I wrote the Open Letter sometime around January of 2005 and posted it online several months later after receiving no reply from the Kansas School Board. Within days of posting it online, the letter became an internet phenomenon, generating tens of thousands of visits each day, as well as personal responses from the school board members themselves. To date (August 2006), the venganza website has received upwards of 350 million hits, and somewhere in the proximity of 15 million unique visits. This website operates on a dedicated server and uses 600 - 800 GB/month in bandwidth. I’ve received over 15,000 emails in response to the letter.
The letter, after being blogged heavily for months, was printed in several large newspapers, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Chicago Sun Times, and many others. The newspaper articles caught the attention of book publishers, and at one point there were six publishers interested in getting the Word of the Flying Spaghetti Monster out to the public. In the end, the Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster was released by Random House in March of 2006.
It’s now been over a year since the FSM phenomenon started. I hope that a year from now we will be recognized as a legitimate religious organization, with all the same benefits *and tax loopholes* that the mainstream religions enjoy.
Please leave me a comment on the Letter, the FSM movement as a whole, or whatever you like. Thanks,
-Bobby
FSM is far more real than Jesus ever was.
All Jesus’ prophets are long since dead. But the Prophets of His Sausiness are walking among us, still revealing unto us His Delicious Designs, entangling us in His Noodly Appendages, weaving and binding us all together, even now!
Heretics say there are historical documents of Jesus, but there are also historical documens of Odysseus, and I hope nobody still seriously believes in Sirens, Harpies, Cyclops, and other such nonsense. FSM has revealed to us that “history” is meaningless and false; it is an illusion pulled over the eyes of the un-enlightened. Let His Subtle Flavors guide you away from vacuous delusions, and toward blissful fulfilment!
Verily, I challenge any non-believer to prove that FSM is not real! I dare you to try! Have you not read His Gospel? (Why not? Are you afraid of The Truth?!?)
Brothers and sisters, I have seen the light, and it tastes amazing.
RAmen
This is truly hilarious. I specifically like the corny drawing that was added in the letter. Made my day! lol.
i am going to become a pirate
@ - i love jesus christ - #3394,
It almost goes without saying that assertions in philosophy and religion are unprovable. If, after carefully reading this site, you notice that the only time that we demand proof of a religious assertion, is when a non-Pastafarian presents a biblical citation as “proof”, you would most likely be correct. Since Pastafarians generally consider the Bible to be no better a proof of reality than L. Carroll’s Through The Looking Glass, we are not the least bit challenged by your assertion of biblical “proof”. My academic study can tell you who, when, and why, certain people wrote the Bible. Chances are that you haven’t had that education, and it’s a lesson that your church wants you to be forever isolated from. Why, such knowledge might even cause you to question the convenient dogma.
RAmen
Totally off the wall but the logic behind the FSM is about as real as the logic behind much of the paranormal…which in spite of persuasive argument and skeptical interest against , persists. I’ll bet that there are true converts to FSM out there too. I will be ordering your gospel today. Great work!!!! Forget physics- keep writing!
I really like this letter and I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head about teaching “intelligent design.” It’s just… silly.
The below comment is not so much directed at you as it is at some of the people responding to your letter.
Anyway:
To the asshole atheists (not the reasonable ones, just the assholes) who feel the need to trash on people simply because they believe in some form of religion, FUCK YOU! Not only are you giving genuine atheists a bad name by being loud, obnoxious, dipshits but you’re also being unnecessarily rude to people that you don’t even know simply because of one aspect of their characters.
I can almost guarantee that the average Christian or Muslim or whatever is far more intelligent than you dipshits.
Consider these words and when you go to sleep tonight chant 3 times “I am a dipshit” and maybe the aethiest God Science will forgive you.
Anyway, rest of you: have a nice day!
It is funny to me that people that believe in nothing get so mad at those that do. Sorry to all ex-Catholics. That is the number one reason people do not believe in g-d (Christian or otherwise) anymore.
BTW: I was taught tons of crap that was untrue in almost every subject except math.
This is quite sad and I feel very sorry for all of those who make such a mockery of God. I never get upset about stuff like this. But your whole web page makes me ill.
