Mr Henderson-
While I found your “open letter” interesting in a sort of adolescent, college sophomore kind of way that I would have found entertaining 25 years ago, I also found it tiresome, conceited, and immature.
Stipulated:
-I majored in biology in college and I am a working scientist.
-I believe that life evolved on Earth pretty much the way Darwin and his philosophical descendants say it did.
-I do NOT believe that the Bible (or any other religious tome) is a scientific text regarding the mechanics of how life became as complex as we see it today
-I do not want the book of Genesis to be taught as the mechanics of how life came to be on our planet.
All of these things stipulated - I was offended as an American and a human being by the sneering, self-important, and condescending tone, tenor, and implications of your web site. Grownups don’t find humor this way.
I guess I must have missed all the other college-sophomore sarcasm infested websites you created mocking creation mythos of American Indians, African tribes, etc., and bemoaning the way that secular humanism has become the de facto established religion throughout much of the public education industry in the U.S., in defiance of the establishment clause of the First Amendment. You did make those sites, didn’t you? No?
Your statement that you have nothing against Christians is patently deceitful and dishonest. I’m trying to imagine your type finding huge humor in mocking creation mythology of Indian or African tribes in some similar context, but I’m guessing that you would be aghast, offended, and firing off accusations of “xenophobe”, “racist”, “Western exceptionalist”, “antidiversity”, etc. OK to have a snide and insensitive laugh at the expense of your cherished Christian bogeyman, but do the same thing to anyone else, and you’d be horrified, right? “Piss Christ” is cutting edge, funny, and a deep social commentary but “Piss Buddha” would be a hatecrime in your circles, no doubt. Not much intellectual consistency or progressiveness there.
As I stated above, I don’t agree with any of these creation mythologies - Abrahamic or otherwise. However, there are light-years of difference between my attitude towards them and yours. In you mind, you have made these fundamentalists into the ultimate evil and stupidity ever produced in the universe. I do not presume that they are either evil or stupid for their beliefs, but respectfully disagree. That’s what “diversity” really means - or perhaps you feel, in an Orwellian way, that some forms of diversity are more equal than others?
I fail to see the problem with being open-minded about the POSSIBILITY that the evolution which produced today’s plethora of life was the result of some entity or force instead of a completely random process. That this possibility frightens you to the degree apparent in your web site, or that you lack the philosophical or intellectual ability to be able to give it fair and even-handed consideration, says a great deal more about your own (ahem) intelligence, personal deficiencies, and insecurities than it does about those you attempt to lampoon.
Nonetheless, I think that it’s important that you and your type continue to publish as much superior-minded, look-down-you-nose stuff like this as possible, in as many places and as publicly and frequently as you can. While you’re at it, don’t forget to post maps of “Jesusland” and other graphics and words denigrating anyone who is stupid and ignorant enough to have devout religious belief, Christian being of course the worst of the lot.
See how it advances you and your agenda at the ballot box.
Cheers
Rob Thompson - Removed per his later request -
………..
Rob changes his mind. And I am highly skeptical about the “threats”.
………..
Mr Henderson-
I challenged you to post my letter to you and you did. Thank you.
However, I have been deluged with people who are frequenters of your site loading my e-mail box with all sorts of things, including solicitations and, unfortunately, threats.
I will therefore request that you remove any mention of my e-mail address from your website immediately, before something terrible happens to me or my family.
I thank you in advance.
Rob Thompson
@One Oared Marc
“Please don’t misspell Sacred Oars.”
Yes our “Sacred Oars”. I feel that we may be unconciously emulating the christians here and perpetuating the myths of pastafarianism. No doubt Sacred Oars will need to be incorporated in the updated version of the gospel. How can prople have the nerve to say that ours is not a “real” religion. We’ve got it all!!!
All praise His Noodleyness.
RAmen
@Lenoxus
BTW Lenoxus, thank you for reopening this thread as I hadn’t seen the original post before. I’m sure many others hadn’t either going by the number of comments responding to the original post. I’m sure that Rob Thompson would have been feeling a little ignored and insignificant for that.
Thanks again!
RAmen
RAmen, nikkiee, RAmen. Yes, I feel His Sacred Oars now. Or maybe that is just a wee bit of gas. Hard to tell.
@One Oared Marc
Wondered where all the references to gas were!
thought i should put this thread in recent comments for more references to oars!
more oar references!!
Hi wench octarine :)
You have seen the threads that contain the original Sacred Oar Scrolls?
Will I or won’t I?
Ok I’ll give you just one for now. :))
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www.venganza.org/2005/11/25/listen-dumbass-you-think-that.htm
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*sigh…. wipes away a sentimental tear* Why did Charlie desert us? I wonder if he is now, going from town to town, running around supermakets beating up on all the pasta products on the shelves!
nikkiee were you the same one as the one who poster eariler? just wondering.
this was wriiten by an intelliengant life form. *rolls eyes out of socket* oh bugga. now i can’t see.
ok question when u die do u crck pots go to a magical “meatball land” or something? and whats ur view on garlic bread n bread sticks? who is ur satan? the garbage disposal? or some dog you get fed to as scraps? i know ur religion is based on sacrelegion and im doing the same to urs so get ur head out of the pasta sauce n look at the world around u. u might regret your words later. qalthough the fsm did make me crack up 4 about 4 hrs. ask yourself what the hell am i doing?
i really want u to think
omfsm im so sorry i did not unstand until the holy blob of noodles and sause came to me in a dream and told me to suck his bread stdick and so i did and he ejaculated tomato paste all over my tiny fragile body and so i shall to an amazing egg noodle child who i shall name meatball the great and the other woman is giving birth to an awful demon valled ranch dressing for she was raped by the flying pizza monster (hey i think i just created a new religion!!) (screw u guys ive got work to do!!!! fpm here i come!!!)
“patsa nympho Nov 6th, 2007 at 9:20 am
qalthough the fsm did make me crack up 4 about 4 hrs. ask yourself what the hell am i doing?
i really want u to think”
.
K’ I really thought about this….
I think you are drinking massive quantities of an alcoholic beverage.
That’s “what the hell” I think you are doing
@patsa nympho
Why does every element if christianity have to be in FSMism?
@pasta nympho
“she was raped by the flying pizza monster (hey i think i just created a new religion!!)”
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Sounds fascinating, please tell us more. Is the flying pizza monster a rival or collegue of the FSM? Does he/she create parallel universes in the same way the almighty FSM has created our universe?
@El Peatieablo
“Why does every element if christianity have to be in FSMism?”
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Because jesus was the son of the FSM of course! Christianity is just a woefully incomplete and thereby inaccurate part of Pastafarianism. Christians try to fill the gaps with their own answers, but lacking knowledge of the Gospel of the FSM, they are invariably far off. In the same way all other beliefs are incomplete, wrong subsets of FSMism. There is only the FSM, no matter what adherents of other faiths try to make it into.
@Everybody
I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen this before or not.
I’ve been going to Topix since before I ever showed up here,
yet today was the first time I saw this FSM thread.
It’s current, and it started back in April?
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http://www.topix.net/forum/religion/TULM91K0RGQ4I9S1V
@☠DutchPastaGuy☠
I love this site! All my questions are being answered by answers that cannot be questioned (well, sorta). Seriously though, you are one smart cookie; I wish I could have thought of that.