Dear Mr. Henderson,
I have noticed that you have started this thing called Pastafarianism. Â I
would like to start off the first of a long list of complaints, by simply
stating that that pun is horrible. It’s not even creative. Â Way to be
original… not. Â Second of all… you guys claim that Pirates are your
followers, and that nobody has ever killed anybody in the name of the FSM.
While… looking back on History I happen to find that the history of
Pirates is filled full of rape, murder, and pillaging. Â This is probably the
point where you say “that’s what they want you to think” but this is also
the point where I point out that no noodly meat sac in the sky ever rewrote
history to say that Blackbeard was a cheery fellow who spread joy to others.
To think that some noodle thing in the sky rewrote history is just pure
ludacris. Â Also, why is it a Spaghetti monster? Â Don’t you find that a
little biased towards Italians. Â I don’t appreciate your bias. Â If you are
going to continue with your charade, please choose a God that represents
more people than just a minority of people in Europe. Â Your idea for
intelligent design isn’t very well thought through. Â I respect your idea to
mock the Kansas school board, but what I don’t respect is that you dragged
other people into this farce by stating you actually believe this nonsense.
Look at it, really look at it, and think to yourself if you really want
people to back these wildly imaginative ideas of yours. Â If you think you
should… then it’s probably time you stop and consult your local therapist.
I’m not a Christian either, in fact I’m Aetheist. Â My way of thinking is
that if there really was a God… why would he be so dumb as to make people
who actually believe a giant flying noodle made the earth? Â In the long run,
I would appreciate it if you proclaimed this whole thing to be a farce so
that your horribly nerdy followers could get over themselves and go back to
having what little lives they had in the first place. Â If you choose however
to keep up this ploy, I would have to ask that you make your God less biased
towards Pirates and Italians.
Thank You,
TheLaughingMan
Arrhhh to the man that says he laughs but is not a man of laughter arrrh, now open your ears my lad, your post is nothign but tosh, devoid of understanding of the mission of FSM, blessings be upon his sauce aaarhh. when I was mere lad sailing to and fro’ hispaniola, I oft wondered what made us and where we came from and one day the light was shone upon my head aaarrrrhhh it was indeed. What I thought were the long tentacles of a giant quid about to sink the old Meaty Ball (the Ship) were in fact the farinaceous one’s noodly appendages beckoning me to see the right path and frmo that day forth I did aaarhhhh.
I recommend unto you laughing not really becasue you have no sense of humour boy that you read some of the scriptures, these can be found written in sauce on many a restaurant table arrrhh.
Go with FSM
Aaaarh
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RE: God. Dec 15th, 2006 at 2:04 pm
I’ve always had a problem with the petty mindedness of The Judao/Christian/Islamic God.
I can’t envisage that an entity the created the universe would take such a petty interest in what people thought or have such a massive pre-occupation with what people do with their penises and what they do or don’t wrap them in to do it.
However I never imagined he’d be so uptight about spelling!
He is the pettiest deity EVER!
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@Jingles Dec 23rd, 2006 at 2:53 am
RAmen. Jingles. RAmen.
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what evidence does the pasta religion have though? proven evidence???
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Graphs shak. and you?
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@shakazulu
‘what evidence does the pasta religion have though? proven evidence???’
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The Gospel of the Flying Saphetti Monster and millions, if not thousands, of personal testimonies from those who have felt the touch of His Noodley Appendage.
I agree with Alchemist, what “proven” evidence does yoour religion have?
RAmen
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Shak.
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Hold the piss takes. You want us to provide evidence for the existence of the FSM?
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OK – we can’t. Simple as that. We just know. He is, therefore we are.
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It is a faith. You believe in it because there is no evidence. We all need something to believe in in order to make sense of this seemingly random world. Some choose to believe in a single God, some in Jesus, some in the pantheons of old. We choose the Flying Speghetti Monster because the graphs provide more evidence than many other faiths.