C’mon dude. C-14 doesn’t decay into N-14, C-14 is created from N-14 in the upper atmosphere from cosmic ray interactions, then decays into C-13. If you’re going to reference carbon dating (especially in some sanctimonius schpeel about how religous people are dumb) then why don’t YOU get the facts straight?
I think your letter is amazing. I remember hearing about it several years ago, and recently came across it. I was raised as a Catholic from birth, and through exposure, education, and the attainment of knowledge critical thinking took over me. Yes I question my religion all the time, am I a devout follower no, however will I raise my own children catholic and to attain the sacraments of baptism, communion, and confirmation probably yes. Why, even though I don’t go to church, because frankly as I get older and wiser it becomes increasingly difficult to believe in the biblical fairy tale stories. Be that as it may, its frankly what I know and Im constantly thinking, “everybody needs faith” right?
However coming back to your flying spaghetti monster God, I truly understand and believe where you are coming from. WHy is it so difficult to believe in a flying spaghetti monster who created the world if we believe a creature named God did, who has a son who was born from a Virgin.
In your letter you are wanting schools to teach the FSM theory and why not. If non religious schools choose to teach religion they should touch on all and not be selective. Why do we all not question these silly rules we live by when following a religion, yet we question the FSM. I have read the hate mail, and what I have to say is, people have the right to believe in anything they wish. We are fortunate to live in a country that is not run by a religious government for the most part. Even that sentence is contradictory, yes we are able to freely choose our beliefs however the dominant religions take president. Americans simply need to take out any of their paper bills and read “in god we trust” and Canadians need to simply see when in parliament meetings begin with the prayer of the ‘our father.’ Moreover my point is, religion is all around us and its unfortunate that individuals feel the need to put down others based on their religions. If I want to believe in the FSM what is that to you?
I understand your motivation for creating the letter and I commend you.
the conservative school system is killing our children!
RISE UP PASTAFARIANISTS!
we must combat global warming and attain our piratey attire!
Remove Creationism from schools!
If parents want their kids hearing fairy tales
tell them at home or in church!
Us spiritualists r being pushed away!
No one knows what Ohm is!!!
Children learn either the one die hard scientific theory
or ALL the religious mumbo-jumbo!
Quit pushing your religion on us!
Thank the FSM for the invention of the internet! The religious have their temples and now we have a means to converge and grow. As Dawkins said.. well something about our voice of reason not being heard cause atheists tend to be independent thinkers.. I hope this site helps otherwise intelligent people to question their god beliefs and start putting their energy into preserving our future.
Thank the FSM for the invention of the internet! The religious have their temples and now we have a means to converge and grow. As Dawkins said.. well something about atheist reasoning going unrecognized as we tend to be independent thinkers.. I hope people coming together on sites like this helps otherwise intelligent people to question their god beliefs and start putting their energy into preserving our future as a species.
please scrap 3406 i did not think it worked when my browser closed unexpectedly
@Brad (#3409)
FWIW, I think you’re right that C-14 is made in the upper atmosphere from N-14 via an (n,p) reaction but I think C-14 does SO revert back into N-14 via beta decay. Maybe then why don’t YOU get the facts straight?
Very nice. I really enjoyed the letter.
To all believers of a higher power, whatever it may be. I will now talk about my point of view, and my reasons as to why I do not believe in it. I mean no offense, but will also not apologize for anything I say/write after this. Before taking offense, please think that it may not be what I’ve written but how you read it that makes you offended.
Do you agree that you believe in it solely because your parents told you it existed, because their parents had also told the same, etc.? Because I doubt that any of you actually has factual evidence.
Now, we all know humans tend to use faith when they cannot explain something.
Before, whenever it rained or lightning struck, people said it was the work of a God. Now we know about weather. What we (or you) now believe to be the work of a God/higher power will be found as a normal, natural and certainly not divine process/event.
We also know that during the Middle Age the church used religion to control people (and still uses). How can you be so sure that all actual religions were not made in order to control people? Using their fear of the unknown, part of the human nature. Perhaps the creators (of those religions) really believed in them as well?
Now, you might say: Then prove that God or a higher power doesn’t exist!
To which I will answer: Witches, werewolves and vampires exist.
And now YOU will have to prove me wrong.
You can’t say something exists until it’s been proven it doesn’t. You can only say it exists when you have proof it does exist. Which brings me to the next point, Proof.
