Q: Who are you?
A: My name is Bobby Henderson. I’m 26, currently living in Arizona, Originally from Oregon. I have a Physics degree and am happily unemployed.
Q: Did you really send the Open Letter to the Kansas School Board?
A: Yes. But, I received no replies until after I posted the website online and the School Board started getting lots of emails about it. You can read some of the responses I received here.
Q: Are you an atheist / heathen / what?
A: I don’t have a problem with religion. What I have a problem with is religion posing as science. Teach Creationism in school, fine, but don’t teach it in a science classroom. And don’t change the definition of science so that you can teach these things. That’s retarded.
Supernatural explanations are by definition not science, so why would you teach them in a science classroom?
Religion, itself, isn’t bad. But it isn’t necessarily good, either. There are plenty of good Christians (and Muslims, and Buddhists, and Hindus), and plenty of bad ones.
Dogma is bad for everyone.
Q: You are making God angry.
A: I doubt it. If there’s a God, and he’s intelligent, then I would guess he has a sense of humor. And how do you know He is NOT a Flying Spaghetti Monster?
Q: Do you make money on the T-Shirts?
A: Some. Not enough to buy a pirate ship, but enough to avoid a real job for a while.
Q: Your graph is messed up.
A: No, it’s not. The X-axis doesn’t have to represent time. And the data points don’t need to be in order. A graph is just a collection of data points, I can display them however I want. It might not be what you’re used to, but it’s not messed up. Please stop writing me emails about it (well over 200 at this point).
Q: There are more pirates now than ever. Look at the South Pacific. And song-downloading pirates, and blah blah blah.
A: Real pirates use swords (cutlasses, actually). Those “pirates” in the south pacific are guys with machine guns, cruising around in power-boats. They’re not pirates. And the song-downloading “pirates” are smelly nerds, and therefore not real pirates.
Q: Your grammar/spelling/etc is bad.
A: Yah.
Q: You’re wrong. It’s actually a linguini / mashed potato / dinosaur / elephant / whatever monster.
A: Maybe He just disguises Himself as those things. Also, you’re not funny.
Q: Can I reprint your letter?
A: Yes. Send me a link, please.
Q: Acceptible use of content?
A: It’s ok with me if you’re using the FSM images/content as long as it’s not for profit, and you’re doing it to further the Cause of the church. I.e. printing out FSM propaganda materials and distributing them is ok (and encouraged). Making FSM t-shirts, selling FSM merchandise, etc. is NOT OK.
Q: What blogging/cms software are you using?
A: The recently redesigned site is built on the Wordpress platform with the K2 template.
Q: How many members are there?
A: I don’t know. There are no membership records as such, so I can only guess based on the amount of traffic the site receives, etc. Traffic to date (September 2006) is somewhere in the vicinity of 350 million hits, and around 15 million unique visitors. Google returns close to 2 million results for the phrase “flying spaghetti monster“. So, who knows - your guess is as good as mine.
Q: Why Pirates?
A: We believe that humans evolved from pirates. Consider that humans share around 95% DNA with monkeys, and more than 99.9% DNA with pirates.
Q: Interview requests
A: I’m happy to answer your questions. I recommend you just send me your questions in an email with a subject that I’ll notice, like “INTERVIEW QUESTIONS”. You don’t need to ask permission or set up an interview for some future time, just send me the questions. Thanks.
Q: Website statistics
A: Somewhere around 10k-40k visitors per day, and somewhere around 500k-1million hits a day. Hits are extremely high because lots of people hotlink images,etc from the site. Which is fine w/me.
Emails - depends, but 50 per day is not uncommon. I have 13,839 unread emails right now (9/25/06). I’ll get to as many as I can.
Q: Why is there an FSM banner on my MySpace profile?
A: It’s a virus/worm that WAS NOT CREATED BY ME. I had nothing to do with it. I’m sorry - it caused everyone a lot of problems, and I do not approve of this sort of thing. You can remove it by following the directions here.
More questions? Ask me below, or email me at bobby.henderson@gmail.com
i dont get it
i once believed in scientology, but now….
Your credentials are as good as any prophet’s have ever been, and better than most.
As an avid traveller and theologist, I find the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster to be a resreshing break from the contradictions of todays mainstream religions. In fact I would argue that ANY intelligent design theory should only be presented alongside the teachings of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. It is also my hope that we will eventually see education institutions founded and conducted by the Church of the FSM. Thank You Bobby Henderson for helping so many others to see the light, this page and all the lives that have been changed by it is testimony to the fact that your Physics Degree has not been wasted.
wow… ithink im going to convert. i have seen the light, or should i say his “noodly appendage”
Hi
I am glad I stumble upon your site. You see I have been searching for a new religion on which to base my beliefs.
You almost had a convert. There I was, gazing into the steaming hot bowl of spaghetti and meatballs, preparing myself to dive in ….
But then a nagging snigglet from somewhere down deep crystallized into a thought.
The problem I was having is that if you want to actually follow and practice the fundamental beliefs of most of the really popular religions (notably the big five), you can’t honestly use them as justification for being truly horrid to other people, particularly those of the same faith.
So I have been investigating the many smaller, newer, some would say “fringe†religions and sects. Those would, at least mathematically, provide a larger group of non-believers to persecute.
What is the terrible tribulation from which this faith sprang?
Where is the history of being persecuted and persecution?
Where is the history of violence?
Where is bloodshed?
… the countless thousands of senseless deaths of unbelievers?
But apparently this is part of what sets Pastafarianism apart, and I seen it as a weakness in the claim that the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster has true “religion†status.
I was about to move on to the Moonies, but then I had another thought (yes two in one day, I must have been trulu inspired)…
It’s a young religion; those days are yet to come.
Then inspiration!
Maybe I have come here for some predetermined purpose. Perhaps to help write that history. To help take Pastafariaqnism to the next logical step. To give the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster the psychological weight of bloodshed and murder to it’s C.V.
