
I enjoy heading over to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (CoFSM) website and read the stuff they post. Now I am not a "Pastafarian" but I do like what they stand for. What I mostly enjoy is the hate mail that site gets on a daily basis, all of it is posted. Most of it comes from supporters of the Christian faith, while others just don't get it.
CoFSM is in all reality a parody site. They poke fun at Christian beliefs and have developed their own "religion". The main thing they are fighting for is keeping religion out of science classes across American schools. There is no scientific proof for Christianity as there is no scientific proof of a Flying Spaghetti Monster creating the universe and it beer volcano filled heaven. I am against the teaching of Intelligent Design in schools and therefore support the cause behind CoFSM.
The funny part about the hate mail received at the website is people actually believe they are promoting FSM as a religion. I seriously doubt everyone at FSM believes in a giant glob of spaghetti and meatballs created the universe but I am sure there are a select few that actually do believe in His Great Noodliness but I am not about to speculate on them or their mental stability. The Christians that attack FSM do so vehemently. They sprout off scriptures to defend their faith and god of choice. Some claim the bible is indeed fact. Here is a quote from one such believer:
since the Holy Bible isn’t enough for you because it was written over 2,00 years ago,even though all the historical facts in It line up and are proved 100% accurate.
I can argue this till I am blue in the face but it really isn't worth it. We could talk of things like raising the dead, walking on water, turning water to wine, parting the sea, and so on. All of these things sound like something from a David Copperfield show but according to this Christian they are 100% accurate. We could also discuss the fact the bible was written by man and commissioned by a pagan emperor. Not one book from the bible was written by god or Jesus so I doubt its credibility as much as Christians dispute the existence of the FSM. Here is another awesome quote from a Christian:
why don’t you research some more and you’l realize that the Bible is a scientific book way before it’s time
This guy goes on to claim a bunch of things that are just absurd on so many levels. For the most part the bible has remained relatively unchanged. Even though it has been re-written several times over and translated to countless languages it has the same basic message. Science on the other hand changes as new discoveries are made. Scientists have taken it upon themselves to not just blindly believe a 2000 year old book. We know more about the world around us then ever before. The bible may have been advanced for its time on certain things but it just doesn't hold very much water in the light of our scientific discoveries regarding evolution and genetics.
Beyond the strongly religious they get a lot of hate mail that is just insane ramblings. I like this one myself:
u fucking idiots r on some fucking good weed. a flying spaghetti monster you know what im going to do eat your god then shit him out on your porch yes u the guy who invented this bullshit religion. you know what else im going to invent a religion yeah, ill call them the flying buttfuckers and we will think god is a flying pair of asscheeks. you fuckin disgrace to life
Do people not realize the FSM website is satirical in nature? How stupid do people have to be? Another thing is the vast majority of the hate mail is poorly written. Misspellings, grammar issues, punctuation and capitalization are very common while the responses to the hate mail are well thought out and well written (not all but more than the hate mail writers). So one is to conclude that strong religious people are illiterate and stupid. That is a little unfair but the evidence is overwhelming. It would be different if the Christians wrote coherently and actually provided scripture to back up their claims. Most just go off on this religious rant that you would be more likely to hear from a homeless doomsday preacher standing on the corner in downtown New York.
If you ever get a chance check the website out. You may like what you read or you may be appalled. If you are appalled and feel the need to write a letter to the site please do your best to not sound like a raving idiot.
Comments
Seriously
31 January 2008 - 4:31pm — Jade160Can you seriously believe that it is any more far fetched to believe that we evolved from primates over millions of years, changing species, into what we are now, than to believe that we were created by a "divine being"? Science is nothing more than another religion when it comes to these kind of points. Man is always trying to explain things that are beyond what can be explained. That is why they call it "religion", it is a belief, fact really has no basis on it. You cannot tell me that any of these scientists were alive millions of years ago and have studied the progression of evolution into what we are now. That is the only way they can TRULY prove anything. The same goes for proving there was/is a "Jesus" or "God". The difference is that Christians don't need to prove anything, we believe in it. Scientists say that they case all of their findings on fact, which they have no real proof at all. I believe that they bible was truly written by God, but that is because I believe in Divine Intervention, that a man can truly speak to God, and God is who told these people to write the books that went into the books of the Bible. Again, it is because I BELIEVE, I base nothing on fact, otherwise it wouldn't be called Faith.
Interesting
31 January 2008 - 8:48pm — GrinchI don't believe evolution is far fetched. There is proof of it. Do I think we came from monkeys? No, but I do believe us and monkeys share an ancient relative. Monkeys have evolved as much as we have.
I understand what faith is. The point of the post was to point out how some fanatical Christians will use the bible as a fact. The bible was not written by god. It was written my men and rewritten by men and changed by men. So to use it as fact is just plain wrong. If you want to have faith in the bible then so be it but don't bring it up in a debate about scientific fact.
The whole point
4 February 2008 - 11:50am — Jade160That was the entire point of the post. You cannot prove to me that "Scientific Fact" is anything more than something cooked up by men. If I am not mistaken, scientists believed that the world was flat at one point in time. And if you truly do have faith, you do believe that the Bible was written by God, through men. What real proof is there that shows we shared an ancient relative? If you mean digging up a fossil that looks similar to ours then I would have to say that would only be proof to men that "believe" in science. Science is nothing but man's supposed "facts", how is that any better than the Bible?
Now I do agree that "fanatical Christians" are sometimes overzealous is using the Bible as fact.