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Shaka my friend (that’s my favorite movie btw)
FSM was not created at all out of hate. Please read the “Open Letter,” then post again when you’ve got a handle on it.
And in answer to your question, there is no more evidence for FSM than for the Judeo/Christian god, or zeus, or allah, odin, or Ra, or any of the others in human history. Please don’t follow up with a post wherein you arbitrarily select verses from the bible at random/out of context and use them as historical references. I can do that too, and i can interpret them to mean whatever I want. We all know that christianity has a long and bloody history, there’s no need for you to make that case. What there isn’t, is proof of the existence of the deity you worship. Scripture is not proof nor is belief. That’s the point of FSM
Believe whatever you want, teach your children whatever you want, attend whatever church offers you comfort. What we’re asking is that you don’t try to disguise religion as science and sneak it into public classrooms using federal funds. Imagine how you would feel as a christian if your local school board had a muslim majority and were trying to change standards of learning to include compulsory training in Islam. Imagine if we had a muslim majority in the senate and suddenly, ham sandwiches were declared a crime punishible by imprisonment. That is exactly the corner that atheists have been pushed into.
If you don’t lighten up…the joke’s on you. I have written this post with absolutely no hate for you or your beliefs, just intellectual honesty. We have a lot more in common than you think. We, as atheists don’t want anyone else’s beliefs pushed on our children and neither do you. If that doesn’t bring us together for civil discussion, there’s always “Shaka Zulu.”
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What really creeps me out is how many people post without apparently having looked at the site at all. How can so many people completely miss the point when it’s so well laid out? Stupidity confuses me.
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RAmen, theAntibush, RAmen.
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i can read text all day and all night. its another to hear it in the words of someone who has taken to words, and given them personal meaning. and thats why i asked the question “what is this”. im not here to debate or argue or say im right your wrong. there is no love in that. i just have some questions i want answers to. so i guess my first one is where do you see this all coming from? our very existence that is.
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and dont get me wrong, i wasnt demanding that i see proven evidence, i was just putting it out there that nothing we can talk about when it comes to views of god can be physically proven. thats were faith comes in.
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Shaka,
Honestly I don’t know where existence comes from. To be intellectually honest, NO SCIENTIST, PHILOSPHER, OR EVANGELICAL EVER HAS OR POSSIBLY EVER WILL, despite all that’s been said and written. No one does. There is the universal truth that humanity is looking for, no one knows the truth. We can continue on with study and observation, but we as humans have to learn to be ok with not finding the answers, and to accept the finality of our species as a whole. It’s alright to admit not knowing (at least in our lifetimes), since that is one of the many things we all share. It’s not alright to pretend to know, and then teach that as the truth, or threaten hell and damnation for nonbelief.
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Shakazulu – where do we all come from? Heavy question! C, H, O, P, K, N, S, Ca, Fe, Mg combinations of. Amines, primordial soup. Prokaryotic cells that formed symbiotic relationships with more complex cells. Protons, neutrons, electrons. Probability, chance. It’s a bit depressing really – knowing that we really aren’t that special.
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That’s why some of us have decided to ignore logic and the rules of evidence. Faith is where it’s at. It’s much more comforting to believe that the FSM made us. Oh, and beer volcanoes. That was the clincher for me.
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RAmen
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what blows me away is that i have found a peace about something that is exactly opposite of what you believe. i like living with the understanding and wisdom of knowing that the same god who created our very existence, loves us more than we could ever imagine. its crazy to see hw different we all really are.
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I don’t think you quite get it >.> I feel bad for whomever gets stuck with you for the rest of their life. FSM forbid that they have a sense of humor, right?
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what dont i get?
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I’m glad that you’ve found peace shakazulu. I mean that sincerely. It’s just that for some people the “because I say so” answer just doesn’t cut mustard. I never really found peace with christianity. Fear and self-doubt yes.