A purpose! (Joy!)
Now I am kind of squeamish about actual blood and guts and stuff like that. I’m more of an ideas person, preferring to leave the actual doing to others, but I do need a little more specific inspiration. Tell me of how it will all conclude. Surely there will someday come a tumultuous battle between the forces of good and evil, a final great conflagration, a great battle of Parmesan.
P.s. is it a safe assumption that martyrs will be rewarded in the afterlife with jobs as quality control inspectors at the stripper factory?
Hey Bobby, can you make a new version of the book? A real bible/gospel looking text would be awesome.
I agree that a real bible-looking text (instead of a flimsy paperback with a picture of a bible on the cover) would be awesome. I think that if there was enough interest, they might put one out. I’ll see what I can do.
Bobby, I’d totally buy a bible-looking version of The Gospel. No questions asked. Put a section on the site, and give a general price amount, and take a poll. I’m sure you’ll find there’s MORE than enough interest.
Bobby,
As a devout pastafarian I have to challenge you on this:
“Religion, itself, isn’t bad. But it isn’t necessarily good, either. There are plenty of good Christians (and Muslims, and Buddhists, and Hindus), and plenty of bad ones.”
One cannot be a “good” Christian because:
1) If one is a “good Christian” because one is particulary adherent to the Bible, one would be murdering everyone who worked on Sundays, torturing, raping, etc. as Christian God instructs.
2) If one is a “good Christian” because one takes a very liberal interpretation of the Bible and is generally an OK person, one is living a total contradiction by not standing up for what their Bible says, and one is also fostering a culture where it is taboo to question religion.
There is nothing good about religion - positive morals/values can be found through reason and are more compelling that way.
Bobby- first of all, love the church, religion, website. It rocks! I have been converted. Could you please tell me if the Kansas School board is still keeping up this farce? i don’t want to send angry letters if they realized thier mistake. And whose the 4th minority person?I only saw three reply letters. I won’t pester the people on our side. I plan to put up posters in my school and hand out pamphlets, as soon as the office lets me. I am an avid pursuer of the sciences, and fully hate ID. Please reply, but I’ll understand if you don’t have time.Keep up the good work and Raamen!
Anna
P.S.- This Sept, 19th is national talk like a pirate day, in case you didn’t know
Arrrr..
Telling folks at work about national talk like a pirate day (which we’ve been observing for years) is how we found FSM :)
I’m checking at my B&N store for the gospel today, I imagine I’ll end up having to order it.
I just came across a giggle. I now have a religious reason for continuing my low-carb lifestyle!!!!! I can curb my carbs out of respect for our starch-based deity ;) That’ll add a great opportunity for spreading the word, as people ask me about my diet all the time.
how do u know god isnt a giant beer bottle
Why did the beacon of Pastafarianism move to Arizona? Doesn’t FSM get all hard and brittle in that arid climate? That’s why no pirates, signs of life, or decent football teams have ever been found there.
Come back to Oregon, and continue receiving enlightenment from FSM when he is saturated and dripping it everywhere.
You might want to emphasize the issue of ID (intelligent design) being considered in science classes. It is not an issue of the ideas presented by ID, it is in the authoritative stance of the idea-presenters and their relation to the rest of society. It’s not god or the spaghetti monster - it’s about fundamentalism vs empiricism. My suggestion (based upon the hate mail) is that you make that clear in some way on the site, to reduce philisophical banter on the issue.
i apologize for my unclear phrasings- if you have any questions feel free to email me back.
i really love what you did here by the way
Does the Flying Spaghetti Monster play dice with the universe? and if so, is that game of craps happen near the beer volcano or the stripper factory?
Its great that someone avtually came up with an Intelligent design theory that alows its followers to think about the religon they are following and not what the religon thinks they should be thinking.
Chris, you are obviously well educated on Christian beliefs, being that you wrote absolutely nothing true about Christian beliefs in your blog. You did, however, account for Judaic, pre-Christian beliefs. Good job…
Bobby, your site is amusing, and I can agree that ID does not belong in science classes. However, I also believe that Evolution does not belong in science classes for much the same reason. Let’s stick to chemistry, physics and biology based on the scientific theory.
Good luck with the site.
As a devoted pyrate, a long time have we been vexed upon by the “official” navies of the world and thought of as moderatly lax in our morals. Although most of we pirates know that we’ve been “touched by gods,” recognizing the height-discouraging push of HIS appendage has been a graceful brush by a quite-saucy god.
We at The Pyrates Way try to do our part in passing on the word next issue (Winter) when we print interviews of Pastafarians and show pirates on this earth that they can come out of the seachest and expose their slops for all to see.
If you are interested in helping us bring the world temperature down while giving rise to the pirate population, please join us at www.pyratesway.com.
Yours with a side-salad, rich in Italian dressing,
Steve “The Black Fox” Kimball
Publisher, The Pyrates Way
I think Talk Like A Pirate Day should be secondary holiday. So when is the offical day to celebrate the Flying Spagetti Monster? If there isn’t already a set date, I’d like to suggest the date of the original letter.
Thanks!
Keebler
I totally beleive in the flying spaghetti monster, but he totally messed up on the design of the human body. Why else would he put man’s balls in such an easy place to kick, rather than encasing them in bone for protection like our brains? Thus, proof of hte FSM!!!!
Preventerwind
i almost forgot FUCK THIS SO CALLED SPEGETTI MONSTER. I hope that every single one of you can find faith in Jesus.
If a Pastafarian bible has no spelling or grammar mistakes whatsoever and doesn’t contradict itself, it’s a whole lot better than the bible.
I actually have a question to ask to the Almighty One, namely: Why is it mandatory in American Court to swear upon a fictional book, sometimes refered to as the bible, while the country in question has a law on the separation between church and state?
