Flying Spaghetti Monster

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This adaptation of Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam depicts the Flying Spaghetti Monster in its typical guise as a clump of tangled spaghetti with two eyestalks, two meatballs, and many "noodly appendages".

The Flying Spaghetti Monster is the deity of a parody religion^[1] founded in 2005 by Oregon State University physics graduate Bobby Henderson to protest against the decision by the Kansas State Board of Education to require the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to biological evolution. In an open letter^[2][3] sent to the education board, Henderson professes belief in a supernatural Creator called the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which resembles spaghetti and meatballs. He furthermore calls for the "Pastafarian" theory of creation to be taught in science classrooms, essentially invoking a reductio ad absurdum argument against the teaching of intelligent design.^[4][5] Followers of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) call themselves Pastafarians, a portmanteau of pasta and Rastafarian.

Because of its recent popularity and media exposure, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is used by atheists (known by Pastafarians as "spagnostic"), such as Richard Dawkins, as a modern version of Russell's teapot.^[6]

[edit] Beliefs

A Pastafarian depiction of the creation of the universe sent in an open letter to the Kansas School Board. It includes the Monster, a tree-covered mountain, and a midgit.^[sic]

Henderson proposed many of the beliefs in reaction to common arguments by proponents of intelligent design.^[5] These are the canonical beliefs set forth by Henderson:^[7]

• An invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe, including a mountain, trees and a midget (spelled "midgit").

• All evidence for evolution was planted by the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The FSM tests Pastafarians' faith by making things look older than they are (q.v. Omphalos). "For example, a scientist may perform a carbon-dating process on an artifact. He finds that approximately 75% of the Carbon-14 has decayed by electron emission to Nitrogen-14, and infers that this artifact is approximately 11,000 years old, as the half-life of Carbon-14 appears to be 5,730 years. But what our scientist does not realize is that every time he makes a measurement, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is there changing the results with His Noodly Appendage. We have numerous texts that describe in detail how that can be possible and the reasons why He does this. He is of course invisible and can pass through normal matter with ease."

• The Pastafarian belief of heaven stresses two points. "A) It has beer volcanos as far as the eye can see & B) It has a stripper factory."^[7]

• The religious text of the Pastafarian religion is called the Loose Canon. In place of the ten commandments, it contains eight "I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts", with a looser moral code.

• "RAmen" is the official conclusion to prayers, certain sections of The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and so on, and is a portmanteau of the Semitic term "Amen" (used in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and Ramen, a noodle. While it is typically spelled with both a capital "R" and "A", it is also acceptable to spell it with only a capital R.

[edit] Pirates and global warming

Chart comparing Number of Pirates versus Global Warming; an example of the fact that correlation does not equal causation.

According to the Pastafarian belief system, pirates are "absolute divine beings" and the original Pastafarians. Their image as "thieves and outcasts" is misinformation spread by Christian theologians in the Middle Ages. Pastafarianism says that they were in fact "peace-loving explorers and spreaders of good will" who distributed candy to small children.

The inclusion of pirates in Pastafarianism was part of Henderson's original letter to the Kansas School Board. It illustrated that correlation does not equal causation. Henderson put forth the argument that "global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the shrinking numbers of pirates since the 1800s."^[7] A chart accompanying the letter shows that as the number of pirates decreased, global temperatures increased; this is a farcical demonstration of how statistically significant correlations do not imply a causal relationship (see confounding).

[edit] The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Gospel of The Flying Spaghetti Monster

Main article: The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

In December 2005, Bobby Henderson received a reported USD $80,000 advance to pen The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Henderson said he plans to use the proceeds from the sale of the book to build a pirate ship, with which he may travel the world in order to convert heathens to the Pastafarian religion.^[8] The book was released on March 28, 2006 (ISBN 0-8129-7656-8).

The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is the Pastafarian equivalent of the Bible. It parodies biblical figures with characters such as Captain Mosey, a pirate and the FSM equivalent of Moses. The Gospel contains The Eight "I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts", parodying the Ten Commandments.