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Just thank whatever god you like that we are all different. That’s part of being human – it keeps the gene-pool nice and fresh.
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Hi Shakazulu,
Your peace may come from “knowing” that you god created you and loves you. That is not comforting to me though. If knowing god is the only way for you to achieve peace, then I feel bad for you. Once you profess faith, all (or most) reasoning goes out the window. There is no push to explore space, or science, or ask the real questions about where we come from. I am stardust. I am dirt. I am part of everything that makes up our world and universe and it is part of me. Consider infinity. Consider that every combination of molecules and atoms etc that could exist, do exist. We are an extremely small speck in the cosmic sense, and if you believe that a god exists just to create us and love us, and keep him company then I think, you cheat yourself out of the real BIG story.
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No, I have NOT been smoking reefer. Just got a little philosophical.
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Shaka– Personally I’m glad you found something that brings you comfort. If your religion is what enables you to be the best person you can be, then good for you. It IS interesting, like you said, to consider the many ways people look at the whole ‘god issue’; some find their answers in religion and some don’t, and either way, as long as they’re satisfied with what they ultimatly come to believe in then there’s no problem with everyone not believing in the same thing.
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Actually, I highly doubt my religion is the same one as yours seems to be, and I’m fine with that–just think how boring the world would be if everyone had the SAME EXACT views on god and existance!
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i think we have all missed out on the BIG picture. whether you believe in god or not, there is so much more to life than our brains were even created to understand. my views with christianity differ so much from the modern church, or most of it, that i almost hate to be called a christian. what i have found in jesus is a peace if knowing that i am most likely not going to have all the answers, and they really dont matter too much any ways. what truly matters is what we do with this life we have been given. but then again, thats just from my point of view again i guess. haha
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@ shakazulu – I completely agree with the point you make that what matters is what we do with this life we have been given. I also believe that I can make just as much with my life without Jesus in it as you can with Jesus in your life.
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this is where a huge debate starts. haha, which i hate. but the difference between making the most out of your life without jesus as apposed to doing it with him, is that your living for yourself. all of your actions are self centered. which is completely understandable because thats how we are by nature. like i said, were all gonna see that one different.
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There are other gods. Who is to say which one of them is a non-genuine god?
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@shakazulu: It is true that we may be considered creatures of advarice, but I find that the more philanthopic I am with my friends the more fortune seems to fall my way. I am not climbing the latter to success, but building a stairway with those around me.
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ladder* not latter
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‘all of your actions are self centered. which is completely understandable because thats how we are by nature’
Hmm…..and what about those who have children/family but not jeesus? Are all their actions self centered? Do they not care for each other, unless jeesus is in their life.
What about all of those non-believers who donate all their time possible to charity work?
Many animals also care fore their young extensively. Lets see, we have pack animals, which warn each other of danger. Arrange themselves in formations when in danger…..ect ect ect.
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even with jesus i am self centered. think about it. we dont teach kids to lie and steal and be selfish with their toys, we teach them to do the opposite. to share, and tell the truth. why would it be that way at such a young age if we werent born that way?
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“…the difference between making the most out of your life without jesus as apposed to doing it with him, is that your living for yourself. all of your actions are self centered.”
And? Religious belief is absolutely as self-centered as secular life. Your motivation is your personal relationship with your deity, your personal sense of peace, and your desire to get into the eternal country club. Am I wrong? Because if you look at this situation literally, most of humanity is condemned to burn in hell for eternity. Consider everyone presently living, everyone who has ever lived, and everyone who will ever live and the number of hellbound humans is staggering. It is the genocide in biblical proportions. In your desire to get into heaven you must accept that most of the people you know (friends, coworkers, relatives, etc) will suffer an eternity of misery. Are you alright with that? As a human being, I am not. I would rather NOT go to heaven than to watch nearly all of humanity suffer. Could you have stood by and watched Hitler massacre millions knowing that you’d be spared because you’re a member of the party?
