The Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) is the deity of the parody religion the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster or Pastafarianism . Created in 2005 by Bobby Henderson, it was originally intended as a satirical protest against the decision by the Kansas State Board of Education to require the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in public schools. In an open letter sent to the Kansas State Board of Education, Henderson parodied the concept of intelligent design by professing belief in a supernatural creator which closely resembles spaghetti and meatballs. Henderson explained that since the intelligent design movement uses ambiguous references to an unspecified "Intelligent Designer," any conceivable entity may fulfill that role, even a Flying Spaghetti Monster. He further called for his "Pastafarian" theory of creation to be allotted equal time in science classrooms alongside intelligent design and evolution.
After Henderson published the letter on his website, it rapidly became an internet phenomenon and a symbol for opponents against teaching intelligent design in public schools. His website features pictures of crafts "devoted" to the Flying Spaghetti Monster and Pastafarians dressed as pirates "preaching" on the sidewalk. Pastafarian beliefs—such as reverence of pirates—are presented both on Henderson's website, where he is described as a "prophet," and in the Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster , published by Villiard Press in 2006. Due to its popularity and exposure, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is often used as a modern version of Russell's teapot.
Origins
The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster was first publicly exposed in January 2005 when Bobby Henderson, then a 25-year-old Oregon State University physics graduate, sent an open letter regarding the Flying Spaghetti Monster to the Kansas State Board of Education. The letter was sent prior to the Kansas evolution hearings as an argument against the teaching of intelligent design in biology classes. Henderson, describing himself as a "concerned citizen" representing ten million others, stated that both his theory and intelligent design had equal validity. In his letter, he noted,
I think we can all look forward to the time when these three theories are given equal time in our science classrooms across the country, and eventually the world; One third time for Intelligent Design, one third time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, and one third time for logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence.— Bobby HendersonAccording to Henderson, since the intelligent design movement uses ambiguous references to a designer, any conceivable entity may fulfill that role, including a Flying Spaghetti Monster. Henderson explained, "I don't have a problem with religion. What I have a problem with is religion posing as science. If there is a god and he's intelligent, then I would guess he has a sense of humor."
In May, having received no reply from the Kansas State Board of Education, Henderson posted the letter on his website, gaining significant public interest. Within days of posting the letter, Pastafarianism became an internet phenomenon. Henderson published the responses he then received from Board members. Three board members, all of whom opposed the curriculum amendments, responded positively; a fourth board member responded with the comment "It is a serious offense to mock God." Henderson has also published the significant amount of hate mail, including death threats, that he has received. In one year, his site garnered more than 350 million hits and used about 700 gigabytes of bandwidth per month.
As word of Henderson's challenge to the Board spread, his website and cause received more attention and support. The satiric nature of Henderson's argument made the Flying Spaghetti Monster popular with bloggers as well as humor and Internet culture websites. The Flying Spaghetti Monster was featured on websites such as Boing Boing, Something Awful, Uncyclopedia, and Fark.com. Moreover, the International Society for Flying Spaghetti Monster Awareness emerged to "spread the word of The Flying Spaghetti Monster and his prophet, Bobby Henderson (pesto be upon him)." As public awareness grew, the mainstream media picked up on the phenomenon. The Flying Spaghetti Monster became a symbol for the case against intelligent design in public education. The open letter was printed in many large newspapers, including the New York Times , Washington Post , and Chicago Sun Times . Henderson himself was surprised by its success, stating that he "wrote the letter for own amusement as much as anything."
Later developments
In August 2005, in response to a challenge from a reader, BoingBoing.net announced a $250,000 prize—later raised to $1,000,000—of "Intelligently Designed currency" payable to any individual who could produce empirical evidence proving that Jesus is not the son of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was modeled after a similar challenge issued by young-Earth creationist Kent Hovind, who promised $250,000 to anyone who can prove evolution "is the only possible way" that the Universe and life arose. The challenge sparked further interest and popularity in the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Newspaper articles on the Flying Spaghetti Monster attracted the attention of book publishers; at one point, there were six publishers interested in the Flying Spaghetti Monster. In November 2005, Henderson received an advance from Villard to write The Gospel of The Flying Spaghetti Monster with the subheading "Jackpot for unemployed slot-machine engineer and heretic."
In November 2005, the Kansas State Board of Education voted to allow criticisms of evolution, including language about intelligent design, as part of testing standards. On February 13, 2007, the Board voted 6 to 4 to reject the amended science standards enacted in 2005. This was the fifth time in eight years that the Board had rewritten the standards on evolution.
Beliefs
Pastafarianism exists at two levels. The first is a genuine belief that intelligent design is harmful to science and society. The second is a collection of faux-religious convictions, such as the existence of a heaven with a beer factory. These two levels are the ends and the means of Pastafarianism, respectively. Henderson proposed many Pastafarian tenets—the means—in reaction to common arguments by proponents of intelligent design. These "canonical beliefs" are presented by Henderson in his letter to the Kansas State Board of Education, the Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster , and on Henderson's web site, where he is described as a prophet. They tend to satirize creationism.
The central belief is that an invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe "after drinking heavily." According to these beliefs, the Monster's intoxication was the cause for a flawed Earth. Furthermore, according to Pastafarianism, all "evidence" for evolution was planted by the Flying Spaghetti Monster in an effort to test Pastafarians' faith. This belief is similar in manner to that of the Omphalos hypothesis. When scientific measurements such as radiocarbon dating are taken, the Flying Spaghetti Monster "is there changing the results with His Noodly Appendage." The Pastafarian belief of Heaven contains a beer volcano and a stripper factory. The Pastafarian Hell is similar, except that the beer is stale and the strippers have sexually transmitted diseases.
Pastafarians' beliefs extend into religious ceremony. Pastafarians celebrate every Friday as a holy day. Prayers are concluded with a final declaration of affirmation, "R'amen;" the term is a parodic portmanteau of the Semitic term "Amen" and the Japanese noodle dish, ramen.
Pirates and global warming
According to Pastafarian beliefs, pirates are "absolute divine beings" and the original Pastafarians. Furthermore, Pastafarians believe that pirates' image as "thieves and outcasts" is misinformation spread by Christian theologians in the Middle Ages and by Hare Krishnas. Pastafarians, instead, believe that they were "peace-loving explorers and spreaders of good will" who distributed candy to small children, adding that modern pirates are in no way similar to "the fun-loving buccaneers from history." In addition, Pastafarians believe that ghost pirates are to be responsible for all of the mysterious lost ships and planes of the Bermuda Triangle. Pastafarians celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19.
The inclusion of pirates in Pastafarianism was part of Henderson's original letter to the Kansas State Board of Education, in an effort to illustrate that correlation does not imply causation. Henderson presented the argument that "global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the shrinking numbers of pirates since the 1800s." A chart accompanying the letter (with numbers humorously disordered on the x -axis) shows that as the number of pirates decreased, global temperatures increased. This parodies the suggestion from some religious groups that the high numbers of disasters, famines and wars in the world
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