Okay, so I know you’re probably not even going to read this, but I had to express myself.
First, a bit of my religious background. I was raised a Baptist, slowly came to realize that I didn’t believe a word the Bible says, and became Wiccan for two years. Then I had a “long dark night of the soul,” more commonly known as existential crisis, during the course of which I became agnostic. However, my closest friends are two devoted Catholics, an atheist, and another Wiccan. I do not make fun of or demean their beliefs, and they do not make fun of or demean me. None of us attempt to convert anyone, although we are willing to share information if asked for it. I am not sure what I think about the Kansas School Board issue, as it concerns the definition of science as well as faith, but I do know that even if I do not agree with some of my friends, I would never tell them they are being illogical.
Recently at my college, a spoken word artist performed. He was also agnostic, and one poem he wrote in particular spoke to me. He compared God to Diet Coke, saying that Diet Coke helps him get through the hard times in the same way that God helps others. So why take that away from people? The majority of Christians aren’t hurting anyone, are they? If their beliefs help them get through their lives without the despair I feel everyday due to my doubts, why ridicule them for it?
If you have actually read all this, thank you for your time. A reply, if you have time to write one, would be appreciated, but you do not have permission to repost my words anywhere.
Sincerely,
Z.E.
Connect with other Pastafarians
Propaganda Buttons
Add these buttons to your site:
RSS Feeds
Support the Cause
The Church is funded entirely by your purchases of FSM merchandise. Thank you for your support.
Purchase the Gospel
An elaborate spoof on Intelligent Design, The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is neither too elaborate nor too spoofy to succeed in nailing the fallacies of ID. It's even wackier than Jonathan Swift's suggestion that the Irish eat their children as a way to keep them from being a burden, and it may offend just as many people, but Henderson, described elsewhere as a 25-year-old "out-of-work physics major," puts satire to the same serious use that Swift did. Oh, yes, it is very funny. -- Scientific American
@ Risen Above
Sure, the one thing that doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup in it…grr. Anyway, the specific ingredient wasn’t important.
.
@ Resonator
Dude, you are such a copycat. :)
.
@ JC
Yeah, drinking water really is the best thing for you, but ethanol is so much more fun. Plus, soda will kill you faster, and that means you get to the strippers faster. :)
Get this guy out of here! Hes just a sleuth salesman for the cola industry!
@St John the Blasphemist
All good points. So true, so true. Maybe add to your list that people who grew up drinking Pepsi hate coke, and people who grew up drinking Coke hate Pepsi. Also the “holier than thou” attitude a lot of Diet Coke drinkers adopt.
So first we get them hooked at birth and then expect them to be dependant for life - great! Why not just stop the the initial addiction and raise people that aren’t dependant on god?
Hi, here a reaction from the Netherlands.
Good reaction! better that most christians here.
I wish all christians had a view on life like you did: religion is a purely private matter.
Unfortunately the christian religion is drenched through our society and trying to take over and impose their beliefs on others. That’s just Hitler-style wrong. I respect every person as much as the other… muslim, christian, pastafarian, atheist I don’t care, just don’t impose your belief on others, because I see religion as ridiculous, I don’t see a reason why or any evidence for it.
Know who are the most ardent converts to Xtainity? Dope addicts. Why, Xtainity satisfies the same cravings (phychologically at least) as Oxycontin. In all probability, if we didn’t hook children practically from birth on this shared cultural delusion, religions would consist almost entirely of reformed dope, gambling, shopping and hair pulling addicts. Does it help these people get through life? Sure.
But the notion that the way religion affects them and the people addicted from birth to it, is somehow benign is utter horseshit. All you have to do is look around the world to see that all manner of attocities are still being justified in the name of religion. While Xtains don’t strap bombs to themselves and walk into pizzarias in the good old USA they encourage, foster all manner of discrimination against anyone who publicly disagrees with their world views. And of course they are seeking more influence still. If you don’t believe me google “American Taliban” and go to the website where you will hear some very prominent Xtains,ministers and politicians alike, leting everyone know that non-Xtains should be second class citizens in their own country. Also these people vote and they are the primary reason we have a certain idiot occupying a pale house at 1600 Pennsylvania avenue. There would have been no Iraq, and probably no 9/11 but for the Christian right electing onw of their own(if you can call 2000 a real election) POTUS. And of course they want to give us more of the same in Huckabee.
