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
hello this is the most incredible stuff i heard I must confess that I’m but a prophet I had all the visions, all the time i wasted trying to believe on science but there it was the FSM all the time, telling me not to trust in physical evidence. oh nooo! thanx for letting me know I’m not alone in this, and I got the revelation that I’m the emisary of the FSM to so spread his word in my country, where people look for virgins in rotten wood, floor ceillings and stuff . I truly believe I have found my destiniy LIke you I’ll becoem a prophet of the all mighty FSM. your truly
MR. Gregor FM from Puerto Vallarta Mexico
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Makes perfect sense to me!
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I once ate an onion
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Jesus loves you church of the flying spaghetti monster! he offers you unconditional acceptance, freedom, peace and joy and a personal connection that will blow your mind :) just ask him to show himself to you! big love g
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Ah, but Jesus doesn’t have a beer volcano…
…and the FSM doesn’t require anyone to go and make wars or be generally nasty to anyone to prove he’s got a beer volcano. It’s just obvious that he’s got one.
Rahmen!
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Yeah, graham…
Unconditional acceptance – This would be the one that everyone has to be just like you in every way. Believe the same way you do, think the same way you do, have the same set of moral standards as you do… basically be some sort of clone of you, and then you will accept us. How unconditional of you.
Freedom – From what? Thought? Reasoning? Spelling and grammar in general?
Peace – How do I even begin?!? Crusades, Inquisition, Salem Witch Trials… yada, yada, yada. Lots of peace there. Actually it would be more along the lines of pieces. As in the small pieces that the victims of this “peace” were turned into.
Joy – Is that were you live your life loosely according to a book of fairy tales and then run around and tell everyone how happy you are that you don’t have to think anymore because the book of fairy tales does it for you? And how happy you are that all of us heathens and heretics are going to burn in hell for eternity? That is the joy that a lot of christians on this site seem to have.
I have asked for him to show himself. For years. I danced for the “lord”, spoke in tongues, and every second felt like a fucking idiot. How can a man/god/thing that no one can even prove existed love anyone? Stop witnessing and start doing some thinking on your own. It will blow your mind.
In Peace and Sauciness,
D&WC
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Alas, I now see the error of my ways! I was blind, but now I have had my eyes opened! The Flying Spaghetti Monstor has illuminated the road before me, and now I must tread it! I shall walk the unbeaten path following the holy light of the Spaghetti Monster’s truth and wisdom!
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I have found myself here. People have tried to convert me to christianity countless times from my agnostic state BUT I found this religon when I broke down crying while reading a ramen recipe
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Im a Defacto Athiest, and initially Pastafarianism by the looks was set out to protest, but its comming something much more.
Athiests by nature are independant and choose not to be part of large movements like religion, otherwise athiests would be taken more seriously in the world if they got together and worked asone, and with 10 million members and counting, its doing just that. FSM is a beacon to us to come together, stop religious hatred and discrimination towards us, keep it up.
as for recognised religious status, here in uk, more than 5,000 members constitutes a religion and you are afforded the rights of religion, at least it used to, id look into it. you cannot be mocked regardless of your beliefs. not sure if its the same in the states tho.
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I was agnostic, and finally, that divine being which I have searched for has been presented to me. All hail the Flying Spaghetti Monster and it’s noodly goodness
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I think I saw a vision of the FSM in my spaghetti last night. And now I’m a believer!
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Down with fake religions! No more lies! May we all be touched by His Noodly Appendage!
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I guess worshipping spaghetti makes as much sense as anything else. Keep up the good work.
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FINALLY! some1 questions the main stream bastards running the joint. I happy accept your veiws as my own!!
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rAmen!
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All we’re happy to have a dish of HIM
small god rulezzz
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And how many hits of acid do you guys do in a day?
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Oooo dear, o dear, o dear – DO or DYE may mean (cook or dye) OR (eat or dye). But if U want real entertainment which will take away your knees better than any acid hungry 3 days and then pass near the best Italian restaurant and inhale the smell but don’t touch anything just breathe.
BTW. Read more about china 1000 BC
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ZOMG this needs to be preached across the world!
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LOL
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flying spaghetti? u know i had a plate of spaghetti and asked it to fly for me. i tossed it up to help it..jus made a mess. and about the whole changing scientific finf=dings thing…thats making a lier out of the scientists..therefor the fls must have no moral conciuse at all. if he really wanted the reading to say that then he should have created the world like that..not run around makin liers outta people. oh wait im sorry flyin around. u guys r on some serius crap if u really believe that a plate of spegheti made this world. come on..i culd come up with a better religion than this and im fifteen. i used to think i was messed up..then i read this. u guys r jus..wow
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Dude, you are a GENIUS! You have truly been touched by His Noodly Appendage. May the Flying Spaghetti Monster bless you richly in all of His meaty, tomato-based goodness!