[edit] History and developments

The FSM logo is a parody of the Ichthys or "Jesus Fish". It contains the basic body shape of the Ichthys, two eye stalks, five "noodly appendages", and the initials "FSM" for Flying Spaghetti Monster.

The first public exposure of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and its eponymous deity can be dated to May 7, 2005, when Bobby Henderson sent his open letter regarding the FSM and the teaching of intelligent design in science classes to the Kansas Board of Education. Henderson posted the letter on his website, and subsequently published the responses^[9] he received from board members.

As word of Henderson's challenge to the board spread, the website and Henderson's cause gathered 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 site was featured on Sensible Erection on June 17, 2005.^[10] and sites such as Boing Boing, Something Awful, Uncyclopedia and Fark.com. The mainstream media quickly picked up on the phenomenon as the Flying Spaghetti Monster became a symbol for the case against intelligent design theory in public education.^[11][12][13]

In August 2005, in response to a challenge from a reader, BoingBoing.net announced a $250,000 challenge, later raised to $1,000,000, of "Intelligently Designed currency" by other bloggers, payable to any individual who could produce empirical evidence proving that Jesus is not the son of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, though Jesus is not a part of Pastafarianism.^[14] The challenge is modeled after a similar challenge issued by creationist Kent Hovind (an award of $250,000 to anyone who can prove evolution "is the only possible way" that the Universe and life arose) that has been criticized by scientists as being logically flawed in design.^[15]

[edit] The MySpace Worm

A flash worm appeared on MySpace in July 2006, replacing a user's "books" section with a link to the Gospel's website. A large, black banner promoting Pastafarianism also consumed the top portion of any affected Myspace page. An estimated 170,000 users were affected. The FSM website and Bobby Henderson were not responsible, and instructions on a fix were posted on the same website the worm advertised.^[16]

[edit] The Flying Spaghetti Monster in the News and Popular Culture

Some websites sell shirts, mugs, and other paraphernalia in support of Pastafarianism.

• The band New York Dolls added the FSM to their music video "Dance like a Monkey".^[17]
• A section of the open letter to the Kansas School Board appeared in the January 2006 edition of Playboy.
• Bryan Killian, a High School student in Buncombe County in North Carolina, was suspended for wearing "pirate regalia", which he said was part of his faith. Killian protested the suspension, saying it violated his right to religious freedom.^[18]
• The Flying Spaghetti Monster has been used by Richard Dawkins to demonstrate ideas from his book The God Delusion on several media appearances, including The Colbert Report and Talk of the Nation - Science Friday.^[19] Dawkins' animated counterpart in the South Park episode Go God Go references the Monster in an argument against religion.

• The Flying Spaghetti Monster has been referenced in several television programs, including The IT Crowd and South Park.

• The Hunger Artists Theatre Company produced a comedy called The Flying Spaghetti Monster Holiday Pageant in December of 2006, detailing the history of Pastafarianism.^[20]
• The Flying Spaghetti Monster was featured in the Dec/Jan issue of the Science magazine Seed in a section dedicated to the year in review.
• In the British sitcom Green Wing, Guy Secretan dumps a lot of spaghetti on Martin Dear's head, and calls him a pastafarian as a way of bullying him. Martin then tries to act as if he is not bothered.
• A lawyer made reference to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster in a footnote to a legal document filed in the New York County Supreme Court ("It should be noted that Abady’s characterization of my motion seeking to compel his deposition (note 2 at p. 4 of Abady’s unnotarized affidavit) employs the use of the Hebrew language in a vile effort to appeal to the Court’s presumed ethno-religious identification. To respond to Abady in kind, members of my religion (Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster) would charitably characterize his statement and his putative affidavit as “Baloney.”")

• The first Pastafarian wedding, which involves significant amounts of pirate regalia, will take place in the summer of 2007 in the state of Maryland.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

[edit] References and notes

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] General references

[edit] Other media coverage

[edit] External links

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• Originating Website, including Henderson's open letter sent to the Kansas Board of Education
• Flying Spaghetti Monster Flying Spaghetti Monster entry at the Uncyclopedia
• Henderson news article
• Sampling of Evidence in Support of the FSM - from the Science Creative Quarterly