All this says nothing about the ignorance some of these religions are encouraging. By having their children opt out of American public education for “Home Skulin’” they are insuring a large portion of the population will be as ignorant and illiterate as their parents. I’m not talking about “scientifically illiterate” either. If the hate mail posts are any indicator, these home schools already have a fair number of graduates who have trouble with spelling, syntax, using metaphors properly, you name it.
It is doubtful these kids will ever be exposed to basic literature like “Scarlett Letter”, “Julius Cassar” et al. In short, we’re gonna have this ignoramus class with us for a very long time.
Who wants to take any God from anyone? The more the merrier I would say. Except FSM is the true god, but that technicality aside, I would like everyone to believe in all the gods. Then I would like to see all the gods join in a huge Jello wrestling match.
BTW - I assume you written a similar letter of concern to the Vatican? the President? Pat Robertson? et. al. in the past? I assume you have, given your concern with just this little website.
Yep, I’m a Jew in the Bible Belt….okay, if their Christian values help them get thru the night, groovy, but STOP CRAMMING IT DOWN MY THROAT. I am seriously tired of the “Ain’t Jesus the best?” The Christian Barbershop, the Christian Day Spa ( really) ,what the hell do they do? Pray before my facial? OOOh, Jesus loves me, he gave me a new car… Oh yea, he also gave my 9 year old granddaughter diabetes, but, I totally can’t rationalize any of this, but I will believe-a anyway-a.
Pastafarianism, here I come. And they thought being a Jew was radical…
HMM….
This website (as the writers probably intended) has commenters with a wide range of views on life and “religion.” Some claim openmindedness, others bash Christianity for, well, anything.
Please do not consider it a heresy to your conglomerate that a Christian that believes in Intelligent Design is commenting on your site, but I have some things to say about us:
Christianity is not a just a way of thinking or living or a “religion.” We do not picture God as flying somewhere overhead, watching our every move, waiting to punish us. He does watch our every move, but He acts with justice and mercy, and most of all, agape (love).
He is not just something to “get us through” life, though he certianly does that. For many of us, He is WHY we get through life doing what we do, not just HOW. He is there when we need help, but that is not His purpose. However, our purpose in life is to worship Him (he needs no help). I suppose there is no way y’all can understand unless you’re on this side of the fence.
We only make fun of fundies who make fun of us. If ‘God’ wants ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’, can’t we?
The unfortunate truth regarding the religious is that they can’t be left alone, such tacit approval of religious indoctrination only guarantees a growing segment of each generation is lost to their grasp. Despite the pathetic mewling about “equality in schools” i guarantee there is no sunday school instructing precious little toddlers that the omnipotent INVISIBLE MAN who meets out eternal damnation is: “just a theory” and that they might prefer to believe in the empowering elegance of life’s triumphant ascent over uncountable obstacles and challenges… No my friends, these poor children are tought like abused wives, that He (who shall always be capitalized!) loves you, but you are a sinner by definition and if you must be damned for all eternity it is unfortunately your own fault. Tell me why, exactly, such people should be left alone, when it is the imperitive of such people to teach an exclusive world view and require it’s adherents share that view with all and sundry, whether it be welcome or not? The continuance of religion is predicated on fear, fear introduced into young, vulnerable minds with no experience or framework to cope with such an idea as an all-powerful creator, fear that abandoning such beliefs will result in damnation. How many adults with no religious background could read the holy bible and begin to take any of its teachings seriously? A creator is a childish notion at best, if people must believe in such nonsense (and history seems to indicate that a majority indeed must) why not believe in a giant ball of pasta arbitrarily alterring the laws of physics, at least He would be difficult to use for much of the political mischief that these somewhat more “serious” Deities seem to get tangled up in.
Wow, that was sort of an incoherent ramble wasn’t it? My apologies. I’m new to the site, and like a lot of first timers I sorta lost control, It’s the recoverring catholic in me… Man that religion F***’s you up! That Vitriol had probably been building and simmering inside me since baptism, I feel so much lighter now, thanks FSM!
STOP STEALING DIET COKE FROM CHRISTIAN PEOPLE YOU BASTARDS! XD
“Then I had a “long dark night of the soul,” more commonly known as existential crisis” - more likely bad shrooms.