If you could respond to aid me in my search for understanding, I will be eternally greatful to the Flying Spaghetti Monster and spread his word.
A(n almost) faithful believer
“Why is it mandatory in American Court to swear upon a fictional book, sometimes refered to as the bible, while the country in question has a law on the separation between church and state?”
I totally agree with you on this one, elmon. But consider that the church and the state aren’t really separate in the United States (George W. Bush Jr., anyone? The Religious Right?)
For a totally satirised view of the Bush Administration, check out: www.whitehouse.org (by the almighty FSM it’s hilarious!). This is a bit off topic, I know, but I’m sure the Flying Spaghetti Monster will forgive me. (Note: SPAGHETTI, not SPEGETTI (where did you learn to spell, zach? And by the way, what a very witty retort:
“i almost forgot FUCK THIS SO CALLED SPEGETTI MONSTER. I hope that every single one of you can find faith in Jesus.”
Nice to see studing the Bible has given you such an intimate understanding of the English language and it’s intricacies (like capital letters and punctuation) And it’s FLYING Spaghetti Monster).
All praise our Noodly lord and master!!!
P.S. Am I allowed to revere Foamy the Squirrel as my secular lord, or will this bring our beloved FSM’s wrath down upon me? (If so, I can change!)
How did a link to this get on my myspace in the book section, and an add you to friends request at the top of my profile? WTF.
“i almost forgot FUCK THIS SO CALLED SPEGETTI MONSTER. I hope that every single one of you can find faith in Jesus.”
Thank you Zach. You have completely convinced me that everyone should convert to Christianity…
May He forgive me even mentioning such words of blasphemy (even if it is rather sarcastic). Please allow me to be touched by your noodly appendage!
Just wondering here, is it possible that Great Sleeping Cthulhu and The Flying Spaghetti Monster are really one and the same and Mr Lovecraft just wasn’t wearing his glasses when he was inspired?
I’d like to think so, it’d help combine my vast love of The FSM who created us all and Sleeping Cthulhu who will inevitably realize his mistake and squish us later. :D Squishy parts!!
I think you’ll appreciate the shirt that I wore on September 16, 2006, for the Northshore Inline Marathon up in Duluth, MN.
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Mock26/FSMDuluth.jpg[/IMG]
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Mock26/?action=view¤t=FSMDuluth.jpg&refPage=&imgAnch=imgAnch1
Thank you for proving that closed-mindedness and collective ignorance is still alive and well in today’s society.
P.S.
My girlfriend has converted to pastafarianism thanks to you. Rock on!
My friend showed me the book and I read the website and all I can say is….ITS IN-FREAKING-CREDIBLE, I love it, I made a Myspace Group of it and I’m looking for all of my friends and theirs and so on and so forth to join, to read, and to help, this stuff is Hilarious and should be taught in all Science Classes, even if its just for the Hell of it . Wea re all currently writing to the board of education in every Distric of Florida, New York, Texas, and even Puerto Rico.
Ruben A. Sola
P.S.= May the Flying Spaghetti Monster touch you with His Noodle Appendage.
Ramen
Bobby, the only thing to keep in mind with the Bible-looking text is that since all the major Holy books are compilations, the FSM Holy book should probably be a compilation as well. Perhaps have verses dedicated to scientists, school teachers, and the infamous Kansas School Board… or at least the ones who voted against ID in the science class.
Will any of this be funny when we are all 90 yrs old with a few years left to live? How funny will things be then?
Death–very funny, I should think. Provided we’re sane enough at 90 to remember the whole thing in the first place.
I would really like to understand where your coming from and while, to you this is no joke, to me it sure seems that way, but if you could explain your religion to me i would really apprecite a better understanding of it because from my current perspective thier sure does seem to be some serious logical fallacies in the whole thing.
sincerely
geo
Geo,
The board is self explanatory really. Most of the people on this board are of a sceptical opinion. While no one puts down the right to faith, we do not feel that any person of a religious bent has the right to grievously inflict it on anyone. Enter the Kansas City school board, who wish to teach intelligent design as a science in direct opposition to the THEORY of evolution. As there is no basis in fact for ID to be taught as a science and is entirely based on faith, blind faith at that, Bobby Henderson told the Kansas school board about the FSM again an entity based entirely on faith and he also proved using faith based articles that as global warming increased that Pirates decreased, however I digress, Bobby stated quite rightly that as the FSM was based on “facts” in line with ID that it should be taught in school also. This has made Christians the world over in turn angry and perplexed.
They have shown all the facets of Christianity, with a few exceptions, by damming everyone and promising all sorts of dire punishments from their kind and loving god, thereby showing a basic lack of understanding of their own religion and lining themselves up roughly to the right of Muslim fundamentalists.
“Bobby, your site is amusing, and I can agree that ID does not belong in science classes. However, I also believe that Evolution does not belong in science classes for much the same reason. Let’s stick to chemistry, physics and biology based on the scientific theory.”
I think you meant scientific method, not scientific theory. But that is sort of the point. Evolution IS a biology theory based on the scientific method. Intelligent Design, on the other hand, is not. Therefore ID has no place in science class, and even though a school board can change the definition of ’science’ in their district in order to allow the supernatural to be taught if they want, it does not change what science actually is. It just makes the rest of the world laugh at them for being ignorant fools who obvioulsy failed science class when they were in school.
Can I be a pastafarian, if I dont wear pirate clothes?
My comment is in response to Dave:
“Dave
Sep 19th, 2006 at 11:10 pm
Bobby, your site is amusing, and I can agree that ID does not belong in science
classes. However, I also believe that Evolution does not belong in science classes
for much the same reason. Let’s stick to chemistry, physics and biology based
on the scientific theory.”
I think you may be confused on the definition of a theory. A bunch of statements proposing an explanation for some occurance (a hypothesis, if you will) without any evidence to back it up is just a possible explanation. For something to be a theory, it must be supported by evidence.