When I practice on sick patients or offer food to the homeless I do it for the self-centered gratification that comes from helping another human being. Not for rewards in the afterlife, but just because it makes me feel….more human. What we have in common (among many things), is that if we both worked (hypothetically) to feed the hungry, we’d both reach the same results no matter what the motivation. Isn’t that what’s really important? And so we see the connection that we all share as members of the same species that will always be present no matter what our religious differences. That’s what I’m more interested in. Our similarities vastly outnumber our differences.
Anyhow, been a pleasure talking with you.
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RAmen to theAntibush.
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“but the difference between making the most out of your life without jesus as apposed to doing it with him, is that your living for yourself. all of your actions are self centered.”–Ah ah, careful. Please don’t assume that believing in Jesus makes a person any more or any less ’self-centered’ then the next. We’re all selfish to a degree, but I think you’ll find looking out for yourself is sometimes a great virtue.
Now, if your faith in Jesus is what keeps you from crossing the line into utter self-absorption, then good job. For me, my personal feelings, as well (to a slightly smaller degree) as my faith in the god I believe in, is what does the trick. Different path, same basic outcome. The outcome, not the road that took you there, is what really counts, right?
–
Be careful with those huge generalizations; I think you’ll find that they’re very rarely true.
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Most that help others, because of the sense of self worth they feel in doing so, also don’t tend to try convert the less fortunate recipients, of such charity to their own beliefs. Many christian missionaries in developing countries, however, spend a lot of time converting people they are helping, to christian beliefs.
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@ Nikki
Hiya Wenchy. I have seen first hand what the christian missionaries are capable of in the jungle villages of Central America…not to mention the environmental damage due to antiquated farming techniques they pawn off on the natives. All in the name of jebus. To be fair, they honestly believe that what they are doing is beneficial to the communities. They just haven’t caught up with the science to protect the rain forests.
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@ shakazulu
I personally have no problem with your religious beliefs if it works for you and welcome you to our Church. You have not resorted to vicious vitriol or vulgarity to which we have become accustomed. You have refrained from coercing your belief system upon us and seem willing to at least discuss the issues. And I thank you for that. Having said that, this is OUR Church we will defend ourselves when attacked. But what would you expect from a pirate? Arrgh!!!
RAmen
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@Mad John Kidd Dec 26th, 2006 at 10:59 pm
‘I have seen first hand what the christian missionaries are capable of in the jungle villages of Central America’
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I’ve just spent half the day catching up on xtian missionary scramble over money for their ‘abstinence only’ AIDS programs in Africa. One particularly good article which was written last year, detailed their outrage and intention to fight against any of Bush’s AIDS package funding going to organisations which promoted the use of condoms.
They preach against condoms in uneducated/poverty stricken areas, where AIDS is rife, then have the gall to continually state that christian dogma has not contributed to any large number of deaths in history. Haven’t totally got up to date on it all yet.
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Oh and here is the link to that article if anyone is interested. I had rather a sore jaw after reading it. It’s quite long and I may have been it reading with clenched teeth.
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God and the Fight Against AIDS By Helen Epstein
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17963
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Yeah, that whole situation is a mess. Thanks for the link, I hadn’t seen that one, but I’ve read others. There one about how the local male populations who believe that having intercourse with a virgin will cure them of the AIDS virus. And there was some Catholic church which was supporting this view. Not sure if I still have the link. I’ll go look.
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@Shakazulu – I also appreciate your civility. However, I do not agree with your assertion that if my life doesn’t have Jesus in it, then it’s self-centered. Actually, that’s not the bit that I have a problem with necessarily. What I have to ask myself is, “Who gives a flying bilge-rat’s ass which deity/belief system/code of morals prompts my actions, as long as those actions are those of a good person?” You seem like a kind enough soul, yet you self-centeredly and self-righteously assert that my efforts toward the betterment of mankind are somehow lessened because I don’t believe in your God. Is that how I am to understand what you are saying? If so, then you have pushed this non-Christian even farther away from embracing the tenets of Christianity. I’m so far away now I can barely hear you, and what you are saying is going to make me run in the other direction even more rapidly.