What proof do you have? The Bible or any other religious artifact? What proof do you have that those are real and true? I mean, they were written/made by someone right? Was it God or some higher power? They please prove it. You can’t? Okay, then they were made by human hands, unless pigs and cows know how to write.
So, how would a human know how the world was created if he was created after the world was created? God or some higher power told him, you say? Well you’re going to have to prove it, or else it was all made up by that someone.
Truthfully, you don’t even know why you believe in it, right? You were taught to believe in it, therefore you do. As simple as that. You don’t even question it? Well, then I’m going to say:
Please deposit all of your savings in my bank account. I’ll buy you all a present with the money.
Liar, you say? Why, you’re questioning me, are you? What’s the difference? Why don’t you question what you’ve been taught? If at school your teacher said pigs fly you’d call him a liar right? (unless you were too young to know that pigs can’t fly) So you can question that and not religion?
Religion was made to answer everything that man couldn’t answer or explain by himself. It also helped on one of man’s greatest fears, Death, by implying that there’s an afterlife (if you can’t prove there is an afterlife then there isn’t, or rather, you can’t say there is an afterlife, until you prove there is one). It also helped to restrain man, implying eternal punishment and suffering if he did not act correctly. A moral constraint, shall we say.
As you can see, religion solves all of these problems, which is why I can agree to it’s existence. While I doubt that I have convinced any of you with this completely logical wall of text, since believers can be logical about everything except for religion, I tried to convey my point of view, and I believe to have done so quite well.
Thanks for reading all of this.
I’m not sure if I’ll bother to check on any replies, but feel free to reply.
————————————————-
TL;DR - Read it. All of it. Or face divine punishment. (lol)
Absolutely brilliant.
Pastafarianism for life!
@ Non Believer: Great post! Too bad that all the “faithful” can’t tell the difference between proof and hearsay.
Hey i was wondering is there like a GARLIC BREAD DEMI GOD or is it just FSM.
All of my Friends are Cristian/Catholic. So when i try and convert them the just dismiss my religion as, Gay,Stupid,Not Real, Offensive to All religion so i find it hard to express my………PasataryNess.
Ramen, Your Teenage Aussie Brethern Samelinen
all who support this i fill sorry for. you all will find out when you when you hear that millions disappear.(the rapture to all who don’t know.)
Why a garlic demigod? it could be a simple baguette demigod. I know that I have a baguette with spaghetti.
i have only been told about this recently but i have now realised the folly of my ways and wish to convert to the worship of the great pasta one, lmfao, oh and btw i am a pirate lmao, i agree that the loss of pirates has affected the global temperatures, your graph showed the truth of this as everyone knows a graph does not lie lol
http://.amidosuca.freehostia.com
I have a tshirt of the pic at the end (:
Brad #3409
It is YOU who should get your facts straight. Research before you post. I didn’t think about it, but after what you said I looked it up. Carbon-14 does, in fact, decay into Nitrogen-14.
Here’s to hoping His Noodly Appendage touches you,
-GM
RAmen
If you have any questions about, or just want to discuss the existence of the FSM, you can reach me at kanastag@comcast.net
@ - maddie - #3422,
Welcome aboard. Join us in the fight to prevent the introduction of religious mythology into public school science curricula:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/id/program.html
and help us enjoy pasta and libations. Follow the eight “I’d Really Rather You Didn’ts”:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gospel_of_the_Flying_Spaghetti_Monster#Captain_Mosey_and_the_Eight_.22I.27d_Really_Rather_You_Didn.27ts.22
You’re a Pastafarian with us; may the sauce be with you.
RAmen
I agree completely with #3410, thats exactly the way I think and try to explain most people I know. But usually believers are too closed minded and will just bash you if you think different, I hate that.
I always try to teach them to just live by the motto “live and let live”, they can believe in whatever they want, but then, why not let others believe in what they want too? Why does people have to insult, fight and/or kill each other for their BELIEFS?
I used to be a catholic because I was taugh that way all my life. But from personal choice and experiences, since a while ago I consider myself an “atheist”, but, only if that means “literally” the word. Because Im not sure what “atheistm” really is, since there are too many types of different ones, but for me, “atheism” is “a”-”theism”, so as “theism” means religion-related, that should then mean atheism is that I dont believe in RELIGIONS. Or to be more specific, in “organized” religions.