Evolution is indeed a theory with evidence behind it:
- there are fossil records that change progressively through geological layers
- changes have been created in domestic plants and animals through selective breeding (evolution in action!)
- molecular and physical similarities among living species (including genetic)
- molecular timelines constructed using error rates of mitochondrial DNA
- recent observations of species evolving in the wild (smaller mammals and invertebrates)
I believe that evolution should be taught in science classes. Although the theory may not be perfect at this point, most science taught in schools is only the best theory available at the moment and (most) will change as science progresses. In order for the “chemistry, physics and biology based on the scientific theory” you believe should be taught to flourish as discliplines, people have to learn the (sometimes incorrect) theories so they can test and improve them.
ps. evolution is biology (and chemistry)
I saw the last 10 minutes of an English Comedy featuring computer nerds who have a ‘rough’ drawing on a pin up board of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. See link to web page.
http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/I/itcrowd
The source of “RAmen”
In the beginning, when He descended upon the universe as we know it, He began to create that which He deemed well and good. After He created the trees, the mountians, and the midgits, He decided in his Semolinian goodness to allow the midgits to reproduce. WHen they bore forth many offspring (known as Primavarians), the number if prayer requests began to outnumber the Noodly Appendages He had. SO He created Emmisaries in his image. To the far east of the earth, he created the Underwater Rice Ball. The Rice Ball grew underwater in an area that became know to all as the Patties, an obvious translation of Pasta in the Asian toungues. In the asian people’s early attempt to purify their souls, a sect created believed in their hearts that the life blood of their religion, the red sauce of their souls, was to be found in another creation of His Noodleness, the Ramen Fairies. These fairies, they believed, were so numerous (in order to be accessible to the growin number of asian peoples), that they were to become packaged in $0.12 packages, and flavored in a myriad of styles. When later the Supreme leader of Fork-Twirling masses, the Holy leader of all that is Alfredo, the FSM revealed Himself as the fairies themselves, the sect had a change of heart. They saw the error of their ways and began again to worship the FSM throught His emmisary, The Underwater Rice Ball. To this day, Pastafarians world wide show their surrneder from other false religions by adding a “RAmen” to end of their prayers.
fafnjdskalfdnasjkga
^ the new language of the almighty noodle
Is it whole wheat spaghetti, or the usual “white” spaghetti? Or maybe the red or green kind you see sometimes? I am trying to worship at home and I don’t want to get the ritual wrong. It could be very dangerous.
it doesnt really matter, as our noodley guide is a benevolent creature. however, if this is not enough for you, try the picture of the FSM up the top of the website for inspiration :p
You make me really angry making fun of God like that.I know that the Christian story is false,but ya’ll anger me alot putting a Spehgetti Monster where God connected with man.How dare you do that.I ain’t religious nor do i understand the divine God at all.I just say that ya’ll are making a mockery of something no one can’t understand.Prayer is n’t necesary,nor is prayer,but this is one of the worst things to any relgioion or any person to do is make God look this way especially when no opne understands the being not even i do,but why put an image in front of something who we are not worthy call anything at all and we aren’t meant to pray,man tuaght us that which was good in some cases,but why get us worrying over stuff we don’t even understand.Men and women are here to live,have sex,enjoy life,fulfill their destinys and die or maybe not just depending on how healthy they are and can they live and not die.We all are given a choice in life to do right or messup it’s all up to us humans to research and not go ahead and sya this and that when we indeed don’t know God personally and say we did it’s wrong to say false stuff and not indeed know beings.I am not in any religion and never will be espeically this false religion claiming to be true come on.Ya’ll are a joke.Give me a break.Christianity isn’t real and saying this stuff will just get people mad why don’t ya’ll send the right message so people will understand what’s right from wrong instead of misleading many.
Jray - y’all wanna git yersel back n’ git some skoolin, ‘fore ya start tryin’ ritin like ‘em smart folks.
We be talkin’ like pirates, not Wild West frontier gibberish.
Arrr.
Pete Yellowbeard
wow… “Prayer is n’t necesary,nor is prayer…”
couldnt agree more, nor could I agree more
FSM was mentioned by Richard Dawkins (Ph.D.)when he was interview by Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight Book Club (BBC, 22SEP06)about his book The God Delusion.
Paxman: I was struck by one sentence in your book, in the middle of it, “God almost certainly does not exist”. You are leaving open the possibility that he does.
Dawkins: Of course, any scientist will leave open that possibility. You can’t absolutely disprove the existance of anything. Just as we can’t disprove the existance of Bobby Henderson’s The Flying Speghetti Monster. We can’t be dogmatic and say for for certain God doesn’t exist, but it is just as unlikely as Thor with his hammer.
Christianity is bunk because it can produce no better evidence than Pastafarianism. This claim might seem to need to be substantiated by a comparison of the evidence presented in favour of each. However, it doesn’t.
For my part, my Christian beliefs are almost entirely based on the eyewitness testimony of Paul the apostle. Why do I believe him? Well, for one thing - and it’s only one of my reasons - he seems sincere. And that’s something I can’t say about Pastafarians; they most certainly do not seem sincere. I know you won’t like that kind of evidence - eyewitness testimony I mean - because it demands a subjective judgment and is not easily amenable to scientific investigation. You can’t quantify sincerity. But we do make many important decisions based on this kind of evidence - whether to buy a certain product, who to vote for and who to trust. Members of a jury make life and death decisions based on such evidence. So it’s a kind of evidence we have to take seriously. Furthermore, the fact that Paul was killed because of the things he claimed to have seen seems to at least rule out the possibility that he was joking. So that’s some supporting evidence, again of a kind that Pastafarianism doesn’t have.
So I really can’t identify with people who see faith and evidence as opposites. For me, faith is not about believing something in the absence of evidence. Rather, it’s the judgment you make about the evidence you do have. It’s the risk you take after you’ve considered that evidence.
