AP) — When some of the world’s leading religious scholars gather in San Diego this weekend, pasta will be on the intellectual menu. They’ll be talking about a satirical pseudo-deity called the Flying Spaghetti Monster, whose growing pop culture fame gets laughs but also raises serious questions about the essence of religion. The appearance of the Flying Spaghetti Monster on the agenda of the American Academy of Religion’s annual meeting gives a kind of scholarly imprimatur to a phenomenon that first emerged in 2005, during the debate in Kansas over whether intelligent design should be taught in public school sciences classes.Supporters of intelligent design hold that the order and complexity of the universe is so great that science alone cannot explain it. The concept’s critics see it as faith masquerading as science.An Oregon State physics graduate named Bobby Henderson stepped into the debate by sending a letter to the Kansas School Board. With tongue in cheek, he purported to speak for 10 million followers of a being called the Flying Spaghetti Monster — and demanded equal time for their views.
Yes, they really are thinking about it. Could it be? Could the FSM meme actually have people firing off long-forgotten neurons?http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/personal/11/16/flying.spaghettimonster.ap/index.htmlAlso, FYI, for those who need protection from other myths, check out paranormal restraining orders.
The FSM is as good as any deity! Even better than most. His noodles touch all, just try to prove they don’t.
I am putting a restraining order on Santa, no matter what the cost. I’m sick of the trampling around on my roof. I do not have a chimney you moron, I will see ya in court! Your hoofed minions are gonna be venison before I am done. Mmmmm, rain deer chili.
Someone has to much time on their hands…
ha ha
To hell with Santa/Satan (I always wondered why no one else caught on to the clever anagram) I’m restraining that damn Loch Ness Monster! With his wee bitty eyes and always asking me for tree-fitty! Go away you god damn Loch Ness Monster!
OH, never have I wanted more to see what goes on at those religious summits than now! I wonder if a few FSM members can infiltrate and start chanting FSM’isms as they throw spaghetti at the speaker like the xians break in and scream “burn in hell” and other non-sensical disruptions.
“Supporters of intelligent design hold that the order and complexity of the universe is so great that science alone cannot explain it.”
Supporters of intelligent design hold that they’re too stupid to understand natural processes so everything must be magic.
From the Paranormal Restraining Orders website:
Zephaniah 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath. In the fire of his jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth.”
Only an idiot could believe this crap and only a moron would worship this supernatural barbarian. I once suggested to some fundy subhumans their god should be hunted down and killed before it harms somebody. The fundies who always warn everyone they’re going to hell call this monster a “loving god”.
Sorry, this is off-topic, but important.
Calling all atheists and anyone else who respects our constitution. You are needed at the following website to express your views about the illegal crosses on public property in Utah. Most of the comments so far are from Christian thugs who want to make our country a theocracy.
Utah?s Cross Controversy
http://www.newsweek.com/id/71092
BobC:
I’ve noticed that the christian doesn’t often speak of its devil idea anymore. Must be that the christian’s god idea is devil enough.
Joel 2:1 (NIV) Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand–
How many centuries ago was that Bible bullshit written? Close at hand? The Lord is coming any day now? Christian are morons. They are not even human.
Theists, why do you hate the FSM? Is it because of the spaghedeity’s deft ability to highlight the absurdities of your supernatural tormentor.
Beer volcanoes and strippers. Yar.
There is as much evidence for the FSM as for any other god. The sooner this is realized, the better.
Ramen!
and phreedm dont even think about using the FSM’s name in vein….especially during after the tomato harvest….
Today I prayed to the Flying Spaghetti Monster for rain and it did rain. The rain was about 800 miles from here because I failed to specify where I wanted the rain but it did rain so that proves the Flying Spaghetti Monster is real. I?ll utilize this power more often now that I have developed faith in it.
Ha. Great. They should start demanding all kinds of things, like you have to offer spaghetti at every meal in public schools. Each federal employee needs an extra 15 minute break to eat pasta, more tax money for noodle research. Just as ridiculous as christianity but more delicious.
There are 2 monsters that live in everyone?s closet. Monster A wants to eat you, but won?t eat you if you obey the rules of the Monster Book. Monster B, wants to see monster A eat you so he?ll do everything he can to make you disobey the rules set forth in the Monster Book.
Later on, there is a man who claims to be half monster half human, werewolf. He, supposedly lived his entire life without disobeying the Monster Book, and therefore has defeated Monster B, but Monster A still ate him and then puked him out a couple days later and the pieces of Werewolf came back to life. Werewolf claims to be huge friends with Monster A, and has worked out a contract that if you are friends with Werewolf then Monster A won?t eat you no matter how much Monster B wants to see this happen.
Also, after being puked back out by Monster A, Werewolf threatened to come back to life and eat everyone who isn?t a friend. Monster A ate himself and puked himself back out 2 days later, for you see, Monster A is Werewolf. Actually, Werewolf was eaten by people, but he had arranged it that way so that Monster B would get people to eat him, and so you see, Werewolf and Monster A are also in control of everything that Monster B does. This is why they control monster B, so that they can eat people who satisfy both conditions 1) that break the rules of the Monster Book and 2) the aren?t friends with Werewolf.
Also, Werewolf said that he chooses who to be friends with by way of Monster C who is also Monster A, and therefore it?s not up to the people to make that choice at all. Also, Monster A, Werewolf, and Monster C were there in the beginning and planned out this whole scheme. Also, Monster B is their sworn enemy, who was created by them as well, so that they can blame their hungry appetite for their own creation, that is everyone who has these Monsters in their closet as per what the Monster Book says, on Monster B.