Let me correct something
4 February 2008 - 12:57pm — GrinchThe Catholics also believed at one point the world was flat and would try you as a heretic if you said otherwise. In 1992 the Catholic Church apologized for how they treated Galileo among other horrible things like the Crusades, The Inquisition, and Jewish persecution. Even still, yes at one time everyone thought the world was flat, but human nature and curiosity helped us overcome that thought and discover the world is in fact round. The bible didn't spell that out for us, although some Christians say it does, I would like to see the scripture that says this. Civilizations prior had it figured out, read about the Mayans and ancient Egyptians.
I know a lot of religious people who will say the bible was written by men. Some believe as you do that their hands were guided by the all powerful hand of god while others feel the same as I do, they were men writing down what happened, a sort of journal. Some books are nothing more than dream journals, some are letters to churches, some just recount events that happened at that time.
What I have a problem with is why Christians are so dead set against the thought of evolution. Even if we completely rule out human evolution and say man existed back then exactly as we exist today, Christians still find it difficult to accept that animals over time have evolved to fit their surrounding environments. There is proof of it. You can see it for yourself at the Galapagos Islands. But no one wants to believe it. Could it be so far fetched to think god built evolution into his plan? What about the Christians that believe men lived with dinosaurs? What about the dinosaurs at all? Then there are things like the Creation Museum which supposedly "brings the Bible to life".
You can have all the faith in the world but it boggles my mind how your faith will make you not see what scientists have discovered. Scientists just don't make stuff up and call it fact. There is a lot of research done prior to something becoming a "scientific fact". This is where science and religion differ greatly. You accept "biblical facts" based on faith and nothing tangible whereas science takes the time to understand why thing are. If that is how you want to live your life than fine by me, I am not here to say you can't. I just don't understand why your faith blinds you.
Here is another thought. Man was created by god. God gave us this great brain of ours. Is it hard to say that god gave us the ability and intelligence to decipher the mysteries of the universe? Is it hard to say that maybe, just maybe, god caused the big bang? Why are those ideas so hard to grasp?
The difference is,
4 February 2008 - 11:52am — Nuc (not verified)The difference is, Scientists jossel to get their theories proved and disproved. Christainity as a faith beleive in this one book, and beleive that everyone else is incorrect.
If solid proof of our creation was found/discovered, scientists would lissen and agree, Religious beleifs and faiths dont take no for an answer and are stubborn as hell..
in my opinion
Another thing...
31 January 2008 - 4:34pm — Jade160Thought this might help...
Science vs God
'Let me explain the problem science has with Jesus Christ.' The atheist
professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his
new students to stand.
'You're a Christian, aren't you, son?'
'Yes sir,' the student says.
'So you believe in God?'
'Absolutely. '
'Is God good?'
'Sure! God's good.'
'Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?'
'Yes.'
'Are you good or evil?'
'The Bible says I'm evil.'
The professor grins knowingly. 'Aha! The Bible!' He considers for a moment.
'Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you
can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?'
'Yes sir, I would.'
'So you're good...!'
'I wouldn't say that.'
'But w hy not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if
you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't.'
The student does not answer, so the professor continues. 'He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?'
The student remains silent.
'No, you can't, can you?' the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.
'Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?'
'Er.yes,' the student says.
'Is Satan good?'
The student doesn't hesitate on this one. 'No.'
'Then where does Satan come from?'
The student : 'From...God. .'
'That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there
evil in this world?'
'Yes, sir.'
'Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?'
'Yes.'
'So who created evil?' The professor continued, 'If God created
everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to
the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.'
Without allowing the student to answer, the professor continues:
'Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?'
The student: 'Yes.'
'So who created them?'
The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his
question. 'Who created them? There is still no answer. Suddenly the
lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is
mesmerized.
'Tell me,' he continues onto another student. 'Do you believe in
Jesus Christ, son?'
The student's voice is confident: 'Yes, professor, I do.'
The old man stops pacing. 'Science says you have five senses you use
to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?'
'No sir. I've never seen Him'
'Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?'
'No, sir, I have not.'
'Have you ever actually felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?'
'No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't.'
;
'Yet you still believe in him?'
'Yes.'
'According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?'
'Nothing,' the student replies. 'I only have my faith.'
'Yes, faith,' the professor repeats. 'And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.'
The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a
question of his own. 'Professor, is there such thing as heat?'
'Yes,' the professor replies. 'There's heat.'
'And is there such a thing as cold?' 'Yes, son, there's cold too.'
'No sir, there isn't.'
The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested.
The r oom suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain.
'You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have
or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat.
You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of
heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units
because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the
absence of it.'
Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom,
soun ding like a hammer.
'What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?'
'Yes,' the professor replies without hesitation. 'What is night if it isn't darkness?'
'You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the
absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright
light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have
nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to
define the word. In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?'
The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. 'So what point are you making, young man?'
'Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.'
The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. 'Flawed?
Can you explain how?'
'You are working on the premise of duality,' the student
explains. 'You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good
God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something
finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a
thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much
less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life
is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive
thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.'
'Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they
evolved from a monkey?'
'If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young
man, yes, of course I do'
'Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?'
The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he
realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.
'Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and
cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a
preacher?'
The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the
commotion has subsided.
'To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean.'
The student looks around the room. 'Is there anyone in the class
who has ever seen the professor's brain?' The class breaks out into
laughter.
'Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain,
felt the professor's brain, touched or smelled the professor's brain? No
one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of
empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no
brain, with all due respect, sir. So if science says you have no brain,
how can we trust your lectures, sir?'
Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable.
Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. 'I guess you'll have to take them on faith.'
'Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life,' the student continues. 'Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?'
Now uncertain, the professor responds, 'Of course, there is. We
see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man.
It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world.
These manifestations are nothing else but evil.'
To this the student replied, 'Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God.
God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there
is no light.'
The professor sat down.