For my part, my Christian beliefs are almost entirely based on the eyewitness testimony of Paul the apostle. Why do I believe him? Well, for one thing - and it’s only one of my reasons - he seems sincere. And that’s something I can’t say about Pastafarians; they most certainly do not seem sincere. I know you won’t like that kind of evidence - eyewitness testimony I mean - because it demands a subjective judgment and is not easily amenable to scientific investigation. You can’t quantify sincerity. But we do make many important decisions based on this kind of evidence - whether to buy a certain product, who to vote for and who to trust. Members of a jury make life and death decisions based on such evidence. So it’s a kind of evidence we have to take seriously. Furthermore, the fact that Paul was killed because of the things he claimed to have seen seems to at least rule out the possibility that he was joking. So that’s some supporting evidence, again of a kind that Pastafarianism doesn’t have.
So I really can’t identify with people who see faith and evidence as opposites. For me, faith is not about believing something in the absence of evidence. Rather, it’s the judgment you make about the evidence you do have. It’s the risk you take after you’ve considered that evidence.
Christian, I am very sincere. I believe in an omnipotent, onmiscient pasta-dish Deity with all my heart. At least I can say this: I believe it more than I ever have believed the creation myth of the Christians. Really. You can say I’m whacked-out if you must, but please don’t doubt my sincerity. I have finally found a place where others think as I do, as I have for all my life, and I’m happy to place my faith in His Noodliness.
RAmen.
OK, do you think that if I convert that my union will accept the fact that it is a religon that does not believe in Union dues? If so, I’m there, because unless I can find a religon that doesn’t allow union dues to be taken out of my check then I have to keep paying them no matter how rotten the representation is. This could work….
hey, im wondering… why do they make you swear, on the bible, to tell the truth, the whole truth, etc, on the bible?
what if you are atheist? isnt that just an incentive to lie? and if you believe in our noodely creator?
.
im not promoting perjury, but it makes you think…
I have been thinking that your religion matches my belief system better than other religions I have tun into, but still have some lingering questions.
1. What is the official church position on sauce? Do you allow pesto?
2. How do you feel about whole wheat pasta, and is there a rice noodle sect in South East Asia.
@A Christian : Paul was not an apostle, at least he was not one of the 12 who, according to the Bible, walked with Jesus of Nazareth. He came on the scene after the crucifixion as Saul of Tarsus (Acts 7:58), a persecutor of the apostles, and was converted on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3). Therefore, he was not an “eyewitness”. The New Testament does not record his death, though Christian _tradition_ holds that he was beheaded by Nero. There is no historical evidence for this, however, neither is there evidence that he died for his beliefs. He argued with the other apostles (notably Peter - the “Incident at Antioch”) and boasted to the Galatians that he had received no teaching from them but that his ‘knowledge’ came directly from God. Jim Jones said much the same, and I’m sure Adolf Hitler was also sincere. READ your bible, if you believe in it - don’t just parrot your pastor.
@ The Aussie : Under New Zealand law (I can’t speak for other jurisdictions), you can swear an oath or make an affirmation without religious props when called upon. It’s the law that compels the truth, not the oath - that’s just a signal that you accept that your actions and words will be measured by a stronger means than in everyday life.
May you all be touched by His Noodly Appendage. Arrrrrrr!!
Dear djjack,
Thanks for your comment. I won’t try to argue that you’re not sincere and Paul was, because that’s a subjective judgment I’ve made based on unquantifiable things like tone and motive. It’s a rational judgment all the same, of a kind that we’ve all made at one time or another.
There’s a risk involved in believing eyewitness testimony, I acknowledge that. But we have to make these kind of judgments - as consumers, as voters, as jurors and in religion.
cannibilly sent me here, and i think he is on crack!
Dear nzlemming,
Thanks also for your comments. Paul called himself ‘the least of the apostles’ in 1 Cor 15:9, although he adds that he doesn’t deserve to be called an apostle because he persecuted the church. I don’t want to quarrel about this point, as I’m only referring to him as an apostle so that you know which Paul I mean. I’ll call him Paul of Tarsus, or just Paul, if you prefer.
I also acknowledge that I can’t prove Paul was beheaded by Nero. There’s subjective judgment involved there too. I would count church tradition as historical evidence. There’s also plenty of non-Christian evidence that Nero did persecute and kill Christians, so it’s not implausible that Paul was one of them.
@ Christian
The significant thing is that we only have Paul’s word for all of this. As he wasn’t present during the life of Jesus (according to the Gospels, and I think they would have mentioned it, if he was even the ‘least of the apostles’), that is not “eyewitness testimony” i.e. he NEVER spoke to Jesus the man during his lifetime. It may well be ‘faith-based testimony’, but that just means you believe it because you want to believe it, not because it is worthy of belief.
You wouldn’t take a salesman’s word for the attributes of a car you want to buy, yet you would hand over your soul because someone sounded sincere?
As to the plausibility argument - I fear logic will have no impact on you so I’ll leave you to your beliefs.
Good luck to you and may His Noodly Appendages wave over you
Dear nzlemming,
Paul claimed to have met Jesus after the ressurection - that’s the eyewitness testimony I was referring to. As you say, we only have his word for it, but that’s a common characteristic of eyewitness testimony. It doesn’t mean that you can’t trust an eyewitness.
I have bought cars in the past. It was a risk, and my judgment about the sincerity of the salesman was a factor in my decision to take that risk.
You seem to think that I’m advocating you should believe anyone who sounds sincere. I’m not. I’m saying that a judgment about their sincerity is a factor in deciding whether to believe them.
As to whether logic would have any impact on me - I believe that it would. Is it so illogical to trust another human being?
Oops, mixed up my pseudonyms.