Thus, if you befriend Monster B and break the Monster Book rules, then Werewolf, Monster A, Monster C, etc. will eat you. Also, you have no control over whether you befriend Werewolf or not, but Monster B surely always will try to trick people into breaking the rules of the Monster Book whether they want to get eaten or not.
And that?s why you have to obey the Monster Book and that?s why Monster A will still eat you if he?s hungry even though you think you?re friends with Werewolf. You could go through the motions of being friends with Monster A, but unless Werewolf likes you, you will be eaten no matter what.
Doesn?t this all make sense now!? Actually, if you say it makes sense then you?ve deceived yourself and the truth is not in you. But there are people who do believe this, and because they are self deceived, they will be eaten by Monster A (mark my words)! The Monster Book was actually made up by someone who was intent on making you believe so many contradictions that your life is an intellectual and emotional mess. You?ve totally and completely lost or incapacitated your ability to think straight if you accept all of these contradictions, and then you, with a gullible faith like a child actually just take whoever?s word for it who preaches this stuff as being true.
I?ll tell you all, there are not any monsters in your closet, and this whole scheme of things was all made up to get into your wallet and to trick you into being a slave, or servant, for the leaders of Monsterism!
Can you delete that last one because it was really dumb!? Thanks for letting me be a member on this blog.
My idea is that religions are just severe cases of children irrationally thinking that there are monsters in their closets because some preacher told them that. Also, that preachers want to scare folks into a state of irrationality so that they can take control of people’s emotions and then make them think and do dumb things that they wouldn’t normally do if they weren’t scared.
Put your money in the collection basket while singing dumb songs about your own inadequatesy and repenting for being a human being.
QF
While I think there are some designated and De facto leaders in general monsterism is more like a Ponzi scheme. Each fool that buys-in is banking on finding more fools on which to prey.
Dear quantum_flux: There is seldom need to apologize on this blog for saying something you’d rather have not. There is seldom need to ask for repentance here; only when you fail to make sense. This crime, my son, you are not guilty of.
However, the FSM dudes *might* be looking at you for plagarism charges (just kidding).
Nice post, q_f. Good way of summarizing the whole Gawd vs. Saytan bibli-idiodicy.
QF
Do you work with SQUID applications/development or are you someone that appreciates the Aharonov-Bohm effect for other reasons?
Anyhow, welcome.
Is there a national holiday so we can celebrate the Birth Of the FSM….I wanna get my FSM lights out before it snows…and I want everyone to know how deeply routed I am in my faith….
religion sucks….
Sort of OT, but interesting none the less:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19626303.600-evolution-wars-take-a-bizarre-twist.html
And the religious inconsistencies continue…
i think i need to break the link in half…
http://www.newscientist.com/article/
mg19626303.600-evolution-wars-take-a-bizarre-twist.html
RiftPoint
Nice link. It’s funny what the followers of the god-o-gaps will do when they feel the gap narrowing.
//Do you work with SQUID applications/development or are you someone that appreciates the Aharonov-Bohm effect for other reasons?//
I’m just a guy who likes physics. Thanks for bringing the Aharonov-Bohm effect to my attention.
Apparently the new big thing is Garrett Lisi’s simple theory of everything.
I have read articles pro and con, but I don’t have the expertise to evaluate it.
Garrett Lisi is HOT!
quantum_flux,
Nice distillation of Christian mythology. I don’t know why you feel it’s stupid, it’s not like you’re saying you believe the Rapture is near or anything equally idiotic.
That would be stupid.
Can any physicists weigh in on the Garrett Lisi theory? I’m interested, but not smart enough to understand all the details. I understand that we really have to wait for the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) to be finished in Switzerland before we know more about whether he’s right. Anyway, how are people in the science community taking this? Better or worse received than string theory? Just wondering.
Hey guys, this is kind of funny-
http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Reasons_to_become_an_atheist
pha
It’s going to take me some time (if I can find it) to wade through Garrett’s work but if Lee Smolin is impressed then Garret’s work should be taken very seriously.
Who says atheists don’t have religion…???
http://www.glennbeck.com/news/11192007.shtml
phreedm
hopefully the adults will take charge and build more nuclear plants.automakers can respond to rising fuel prices with better products.i see no justification for this fear mongering by politicians.
off-topic another megachurch sex scandal has happened this time in atlanta.the preacher knocked up his sister-in-law.i guess the laying on of hands got a little out of control.
Megachurch Sex Scandal
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21888916/
Uh…what? What exactly does climate change have to do wtih atheists not having a religion?
alex
here is something to raise your blood pressure.the head of california public ed.says white teachers are the cause of poor performance by black/hispanic students.he did not say why the asian students of these same teachers do better then whites.that flushing sound is america becoming a third world nation.
Reason,
Those who are fundamentalist members of the Church of Political Correctness refuse to deal with irrefutable facts and instead trip over themselves to deny the obvious in the same way that religious people also refuse to see the Emperor’s New Clothes. The fact is that Asians and Europeans have higher average IQ’s than do Latinos and especially Africans. If you accept these scientific and measurable facts of human evolution as true then the world makes a lot more sense than if you invent excuses for the way that things are in the world. This article from Slate magazine yesterday makes my point for me:
http://www.slate.com/id/2178122/entry/2178123/nav/tap3/
phreedm:
Is this a White’s country?
Is this a Man’s country?
Not letting you go.
If only the irrational “Jewish Atheists” and their apologists would realize that the “jewish race” is mythology, the biblical story of jews being enslaved in Egypt is mythology, the Hanukkah story is mythology, the reasons used to justify the ethnic cleansing of Palestine and the racism of zionism are mythology, etc.
Looks like Dave could benefit from having some of his long forgotten neurons firing off also. In fact, we would all benefit if Dave and his ilk would muster up some self-awareness, start seeing the forest through the trees and stop preaching hebrew mythology.