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God, Santa, and The Tooth Fairy
#1
God, Santa, and The Tooth Fairy
I can understand a conception of god that inherently disqualifies god from the category of ‘magical, imaginary things,’ i.e. the tooth fairy, Santa Clause, etc. (thank you @Neo-Scholastic for harping on the subject often enough that it finally tickled my thinker), and I’m happy to be charitable toward any argument that attempts to make such a distinction. What I’m having a hard time with is:

How can we rationally square that god is simultaneously not of the world, yet tangible in such a way that makes comparing god to magic and fantasy a category error? If a theist proposes that god is being erroneously lumped in with a particular stripe of concepts that he/she/it, de facto, doesn’t belong with, then I would say it’s the theist’s responsibility to lay out a pathway to grounding god in reality that actualizes god without leaving him/her/it susceptible to the same evidentiary standards used for any other real, material thing. 

I realize there’s a possible false dichotomy here: ‘either a god is detectable via methodological naturalism, or god doesn’t exist.’ It may very well be the case that there are things which exist, that are also beyond our ability to investigate. But if carving out a unique, third set that contains god and only god, isn’t special pleading; that such a category is, in fact, part of the fabric of reality; then I’d say it’s still a faith-based position at best, considering it can’t be investigated or objectively verified/falsified.

Theists: Is there a reasonable method or path to grounding the god-proposition in reality that is both reliable and tangible in a way that metaphysical arguments, alone, cannot be, yet absolves god…reasonably…from the demands of material evidence?



(Secret option number #3 - “nothing about this rambling thread makes any sense, Lady. Please stay out of the philosophy section,” is also a perfectly valid response. 😛)
Nay_Sayer: “Nothing is impossible if you dream big enough, or in this case, nothing is impossible if you use a barrel of KY Jelly and a miniature horse.”

Wiser words were never spoken. 
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#2
RE: God, Santa, and The Tooth Fairy
The big difference between the three?

Santa and the Easter Bunny don' t have tax exempt status.
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#3
RE: God, Santa, and The Tooth Fairy
(December 6, 2021 at 10:45 pm)onlinebiker Wrote: The big difference between the three?

Santa and the Easter Bunny don' t have tax exempt status.

Uh-huh.

Santa gave me presents, the Easter bunny gave me chocolate...God gave me guilt.

Santa and the Easter bunny win.
  
“If you are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room.” — Confucius
                                      
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#4
RE: God, Santa, and The Tooth Fairy
Popcorn
I don't have an anger problem, I have an idiot problem.
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#5
RE: God, Santa, and The Tooth Fairy
The god concept isn't excluded from being categorized as magical. Having been imaginatively conceived, the nature of any deity is automatically mythical.
"Never trust a fox. Looks like a dog, behaves like a cat."
~ Erin Hunter
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#6
RE: God, Santa, and The Tooth Fairy
(December 6, 2021 at 10:45 pm)onlinebiker Wrote: The big difference between the three?

Santa and the Easter Bunny don' t have tax exempt status.

What do you suppose the property taxes on Santa’s workshop ad up to these days? 😛
Nay_Sayer: “Nothing is impossible if you dream big enough, or in this case, nothing is impossible if you use a barrel of KY Jelly and a miniature horse.”

Wiser words were never spoken. 
Reply
#7
RE: God, Santa, and The Tooth Fairy
(December 6, 2021 at 10:58 pm)Foxaire Wrote: The god concept isn't excluded from being categorized as magical. Having been imaginatively conceived, the nature of any deity is automatically mythical.

Sure. I’m not claiming that it isn’t excluded. I’m merely interested in hearing arguments from the folks who believe that it necessarily is.
Nay_Sayer: “Nothing is impossible if you dream big enough, or in this case, nothing is impossible if you use a barrel of KY Jelly and a miniature horse.”

Wiser words were never spoken. 
Reply
#8
RE: God, Santa, and The Tooth Fairy
(December 6, 2021 at 10:59 pm)LadyForCamus Wrote:
(December 6, 2021 at 10:45 pm)onlinebiker Wrote: The big difference between the three?

Santa and the Easter Bunny don' t have tax exempt status.

What do you suppose the property taxes on Santa’s workshop ad up to these days? 😛

His workshop is outside of time and space, trying to make an assessment is problematic.
I don't have an anger problem, I have an idiot problem.
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#9
RE: God, Santa, and The Tooth Fairy
(December 6, 2021 at 11:11 pm)brewer Wrote:
(December 6, 2021 at 10:59 pm)LadyForCamus Wrote: What do you suppose the property taxes on Santa’s workshop ad up to these days? 😛

His workshop is outside of time and space, trying to make an assessment is problematic.

God damned the ultra-wealthy and their loopholes!
Nay_Sayer: “Nothing is impossible if you dream big enough, or in this case, nothing is impossible if you use a barrel of KY Jelly and a miniature horse.”

Wiser words were never spoken. 
Reply
#10
RE: God, Santa, and The Tooth Fairy
(December 6, 2021 at 10:41 pm)LadyForCamus Wrote: I can understand a conception of god that inherently disqualifies god from the category of ‘magical, imaginary things,’ i.e. the tooth fairy, Santa Clause, etc. (thank you @Neo-Scholastic for harping on the subject often enough that it finally tickled my thinker), and I’m happy to be charitable toward any argument that attempts to make such a distinction.

Open-mindedness! Here in the 21st century! This makes me happy.

One good book on this subject is The Experience of God by David Bentley Hart. He is an academic, Eastern Orthodox Christian. This book avoids unreadable jargon and provides an introduction to what you're asking about here. 

I predict it will NOT make you a theist, but it will show how the God = tooth fairy argument is naive. The quote from the Guardian on the Amazon page is accurate, I think:

"Hart marshals powerful historical evidence and philosophical argument to suggest that atheists—if they want to attack the opposition's strongest case—badly need to up their game."—Oliver Burkeman, The Guardian

https://www.amazon.com/Experience-God-Be...filtered=1

Out of a spirit of Christian charity, I suspect Dr. Hart would be OK if you pirated a copy:

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