Okay, does anyone, I mean anyone see that the ‘christian’s’ argument is ALWAYS the same? ‘Well, I can only say that this is what I choose to believe, or what I think might have most probably likely happened when these things were or weren’t recorded based on some random writer’s testimony that has no definite….blahblahblahblah’ I’m paraphrasing, surely, but you get my point. Oh, by the way (no, not ‘by jesus’) I like the Flying Spaghetti Monster religion better…so I choose to believe that one over christianity…so far there haven’t been any brutal or life stealing wars based on their beliefs, or slavery for that matter. What is it, ‘may he noodly appendage touch you’? BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Mear
Dear Ryan Mear,
I do choose to believe, but that choice wasn’t made without some evidence. I also believe what I think most probably happened. Is that wrong?
I’m used to hearing people say that Christians aren’t interested in evidence. It doesn’t offend me, but it would be nice if people acknowledged that eyewitness testimony counts as evidence. I wouldn’t have thought that was controversial, in fact.
Is it such a strange thing that I’m saying here? We all regularly make decisions about who to trust and who not to trust. And we typically have only limited evidence to guide us in making those decisions. The evidence may influence our decisions, but there’s still a risk, a choice. If that’s irrational, then we’re all irrational.
I’m just curious,is FSM an actual religion.sorry but i thought it was just a joke.maybe thats what i get for doing something i’m not used to doing.
Jimmy, it all depends on how you define religion. The American Heritage Dictionary defines religion as: re·li·gion (r-ljn) n.
1. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
2. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.
3. The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
4. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
5. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.
I suppose by this definition, yes, it is a real religion. That is exactly the point of the Church of the FSM. It doesn’t matter that others find it difficult to believe. All that matters is what we believe.
As an aside, I really like the pronounciation key for religion: r-ljn. Maybe I’ll put it on my license plate when I have to register my car next time. Although, people might think I’m a religious crackpot.
It’s claimed on this site that the evidence for Christianity is no better than the evidence for Pastafarianism. But does that claim stand up to a comparison of the evidence for each? The early Christians could point to two facts that their contemporaries could not deny, and could check for themselves. One was that Jesus had been publically executed. Another was that the tomb where his body had been placed was empty. Does Pastafarianism have any evidence comparable to this?
You’re mostly missing the point, as this website (and religion) was created to prove how UNprovable any religion was. You can’t take religion A and prove that it’s realer then religion B because you can’t prove that a faith is right or wrong. (hence the word ‘faith’)
I’m confused where can i find the teachings?? i have know clue what the teachings of this religion are.
This is all very amusing.
I am sure that you and I have all been smiled upon and touched by His noodley appendage for realizing that it really doesn’t matter what shape or form He takes, His teachings are still the same.
Dear gill,
I don’t think I am missing the point. I agree that you can’t prove any religion. But I dispute the claim that faith is formed in the absence of evidence. I also dispute the claim that the evidence for Christianity is no better than the evidence for Pastafarianism. I don’t see how such claims can be substantiated without actually examining the evidence. Let’s get the evidence on the table, and then decide whether the evidence for one is better than the evidence for the other.
Right you go first wheres your evidence for God, remember no anecdotal or written anecdotal evidence is allowed.
Off you go.
Hi,
is there a directory of european FSM communities? I’d really like to organize a pastafari somwhere at a university or something, but not alone…
Moritz
I don’t know if anyone’s been following my posts, but if you have I’ve started discussing these issues under the Richard Dawkins post.
Cheers
I think it will help us all find inner peace and common understanding if we share a silent prayer. Jray .. try to read this without moving your lips. I’ve added notes so it’s all proper and intellectual and not just made up or nuffin’ and actually the word of the FSM himself. Possibly.
Our Noodleness, who art in Heavenly sauce
Harrow is in Essex (0)
Thy Kingdom come (1)
You will be done (2)
And served on earthenware or bone china.
Give us this day our daily breadstick (3)
Forgive us our trespasses (4)
As we keel-haul those who trespass against us (5)
Lead us not into temptation (6)
But deliver us from vile (7)
For thine is the wine
The beer and the grubby (8)
For ever and ever (9)
Etc
(0) empirically irrefutable. One-Nil to the Pastafarians.
(1) pretty soon, actually, if all the other religions keeping flinging rockets at each other
(2) after 7 minutes, regular gas, slightly al dente
(3) ooo .. have you got any olives? But not those ones with the bit of red stuff in the middle .. yech!
(4) hang on .. we’re pirates .. we’re supposed to trespass
(5) Yarrrr!
(6) oh, go on then!
(7) sic
(8) strippers!! Yay!
(9) except Holy Fridays, Duvet Days, and early closing on Wednesday for staff training
That’s better. I was worried that all the chat and no worship was going to bring down wrath and smiting and whatnot. Truly we have been blessed. Ok .. back to testifying the crap out of each other.
” he seems sincere. And that’s something I can’t say about Pastafarians; they most certainly do not seem sincere.”
Why should we be sincere to others not sincere to us? You follow examples set not reset set examples. It’s just how things work, it’s like the whole basis of why “Treat others how you want to be treated” doesn’t work, Your cruel to someone else there either to apathetic to care or are cruel back. I am a very sincere person if you get to know me, but if the jack ass uneducated “Christians” are going to send hate mail about something that can be just as well true if not more true then there supposed god then why should I be nice and sincere about it? Just think about that. RAmen.
@ Christian–So, out of curiosity….what evidence do you have, anyways? (The bible doesn’t count, as that’d just start off a whole ‘nother debate over whether the bible was correct or not.)
