Flying Spaghetti Monsterism

I was going to post this in the Conspiracies In Religion forum, but couldn't quite bring myself to do so.

A new religion has made its way onto the Internet and is drawing significant numbers of converts. Known as Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, it was created by Bobby Henderson, a physics graduate, in protest over the Kansas Board of Education's decision to teach intelligent design alongside evolution.

Bobby reasons that if intelligent design is held to be a valid religious theory that deserves to be taught in schools, then so too do his own beliefs.

In an open letter to the Kansas Board of Education, Bobby outlines the tenets of Flying Spaghetti Monsterism. Followers of the religion, who refer to themselves as Pastafarians and claim that they have been touched by "His Noodly Appendage", state that they believe that:

1) The Universe was created by an invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster. All evidence pointing towards evolution was intentionally planted by this being.

2) According to the pastafarians, the monster created the world starting with a mountain, trees and a "midgit" and continues to guide human affairs with his "noodly appendage." Heaven is depicted as having a stripper factory and a beer volcano. Their prayers to "Him" are typically ended by "Ramen", instead of "Amen".

3) Global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct consequence of the decline in numbers of pirates since the 1800s. A graph showing the inverse correlation between the pirates and global temperatures was also provided. This component of the theory highlights the logical fallacy of correlation implying causation.

Reference - Wikipedia

The following image depicts the invisible spaghetti monster creating the universe:



Bobby has demanded that Flying Spaghetti Monsterism be given equal time in classrooms as evolution and intelligent design, or else

we will be forced to proceed with legal action.

After writing his open letter, Bobby received three responses from sympathetic members of the Kansas Education Board. The religion continues to attract adherents and clothing bearing the religions god has begun popping up on the Net:



You can read Bobby's full letter to the Board at his website Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The following links also have some interesting information concerning the rise of the new religion:

New Scientist

The Guardian

Evolution Debate Creates Monster

Additionally, the following thread deals with the debate concerning the teaching of intelligent design alongside evolution:

Bush Advocates Teaching ID In Schools

The question obviously being raised here is: at what point do we draw the line in declaring that some religious beliefs are perfectly valid whereas others are not, in terms of what we teach our students? Certain religious groups might find the teachings of other groups foolish or even blasphemous, but does this necessarily make them less valid? Are we taking ourselves too seriously? What do you guys think?

[edit on 5/10/05 by Jeremiah25]

Originally posted by Jeremiah25
The question obviously being raised here is: at what point do we draw the line in declaring that some religious beliefs are perfectly valid whereas others are not, in terms of what we teach our students?

The US is suppose to draw the line at the first sign of any religious beliefs being taught to students.. hopefully the spaghetti monster will help the government see the light.

[edit on 5-10-2005 by riley]