RAmen.
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Did anyone tried to comb and sort spaghetti in a dish?
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Just went through the whole site…Man the hate mail section was long. I must say, I think I’ve been a instinctive Pastafarian all my life! I’ve loved spaghetti since I first ate it many years ago. I just don’t like drinking beer, so… no beer volcano for me.
As for the pirate costume, I live in the Philippines. ;D I won’t write it down, but you know…arrrhh matey!
Honestly, this country needs FSM like spaghetti needs meatballs. The culture itself is interlaced with religion that it doesn’t bother people anymore. But, the good thing is, science is still taught the right way, and any other stuff goes to theology (I got good grades in theology).
So, please contact me so I can join (or start) the local Church of FSM here. It would be a good idea too, to start some sort of scholarship for students, as the right education will combat stupidity, ignorance, and intolerance.
Oh yes, I want world peace, another bowl of spaghetti and chicken meatballs. RAmen.
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Has anyone else here ever thought about The Olive Garden of Evil?
I wish I hadn’t…
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oops–I mean Eden…
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…or maybe Evil is more apt…
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wtf happen to jesus nd mary the bible nd
shyt dis sounds like. a 2 yearold imagination when did a food become a monster then into a god your joking right your making up shyt thats ganna get this world into more war nd the society ganna have more hate the world is already bad enough dont need to hear more lies if your making this spaghetti monster up so you can form a better society it aint ganna work keep your 2 yearold imagination and fancy words to yourself i dont want to learn about this in my school and no one will belive this eathier your just creating a whole lots of problem
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That’s ok, natalie; we don’t think FSMism should be taught in nursery school, either.
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@ Natalie (3478).
Well, Natalie, judging by your lack of grammar, spelling, punctuation, capital letters etc. I presume you are a 2 year old.
I hope that when you grow up you might understand the true meaning of Pastafarianism.
May you be touched by his noodly greatness.
Rahmen.
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I am converted! After years of agnosticism, I’ve found a religion that truly makes sense to me. All hail his noodly appendage!
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@Lisa the pirate
Unbelieving is part of thinking or to say it…un-relligion. Are you shure that “grammar, spelling, punctuation” is not some kind of believe too?
small dish of spaghetti
very hot dish of SPAGHETTI
long spaaagheti
;)
and what’s wrong with the imagination
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Natalie (3478),
I don’t think that you have learned anything in school. At all… EVER. I don’t even think you would notice if they were teaching about His Noodlyness. You obviously haven’t paid any attention up to this point. Why start caring what is being taught now?
In Peace and Sauciness,
D&WC
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@ Tommy
Spelling is a construct, not a belief. Letters have meaning, else you would not be able to decipher a word that you did not know by using its base word, prefixes, and/ or suffixes.
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@Brian
I mean that a word is more than a structure of letters and some kind of capitalization / misspelling may mean something.
Also for example: youcannottranslatethiswithbabelfishifudontknowwheretoplacespacesbutucanreaditifyouknowenglish
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An interesting experiment in the relativistic fallacy. I am quite entertained by anyone taking this as more than what it is, a satire on the insistence of some people who claim to have found Christ that wish to teach the spiritual as material/physical/scientific fact. There are people, both Christian and Pastafarian, who are taking this way too seriously, however, this is what happens when religion is taught in science class, contrary to the scientific method. The Bible is not a science text book and Darwin is not a religious scripture.
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Arrr, we has been blessed by his here saucy presence. My we partake o’ his holy body and swill it down with some tasty volcano beer.
Blessed is the sauce,
the pasta,
and the holy meatballs,
RAmen
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I am converted.
RAmen my gastronomically excitable borthers and sisters!
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A truer prophet has never spoken! Surely the meat of truth and the sauce of justice have been heated and served by you good sir.
and to all the nonbelievers, a simple warning: mock not the spaghetti monster, for as surely as Parmesan is the holy vestment of the Lord, your fate lies solely in his noodly appendage.
Ramen.
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English writing is not a belief, it is a method to represent spoken English communication, originally on paper but now using various other media. Grammar is the mechanism by which sequences of words have meaning. Incorrect grammar is ambiguous at best. Punctuation assists grammar.
Spelling is the mechanism by which words represent particular meanings and sounds.
Since learning German, I have to say that I consider that English spelling is a mess. Either individual letters or sequences of letters should consistently represent sounds or the writing system will end up like Chinese with sequences of letters representing only meaning. English spelling now represents a historical snapshot of how words sounded. Only English and French languages seem to be resistant to spelling reforms. German has them relatively regularly and although German is a difficult language to learn (grammar in particular), German spelling is a doddle. I reckon even the Germans take as long to learn German grammar as we take to learn English spelling!!!
