Flying Spaghetti Monster
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The Flying Spaghetti Monster, created by Bobby Henderson in 2005, is a response to a decision by the Kansas State Board of Education to require that intelligent design (ID) be taught as an alternative to evolution. Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) followers call themselves Pastafarians. A book has been published detailing the gospel of FSM.
Among the cornerstones of this parody of a belief system are:
- An invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe, starting with "a mountain, trees, and a midgit (sic)."
- The FSM tests Pastafarians' faith by making things look older than they really are.
- The decline of piracy since the 19th Century is directly responsible for global warming and other natural disasters.
- "RAmen" is the official conclusion to prayers, a combination of "amen" and Ramen noodles.
This is meant to be an absurdist argument against intelligent design. FSM is not a real religion, but it models itself after the statements and actions of leading proponents of ID, such as the Discovery Institute and Kent Hovind. The underlying debate is not about beliefs, but rather Separation of Church and State as it applies to public schools.
References
- Wikipedia: Flying Spaghetti Monster | Intelligent Design
- Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
- The Discovery Institute - proponent of Intelligent Design
- The Design Inference, a book on ID by William Dembski
- CSICOP Critique of Intelligent Design (specifically, a critique of Dembski's arguments)
[[Category:Issue]] [[Category:Flying Spaghetti Monster]]
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