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again, i suck with communicating. lets look a little further. think about this. where do those desires to do good things for people less fortunate come from? no need to get mad and insult each other, because i said from the beginning, i just wanted to ask you all some questions. i have some answere from a non christian point of view. my goal isnt pushing my beliefs on you guys.
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“where do those desires to do good things for people less fortunate come from?” enlightened self interest. I have no desire to live in a world or community where people don’t help each other. What it is certainly not coming from is god, an any way, shape or form.
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I’m a firm believer in Karma, but not in some mystical form, but in a more practical way. I’m not explaining this very well but I think of it like a fish taking a dump in it’s tank as being like doing a bad deed in a community. It’s going to come back and get you because you’re swimming in it.
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Thirdly, I was just raised a nice kid by my atheist parents.
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I love Karma too! Karma corn, karma apples, karma filled chocoloate! Karma is the best!
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Yes, I know, lame joke, but I’m on a Holiday sugar rush.
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Happy Holiday and Merry Mithmas!
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OEJ
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Oh yeah, and because doing good can be rewarding in itself. Many people get a lot out of helping others because it gives them some meaning in their lives and raises self esteem by making people in the community like them, doing bad makes people not like you and makes you lonely.
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After all, making other people happy is always nice.
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“where do those desires to do good things for people less fortunate come from?‖From the fact that I want to make some sort of difference in this world, and because I was raised to believe that helping people out is one of the best things you can do with your life.
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Gill, Beastly
RAmen
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Something that worries me constantly is that believers accept the doctrine that says non-believers can not posses altruist tendencies without divine inspiration. This get back to that old chestnut of that atheists are by nature purveyors of ’survival of the fittest’ mentality. Overwhelming evidence doesn’t support that proposal. Animals in the wild may adhere to this basic law of natural selection for survival, but within a civilized social structure there are many mechanisms in place make this largely irrelevent at a base level. Laws and community acceptance/opinion for example. There will always be those who take advantage of the weak and gullible. Evangelical pastors come to mind!
What sort of people are believers, who hold to the belief, that it is only their adherence to religion, which prevents them from being totally self serving and therefore, possibly dangerous to others? Trouble is, that this is what they are indoctrinated with and appear unable to conceive of any altruistic tendency without directions from god.
How many times have xtians stated in missives on this board, what a bad person they would be without belief in jeesus?
Many of them are also taught, quite wrongly, that the biggest crimes against humanity have been directed in the name of atheism and are used as an example of what will happen to the world without belief. (shaking head!)
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Another point I meant to include. Little children are guided in their behaviour by their parents. They also learn via their interactions with other children. They learn that the response they get from others, when they have given something, (eg. a toy or treat ect), is a much more pleasant feeling, then the pulling of hair/biting or whatever, which they are likely to recieve when they bully and take from others. They usually know nothing of jeesus or other deity at this stage.
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There will always be good people and evil people. No parenting situation is ideal; there are always some people who just suck at it and they raise a disturbed, badly socialized, egotistical kid who grows up not knowing or caring what altruism is. Some whacky kids overcome their childhoods and become good people anyway. I doubt that many well-parented children turn evil. They may have chemical imbalances or genetic pre-dispositions to mental illness, but I think that evilness is taught.
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If you need a handbook for being good and if that is the only thing that is keeping you from being evil, then religion will only be a temporary crutch. The next thing you know you will be doing crystal meth and getting blowjobs from male hookers while your wife bakes cookies for the children. I hope those folks have lots of money saved for their kids’ psychiatric care later in life — it will be essential.
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“(Religion) With it or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.”—Steven Weinberg
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