Not that I dont believe in NOTHING like most people think atheists are. Or maybe they are and Im not making sense here but thats the way I think.
I do believe for example in this “type” of religion which is the FSM theory, even though it might or might not be a spoof of “religion” itself, I consider it a great way of making others open their eyes and mind and realize that you can believe in whatever you want to believe, in whatever makes you a better man, and let others do so too. And not believe in something that makes you a worse man, a closed minded person that kills others just because they are/think different.
I mean, who can prove there’s no FSM but CAN prove Jesus existed (or God, or vampires or anything else?)? *which means I also agree 101% with “Non-believer” (#3416), long post but worth reading, great words*
There are religions who believe in vampires and werewolves (Wyccans), and if you encountered a person in the street who would tell you about that belief, what would you do? Think about it. Would you respect him for his belief? Or you would just laugh in his face and tell him its stupid to believe in that, or to stop watching too much Twilight? That obviously vampires and werewolves dont exist?
But then, what do you believe in that can be proven real? Nothing. And even if you claim you dont believe in anything and think that way you can mock those who do, think again. Open your eyes. “Belief/Faith” is most of the times what makes a person who they are. It is (or should be) something that gives them hopes when they feel like they lost them all, gives them love when they feel lonely, it can be lifesaving to have something to believe in when you are facing extreme depression. So, why would you mock that? Do you really want to take that away from those who need it?
If the answer is yes, dont bother replying, your ignorance and “evilness” will be clear to me, therefore I wont bother reading.
FSM is now the best philosophy to follow, in my opinion.
Long post, sorry. Have a nice day.
-Luis.
To # 3420 - d man:
“all who support this i fill sorry for. you all will find out when you when you hear that millions disappear.(the rapture to all who don’t know.)”
We probably all knew what you were talking about without you having to explain yourself, but thanks for sharing that you believe we are all illiterate in the subject. However, the end of the world and the rapture have been predicted many times, and each time it didn’t happen. Since the Christians can’t seem to figure it out, maybe the Mayans and Nostradamus got it right for the year 2012. And please don’t “fill” (or feel) sorry for us. We have made our choices as you have made yours. Now be happy with your choice, because we are happy with ours. Stop making veiled threats about our eternal soul, and go and live your life if this is your chosen religion. But it would make your religion look better if you weren’t such an ass about it.
To Luis (#3427) - I completely understand where you are coming from. Some people do need religion (the thought of just being dead and nothing else happening can be unsettling). Religion is a choice as is not believing in a religion. I think that most of the people here are offended by the fact that what they believe is being ridiculed by people who have no idea what they are talking about (the true nature of the website). They are threatened with eternal damnation and having horrible things happen to them in this life because they don’t believe in god. They are cursed at and insulted. I know that many come back with very strong replies. Most of us do not go around in our daily lives, seek believers out, and put them down for believing in religion (even though we cannot admit our beliefs without being ridiculed). We do, however, find it offensive for people to seek us out and ridicule us.
For a long time, religions have been given a pass on the amount of proof that they have to offer. We are getting sick of that game, and since all these people are coming here and attacking us, our natural inclination is to defend ourselves and demand proof. Considering the amount of proof many fundamentalists require of science (there will never be enough evidence for them), it is completely acceptable for us to demand the same amount of proof for what they are claiming. Asking for proof does not mean we are being disrespectful (questioning something that is an accepted norm is always considered disrespectful). Some are nicer about it than others, agreed. But we do have the right to proof since we are being accused of being wrong; even though we are the only ones who can offer proof for our claims (evolution, big bang, etc).
I have religious discussions all the time, and these are civil conversations with civil people. We can have a discourse because even though we don’t agree we still respect each other. However, being an atheist is almost as bad as being a murderer to many. People tell me that I should not be considered an American citizen because I don’t believe in god. I shouldn’t be allowed to testify in court or even vote. That is the fundamentalists approach to what I believe. However, when I have talked to Wiccans (or even Christians who are not jerk-offs), I was never given a hard time for believing what I believe. That would be because they are open-minded too. However, many of the people who come here are not about having a discussion and are anything but open-minded. They are the holier-than-thou assholes who have nothing else to say other than “You are stupid because you don’t believe in the bible, you are going to hell, and I am more than happy to tell you that you are going to hell because I rejoice in your imminent suffering because you don’t agree with me so you deserve it”.
