching some type of deeper meaning, they become "a thing." However what society deems normal or abnormal has absolutely no bearing on anything.

Most people in our (American) society are weak willed, fickle and unambitious wastes of talent. I don't really care to strive for what's normal in a society like that, so let's just deal with the facts. The facts are... the same amount of evidence exists for your Yahweh as for my tooth fairy goddess.

[Jesster]

1. It should make a difference to you though. Because as I explained earlier, culture matters. A person who believes something that is completely out there in relation to their culture/society (like legitimate belief in the Tooth Fairy), is probably not a very normal person. That's not me being biased bc I personally don't believe in the tooth fairy, that's just being objective and honest.

Well it doesn't make a difference to me and I don't see that changing. Shouldn't that make you feel better about my comparison of your beliefs to the others? If I started disrespecting one set of believers, I would drag the others down with them. I refuse to do that. I think there also might still be some bias on your end simply because you've been raised with a socially acceptable belief.

2. It really just depends on what "religion" it is. If the religion was based even loosely on something that our culture takes seriously, like perhaps a denomination of an already existing religion/ideology, then I'd probably not think you were a nutter. If this religion was you saying the Easter Bunny is God, for example, then I'd think there's probably something not quite right with your mental state. However, if this belief in an Easter Bunny God becoming a thing in our society, then I wouldn't think that subsequent followers of that religion are nuts. Because that is what they are being taught, and that is what our society believed in. I'd still think you were nuts, since you're the one who pulled that literally out of crazy land in the first place, but I wouldn't think subsequent followers were nuts if it became a thing in our society.

So society taking something seriously is what matters to you? I can't identify with that. I don't care what society does or does not accept. It's not a popularity contest to me. I care about what's true and I see neither belief as true. I am going to see equal fault in someone's beliefs so long as I see either as untrue. I also don't think someone having false beliefs necessarily comes from insanity, either, no matter what the belief is. Yes, insanity can lead to any belief, but the same belief can appear in a perfectly sane person.

[Neo-Scholastic]

I remember how angry and hurt I felt when I was still a theist and my husband likened Catholic Christening and Baptism to a shaman shaking a rattle and casting a magic spell....I had slowly been letting go of the idea of God, and that comparison, once I calmed down and thought about it, was spot on. He wasn't trying to be cruel,  just pointing out what seemed an obvious comparison...If I say that believing in God is like believing in the tooth fairy, the point isn't to insult, but to point out that there are similarities.

Please allow me to apologize to you specifically. You are a thought and sensitive human being. Thank you for telling me your story.

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There is a big difference between disagreeing and disrespect. Saying that Bonhoeffer's faith was in error is fine. Saying his faith was ridiculous (or delusional) is disrespectful.

Why are your beliefs deserving of respect and mine are not?  It is my belief that your faith is ridiculous.  That is my actual, sincerely held belief.  I believe "douchebag" is the word you used to describe someone who holds that belief.

Because the not all beliefs have the same content. You cannot compare beliefs apart from their content.

[Edwardo Piet]

I remember how angry and hurt I felt when I was still a theist and my husband likened Catholic Christening and Baptism to a shaman shaking a rattle and casting a magic spell....I had slowly been letting go of the idea of God, and that comparison, once I calmed down and thought about it, was spot on. He wasn't trying to be cruel,  just pointing out what seemed an obvious comparison...If I say that believing in God is like believing in the tooth fairy, the point isn't to insult, but to point out that there are similarities.

Please allow me to apologize to you specifically. You are a thought and sensitive human being. Thank you for telling me your story.

So you do have some sense of taste then.

Yes she is

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And very very well said Aroura!

[Joods]

You know, I've been watching this thread and I'm seriously wondering, while everyone is comparing the tooth fairy to a magical sky daddy, and the fact that grown adults are crazy if they believe in one but not the other, then why it is perfectly acceptable for small children to believe in the tooth fairy AND a god? Neither the tooth fairy or god are ever "seen" by anyone. But the fact that children are taught to believe in both (by adults, no less!), seems to be okay.

Why has no one thought about that. Ohhh... that's because theists are okay with ANYONE believing in their magical sky daddy. Including small children.

Children are not born into this world believing in anything. Including god AND the tooth fairy. Parents and other adults introduce them, along with the Easter bunny and Santa Claus, while kids are still small enough to be brainwashed into thinking those things are real.

At some point in the indoctrination stage of these mythical creatures, the adult has to spin the story well enough to make the impression of these things last for years. So why then, has it become acceptable for adults to keep spinning the god story to children, long into their teens okay, but you can't keep continuing to do the same thing for the other mythical creatures? Sorry - god doesn't get a free pass on this. He's the same as the other mythical creatures and should be treated as such. At some point, you need to let your kids down gently and tell them that he's just as much a myth as Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.

[Cato]

Because the not all beliefs have the same content. You cannot compare beliefs apart from their content.

This is absurd. Without conscious effort our brains are constantly engaged in comparison of everything resulting a very intricate storage and ability to recall information that no computer can replicate with speed.

For example, start spouting things that are red. Both a stop sign and fire engine are likely to come to mind. A stop sign might also come up in a list of octagons, the fire engine would not.

My point is that 'content' isn't the only attribute being compared. In the case of this thread, the tooth fairy, God and the multiverse all belong to the group of things for which there is no evidence. The comparison is fair and you can't arbitrarily narrow the comparison to 'content' to avoid this inconvenient fact.