English spelling now seems to have evolved into a means of determining the level or quality of a person’s education. Why shouldn’t spelling be simple with a set of simple consistent rules which could be learnt by even an under 5? I could read and write by the time I was 5 years old, but spelling took at least another 5 or 10 years to be good at (no spell checkers in those days…).
So, in the true spirit of Pastafarianism, I would wholeheartedly agree with reform of English spelling!!!
In the name of his Noodliness, Rahmen!
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You should eat only noodles you like and never eat noodles when you are not hungry.
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I have been enlightened. I will now stop believing in the Scientific Method, please send me to heaven holy FSM! I want to live on the beer volcano forever!!!
RAmen!!!
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Oh my god…I am drunk in the spirit of the FSM! Praise his name!
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…This theory is amazing… but i see in it not the actual believe of a spaghetti monster.. but as humans grasp on reality, and slightly semantics… Astonishing
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Okay,
you guys are complete idiots.
Jesus Christ is the creator
not a stupid noodle monster?
Are you mentally challenged?
Something is seriously wrong with all of you
and you need help.
A lot of it.
I’ll be praying for you.
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@Tanya Jane: The meaning of “satire” seems to be lost on you. You are the one who needs help, or is possibly “mentally challenged.” Try finishing high school before you spread your ignorance over the internet.
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@ 3495 – Tanya Jane -,
Where do you get the idea that “Jesus Christ is the creator”? If it’s from your mis-translated and often mis-quoted book rewritten in 1611, I believe that the creator is אלהים. If I’m wrong, please explain my mistake, using the proper Hebrew of the original.
Please read the comment of Southern Ptarmigan (tenth down in the comments section). Here is a Christian Evangelist who is well educated and has this entire issue in perspective:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=letters-may-2009&sc=DD_20090508
I suspect that you believe whatever it is that you do believe in because it is what your parents believe:
http://www.sciam.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=why-people-believe-what-they-do-09-04-10&sc=DD_20090413
Since you seem to be so sure that we’re all lacking, and that you’re not, you may be stuck in the Authoritarian mold:
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/
RAmen
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Hey, I was wondering, what is the proper pirate regalia for a girl?
From a recent convert
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Tanya,
We appreciate your well worded tongue lashing of all of us. However, most of us have a need for evidence. We would love to debate the validity of your claim, but we ask that you please actually offer some proof. Random words like Jesus and praying do not prove anything. If you would like to argue that Jesus (or was it God…?) created the universe we would ask that you show us the proof. What is your source? And, just to let you know, the bible (or buybull as some of us call it) is not considered proof here. We feel that you need and outside source and can’t just use something to prove itself. I, however, can give you some things to look up on the internet with cited sources and scientists to back it up on how the universe was created. Let me know if you would like them.
Next, you seem to have questions about your own beliefs as well since you said “Jesus Christ is the creator not a stupid noodle monster?” I suggest you keep going with that question. Ask more questions. If you actually thoroughly read your bible you will notice many inconsistencies and a lot of horrible behavior by your god. You do know that he condones genocide, rape, murder, and slavery, right?
And finally no. We are not mentally challenged. Most of us here can actually spell and form complete sentences. I am also sure that most people here have completed a post secondary education and have above average IQ’s. This is another fact that you should look up. There is a direct correlation between belief in religion and intelligence. In laymen terms, smarter people tend to not believe in religion.
We would also ask that you please don’t waste your time praying for us. We are all perfectly happy with who we are and what we believe. You are proof of why great people like Ghandi love Jesus and hate Christians. Thou shalt not judge, be kind to your fellow man, the golden rule… You learned all those in Sunday school right? Yet here you sit judging and just being plain mean (and you wonder why most of us used to be Christians and aren’t anymore?!?) If you would like to do something, then I suggest you get off your knees and actually do something in your community. Volunteer your time and help your fellow man instead of sitting here and criticizing people. That is what Jesus would want you to do.
If Christianity is the path you choose to follow, then fine. We do not judge. We just ask that you actually follow the teachings you are trying to shove down our throats.
I hope you find peace in your own beliefs,
D&WC
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Blessings to all those of the truth and light of the Complex Carbohydrate.
In response to the last comment. No, we are not mentally challenged for the best part, but I do feel that I should point out that mentally challenged people are people too. Any free thinking and loving religion, including good old Christianity, happily accepts those unfortunate enough to have mental, physical, or indeed other disabilities into their folds.
This highlights that either one of two things are apprent from your comments.
1. That you are a pretty poor excuse for a Christian with such a hurtful comment like that
OR
2. That I am correct, and your inclusion in the life of Christianity is in part due to your own mental or social diabilities.
Either way, understand that I, and the Chruch of the FSM, accept you, love you and understand your concerns. And rest assured, that come judgement day, all the finer details will be sorted out in the end.
Truth is irrelevant, if peace and love are the price.
Ramen.
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