I do not want to take something away from someone who needs it. However, those same people should respect our right to not need it, and perhaps they should educate themselves on what they are commenting on before they comment on it. Just because you believe in the supernatural does not give you the right to run around and threaten everyone else (and it is a threat, because they actually believe it will happen). Besides, all we really want is for science to be taught in our classrooms, not mythology. Does that require all this hellfire and brimstone? I, personally, am sick of being given hell just because I don’t believe in it.
(I actually don’t know if that answered any of your questions, or if it just turned into a mini-rant… but! I do believe in respecting those that respect me as well - and I should also be able to ask for the same amount proof that is being asked of what I believe)
In Peace and Sauciness,
D&WC
Ahhh… Ramen!!
Thank you for providing an alternative to ID and evolution. It is only fair that if science is to be shoved aside for the promotion of intelligent design that the word of the FSM should also be taught. The evidence supporting FSM is at least as, if not more, compelling than ID.
- a born again pastafarian
Re the ‘discussion’ about the people who ‘need’ to believe in god and that it doesn’t do any harm, it only does them good.
May I suggest that you read Dawkins on this. He sums up the whole ‘benefit of belief’ very well.
Just because we believe in something doesn’t make it true. Furthermore, belief in lies create further problems when facts have to be manipulated to fit the lies in order perpetuate them. Not to mention the time, effort and money thrown away on false shrines etc. All the torture, hatred, suffering, wars, martyrs, suicide bombers and so on that have been endured in the name of lies.
The Nazis knew all about lies. Their whole philosophy was based around the principle that if a lie is big enough and enough people believe in it, then it becomes the truth.
As a child, brought up to be a good little anglican, one of my first questions was why I should believe in Christianity. If I had been born somewhere else, I would have been expected to believe in another christian sect or other religion. So why should any of it be true?
What is the problem with believing that there is no god, that this is it, we should make the most of it and make sure everyone else has the best time possible and make the most of it while they can too?
Just because the majority believe in some sort of god, or whatever doesn’t make it true and certainly doesn’t mean it benefits either them or anyone else.
As Mark Twain said when asked if he was afraid of dying, Before I was born I was dead and it didn’t bother me then.
Every day, we all go to sleep, as far as our conciousness is concerned, we are dead and it doesn’t bother us. Why should permanent sleep be any more of a problem.
When I am asked why I am so vehemently anti religion, my reply is where do I start! If the inquisition, Taliban, Alquaida, suicide bombers, child abuse, anti birth control, ignorant (of facts) creationists, US bible belt ‘hell and damnation scare mongering hate preachers’ etc are not enough, just the simple fact that none of it is true and the principle that children should ALWAYS be educated the truth is the clincher.
I don’t care if someone else believes that I will go to hell for not believing, but I care like hell if they want to scare little kids whitless into believing that they will go to hell, suffer eternal pain or whatever, if they don’t believe. Another paraphrase, this time from Alfred Hitchcock, that the most frightening thing he ever saw was a priest talking to a young child by the side of a road in Switzerland.
Teaching children ABOUT religions and religious beliefs is education, teaching children religion is child abuse, period.
But of course the Great FSM and the beer volcano are exceptions…
BTW, sorry that was so long, but it’s difficult to precis.
Rahmen.
#3416 so you know what you said about religion being a moral constraint is false because the country with the most atheists in it has the least crime in it and also alot of wars are fought over religion and alot of ppl are killed over religious disputes
may i join the church of His Sauciness?
this is great- I think this made me turn my back on atheistness…. at least temporarily. and the original drawing is just the best thing I’ve seen all week.
If “Bobby” is a womans name, MARRY ME!!!!! (just joking) But less than seriously folks…. Love it love it love it.
Satire it seems has not died. Too bad the ability to perceive a satiracle piece as just that has. I mean some of the hate mail you’ve received is truely wacko. Almost as wacko as believing in Flying Spagetti Monsters. (sorry FSM, you know my true heart)
Please write more letters to other staid and constipated institutions Bobby. The reactions are beautiful.
Yours truely in Parmesan Brotherhood, Mark.