“The majority of Christians aren’t hurting anyone, are they?” - Is this question rhetorical? or did you make a bold statement?
“but you do not have permission to repost my words anywhere.” - I guess you’ll sue, or do some more “diet coke”.
Why knock God? Because my God has bigger balls than your god - full of meaty goodness too! RAmen.
I love how you published his email despite his request to the contrary. Downright classy! Although this might be a WWFSMD moment…
Why knock God?
All religions were formulated for one of two reasons. Either as an illogical attempt to explain how things function. Which is very bad. Because when you use the crutch of God as an answer, you never ask questions that promote advancement. Where would we be today if medicine practiced the demon theory of disease? Or, as a dangerous way of controlling behavior by telling people that the devil will get them if they don’t behave.
I will admit that it served the Kings well. As long as most subjects believed in the Devine Rights of Kings, a critical mass of opposition could not be reached. This is at best unfair. It becomes even more problematic when religions provide -as they do- for the sinner to be absolutely absolved. There are no unforgivable sins if you say you’re sorry - except for denying God and that never hurt anyone. Even mass murder is forgivable. This approach rewards people with Heaven irrespective of their deeds. Another troubling drawback with this deception; is that lots of folks just won’t believe in an invisible being that no one has ever seen or heard. Go figure.
A better way, would be to say that we may advance in knowledge to the point where travel to the past becomes possible. With an ability to bring those who lived previously into a “current” future time, would also come the knowledge of exactly what happened. Thus, a decision on whether to bring you back or not would depend on a REVIEW OF YOUR LIFE.
Admittedly, time travel would probably take eons to accomplish, if ever. But how long is forever. If the religious zealots, or an errant asteroid, or comet doesn’t destroy us first, we can probably extend our civilization to not be dependent on this solar system for survival. This could give us infinite time for advancement if the Steady State proposal is correct. Even if not (it is probably incorrect), we would still have until “just shy of infinity” when the Universe collapsed or heat death occurred.
The discovery of entanglement may provide a way to teleport objects to distant places. Super-Luminal speeds may also be obtainable. Time travel to the past and back? Suddenly not so far fetched.
Reverently understanding that God is not the answer to anything unless the prompt is; name a fictitious being (Flying Spaghetti monster does make the most sense though),
Fizzmick PaChee
I agree. If it does not hurt anyone, believe what you want to believe, this is supposed to be a free country. The whole reason this website exists is that some Christians can’t let others be. Things like trying to change the definition of science to include ID is one example. How about the innumerable people throughout history who have been murdered by Christians for not believing in your God they way Christians would like them too. Learn about your religion, not by reading the Bible but by reading history books. Learn about what you preach before you preach it - but that would be hard. Maybe you should just go and watch TV.
Christmas ritual illustrates the classic reason why Xtain ideology can not be allowed to remain unchallenged. Think about the key role the Christmas story plays in the indoctrination of young minds.
They are told about how the “baby Jesus” is born “away in a manger, no crib for a bed” in a stable and wrapped in swaddling clothes (rags). So right away, every impulse for love of children and babies is commingled with Xtain belief. And all of it reinforced with beautiful, sentiment filled songs like “Silent Night” sung by the family gathered together in their cozy living space, beautifully decorated with a Xmas tree, boughs of holly, and maybe a little manger. Then there’s the food and in many households the opening of presents follows a midnight mass(which is always a solemn high mass, a catholic pagenant which stimulates the believers with beautiful artwork, beautiful hymns, festive vestaments, prayers for peace-in short all things bright and beautiful). And then come the presents which are almost seen as a reward for attending the church service because they follow immediately upon the end of the service. Follow it all up with killer food and sweets, getting to stay up late, et al, and you have an experience which anchors in the belief system of Christianity to impressionable young minds.
Then the fundies have the nerve to suggest that we are making “war on christmas” because some of us resist having the trappings of this indoctrination effort spill out into our public spaces. Another example of the entitlement mentality of fundamentalists, especially Bill O’Reilly.
“He compared God to Diet Coke, saying that Diet Coke helps him get through the hard times in the same way that God helps others. So why take that away from people?”
Because there’s no evidence that belief in God helps people?
Because there are things that help people that work better than a belief in God?
Because a belief in God comes with all sorts of negative baggage that overpowers any positive placebo effect?
Because the harsh truth is better than any comforting fiction.