Dear gill,
The Bible is the main evidence for Christianity, or at any rate it’s the main evidence that has influenced my Christian beliefs. I don’t mind if that starts another debate. There are two passages that have been particularly influential on me: Gal 1:11-24 and 1 Cor 15:3-8. Both of these contain first-hand eyewitness testimony by St. Paul, and in them he claims to have personally met the resurrected Jesus and received his gospel and commision directly from him. If Paul is not telling the truth, he’s either lying or delusional. I don’t find either of the latter two explanations plausible, given judgments I’ve made about his integrity, intelligence and sanity. The 1 Cor passage also contains a list of the other eyewitnesses to the resurrection, most of whom were still alive at the time he was writing, and thus able to be consulted for confirmation.
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There is also some evidence from non-Christian sources that corroborates some details of the gospels. I’ve given one example under the Richard Dawkin’s post. Then there’s the empty tomb, which indicates that Jesus either rose from the dead or else the disciples stole and concealed his body. Again the latter explanation is inconsistent with judgments I’ve made about their characters. There’s the fact that James - the brother of Jesus - was one of the early Christian leaders in Jerusalem. This fact is corroborated by non-Christian sources. How does a man become convinced that his brother is the Son of God? Again I don’t find it plausible that James was lying. There’s the fact that so many of the early Christians were willing to die for their beliefs in Nero’s purge in AD 64. People today are willing to die for their faith, but usually with whole societies and 1000’s of years of history lending strength to their convictions. These were first generation Christians. What gave them such strong convictions?
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Finally, there are some other reasons that have influenced me to believe in God, though not necessarily the Christian God. But what I’ve already said is more than enough to start half a dozen discussions, so I’ll stop here.
“If Paul is not telling the truth, he’s either lying or delusional. I don’t find either of the latter two explanations plausible, given judgments I’ve made about his integrity, intelligence and sanity.”
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Oh? And how did you make those judgements? Did you know Paul personally?
So you proof is abig a big empty roon with no Jesus inside? Seems dumb to me. There rooms in my house that dont contain Mr T dose that make him a god?(obvioslys notlet me be touched by his noodley apedege.
@ Christian–
Interesting. Problem is, you take the bible as evidence–which is fine–while others, myself included, don’t. As for the empty tomb thing, I was debating that in some other thread before…..not saying it happened for sure, but I could easily some tomb rader bursting in. They ransacked the pyrimades, after all. I think what I’m trying to say is that in the end, evidence for religion is in the eye of the beholder, depending on what one is or isn’t willing to accept.
To nyx,
My judgments about Paul’s character are based on the content of his letters and on the accounts of his life in the book of Acts. For one thing, he stood to gain nothing from his preaching. In 2 Cor 11:23-33 he describes some of the extreme suffering he endured for the sake of the gospel. In 1 Cor 9:11-18 he points out that he always preached the gospel free of charge. (I’ve provided web addresses for these passages at the end of this mail.) It’s difficult to believe he would do this for the sake of a lie he had made up himself, and later be put to death for this lie.
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2 Cor 11:23-33
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Cor%2011:23-33;&version=31;
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1 Cor 9:11-18
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Cor%209:11-18;&version=31;
Dear gill,
I wonder if I could convince you to take the bible as evidence. Perhaps I could point out that historians consider it as such. Much of the evidence that forms the source material of History is in the form of written documents. Admitting that the bible constitutes evidence doesn’t mean that you read it uncritically. Historians make judgments about written documents, including the bible, taking into consideration the probable biases and motives of the authors.
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For example, the Wikipedia article on Paul (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_of_Tarsus) is a balanced summary of numerous perspectives on Paul. It confirms that historians take Paul at his word at numerous points. It also confirms historians are generally agreed that Paul was probably beheaded during Nero’s persecution, and that his claims in Gal 1:11-24 and 1 Cor 15:3-8 are almost certainly genuine first-hand eyewitness testimony. If you’re interested, you can inspect these passages at:
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Gal 1:11-24
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gal%201:11-24;&version=31;
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1 Cor 15:3-8
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Cor%2015:3-8&version=31
Found this on the net and thought it might amuse fellow pastafarians
Laura Schlessinger is a US radio personality, who dispenses advice to people who call in to her Radio show. On her radio show recently, she said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination, according to Leviticus 18:22 and cannot be condoned under any
circumstance.
The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, penned by a US resident, which was posted on the Internet. It’s very thought-provoking and funny (#7 & #9).
Dear Dr. Laura:
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God’s Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination…End of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God’s Laws and how to follow them.
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighbouring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness -Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbours. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
5. I have a neighbour who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2. clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree. Can you settle this? Are there ‘degrees’ of abomination?
7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help.
Thank you again for reminding us that God’s word is eternal and unchanging.
Your adoring fan,
The Holy Bible? $6.99.
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Internet access? $20/month.
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Throwing thier own words back in their sanctimonious faces? Priceless.
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For everything else there’s Mastercard.
Christian– “historians consider it as such”–do they really? So, the Great Flood with Noah is considered true because the bible says it is (’gives evidence to the claim’)? The ‘fact’ that the world was created in 7 days is concidered true now, because of the evidence given by the bible? The bible is as hard to prove as god him/her/itself. Yes, certain thing have been more or less proven–that a guy named Jesus walked around a few thousand years ago, that the Romans killed him, so on so forth….I’m sure Paul really did get his head chopped off, like you said.
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But a LOT of the stuff in there is not considered evidence and probably never will be.(after all, if the entire bible was evidence, then wouldn’t the entire world have to accept in Jesus as the son of god?) The bible is not considered evidence when it comes to Jesus rising from the dead, right? (meaning, some people BELIEVE it’s evidence, but others believe it’s a nice fairy tale and don’t think it’s evidence at all.) Also, jsyk, I take anything I read off wiki with a grain of salt, as anyone with two brain cells and a keyboard can change/post whatever they want up there.
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Nice try tho. I’m just very anti-believing-in-a-book-written-a-kabillion-years-before-I-was-born-that-tells-me-I’m-off-to-hell-for-not-believing-in-said-book. ^^
Dear gill,
It’s not a controversial statement to say that historians consider the bible as evidence. The NT is the primary source of evidence regarding first century Christian belief and practice, and the OT is an important source regarding ancient Hebrew belief and practice. This does not mean that historians accept every claim in the bible uncritically, merely that they take it into account in forming their judgments. For example, an overwhelming majority of historians accept that Paul wrote certain key letters attributed to him, that they can be dated to about 50-60 AD, that a fairly accurate reconstruction of his travels after his conversion can be made based on his letters and the book of Acts, that he preached the ressurection of Jesus, and so on. I’m saying that Paul’s letters, and Acts to a lesser extent, are the evidence on which I base my judgments about his character, and thus my decision to trust his eyewitness testimony.
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You mentioned Noah’s flood - can I just seize the opportunity to point out that I, and many other Christians and Jews, believe this story was never intended to be read as history. It’s a fictional narrative written to make a range of theological points. Perhaps a good modern parallel for this kind of literature would be the Narnia Chronicles of CS Lewis.
Folks might be interested in this quote from St Augustine (AD 354-430). I have it from an online essay at:
http://www.asa3.org/ASA/topics/Bible-Science/PSCF3-88Young.html
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“Usually, even a non-Christian knows something about the earth, the heavens, and the other elements of this world, about the motion and orbit of the stars and even their size and relative positions, about the predictable eclipses of the sun and moon, the cycles of the years and seasons, about the kinds of animals, shrubs, stones, and so forth, and this knowledge he holds to as being certain from reason and experience. Now, it is a disgraceful and dangerous thing for an infidel to hear a Christian, presumably giving the meaning of Holy Scripture, talking nonsense on these topics; and we should take all means to prevent such an embarrassing situation, in which people show up vast ignorance in a Christian and laugh it to scorn. The shame is not so much that an ignorant individual is derided, but that people outside the household of the faith think our sacred writers held such opinions, and, to the great loss of those for whose salvation we toil, the writers of our Scripture are criticized and rejected as unlearned men…. Reckless and incompetent expounders of Holy Scripture bring untold trouble and sorrow on their wiser brethren when they are caught in one of their mischievous false opinions and are taken to task by these who are not bound by the authority of our sacred books. For then, to defend their utterly foolish and obviously untrue statements, they will try to call upon Holy Scripture for proof and even recite from memory many passages which they think support their position, although they understand neither what they say nor the things about which they make assertion.”
@ Christian–Oh, don’t get me wrong, there are many things in the bible that can, as you said, be proven; I’m not about to argue that. And as for the Noah’s flood thing, I’ll just say that while I also agree there, I’m far more used on this site to coming across people who take it literally, so I assmued. My bad.
I love it when bible-thumpers agrue that the Bible contains provable historical events. Of course it does.
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If we are going to say that a few facts validate the entire book, then I have to ask… why are you not muslim? The Koran (Qur’an) also contains verifiable historical facts. Muhammad and his sons were real people.
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You are not muslim because you were born into a christian family. Funny how salvation is hereditary.
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Thumper One to Mission Control … come in mission control! … we’ve lost power … faith engines failing … we’re going down ….. ssccrkkkkkkttttt!… Mission Control to Thumper One … switch to auxilary power … ignore reality … deny … deny … deny …!
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May His Noodly Appendage bless and keep you. RAmen.
Yea, but Muhammad and his sons are in a graves somewhere in the Middle East. But Lord Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God Almighty…that is the difference. The resurrection is why he is God and his death even allows for you (a sinner) to be reconciled to God. The word Christian is a religion, being saved by Jesus is not a religion. Being saved by Jesus is Grace through Faith unto Good Works. Never put your trust in men, because you will be let down every time. Good works of men will not get you to the resurrection. There is ONLY One-Way to get to Heaven and that is by acknowledging with your mouth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, died on the Cross for your Sins, rose from the dead and now sits at the right hand of God Almighty and believing this with your heart. Once you realize that following Christian religions will not get you there the better off you will be. That’s what I like, all the experts talking about the Word of God and they have never even read it, but they can sure comment on it. I pray the Holy Spirit brings the Word of Truth to your hearts for all that see this message.
OneCrying, my husband, who is sitting next to me reading your post, wants me to say he thinks you’re a “friggin’ whacko.” He also wants you to know that’s he’s a recovering Catholic. I guess he isn’t typing it because he isn’t a fully-converted Pastafarian. He think’s I’m nuts too, by the way, for reading these posts all the time. I don’t believe what you say, and it frightens me that people out there believe the fundamentalist propaganda. That’s what you’re spouting, it seems to me. Not only do I not realize that following Christian religions per se will not get me into heaven, but I also emphatically will not acknowledge Jesus Christ as my Savior. How dare you insist that what you believe is right for me also. Word of Truth? I’ve got your word right here, baby.
“That’s what I like, all the experts talking about the Word of God and they have never even read it, but they can sure comment on it.”—Is that not what you’re doing? Has it ever crossed your mind that some of us would rather trust in our own god/ess(s) rather then have faith in something that means nothing to us? As SaucyWench said, I’ll never accept Christ in my savior, nor any religon that shuts people out because of what/who they prey to. Sorry to burst your bubble and all.
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“Lord Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God Almighty”–prove it. And then prove that Muhammed is not running heaven. And THEN prove that the Wiccan gods/esses aren’t real, and that Jesus really is the messiah, as us Jews don’t believe. While you’re at it, why not prove that the Hindu gods aren’t real? Can you? Somehow I doubt it…..if you could, the entire world would be Christian.
as my, not in my. Oops.
“You mentioned Noah’s flood - can I just seize the opportunity to point out that I, and many other Christians and Jews, believe this story was never intended to be read as history. It’s a fictional narrative written to make a range of theological points. Perhaps a good modern parallel for this kind of literature would be the Narnia Chronicles of CS Lewis.”
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have you ever considered that maybe most if not all of the bible was never intended to be read as a history?