The Flying Spaghetti Monster is typically depicted as a clump of tangled spaghetti with two eyestalks, two meatballs, and "noodly appendages."

Flying Spaghetti Monsterism is a parody religion created to protest the decision by the Kansas State Board of Education to allow intelligent design to be taught in science classes alongside evolution. Image File history File links Artist: http://www. ... Image File history File links Artist: http://www. ... Spaghetti is a typical Italian dish comprised of long, thin, round pasta. ... A meatball is a ball of minced meat and other ingredients, such as bread, breadcrumbs, minced onion, various spices, or eggs, usually fried in a pan, or baked in an oven. ... A parody religion, sometimes called mock religion is a parody of a religion, sect or cult. ... The legal status of creation and evolution in public education is the subject of a great deal of debate in legal and religious circles, mainly in the United States. ... Theory Intelligent Design (or ID) is the controversial assertion promoted by a movement denominated by the same name, that certain features of the universe and of living things exhibit the characteristics of a product resulting from an intelligent cause or agent. ... Charles Darwin, father of the theory of evolution by natural selection. ...

The "religion" has since become an Internet phenomenon garnering many followers of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (sometimes referring to themselves as "Pastafarians", a pun on Rastafarians) who claim to have been touched by "His Noodly Appendage" and preach the word of their "noodly master" as the one true religion. Flying Spaghetti Monsterism is primarily the invention of Bobby Henderson, a graduate of Oregon State University with a degree in physics. An Internet phenomenon occurs when something relatively unknown becomes increasingly popular, but usually for a short duration of time. ... Haile Selassie I Rasta, or the Rastafari movement of Jah people, is a religious movement that reveres Haile Selassie I, the former emperor of Ethiopia, as King of Kings, Lord of Lords and the Lion of Judah. ... Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public research and degree-granting four-year university in the Oregon University System, located in Corvallis, Oregon. ... The willingness to question previously held truths and search for new answers resulted in a period of major scientific advancements, now known as the Scientific Revolution. ...

Developments

In June 2005, Bobby Henderson submitted an open letter to the Kansas Board of Education in response to their decision on giving intelligent design equal time with evolution by natural selection in biology classes. He demanded that Flying Spaghetti Monsterism also be given equal time in classrooms, along with the other, more traditional religious creator. Shortly afterwards, he received responses from two sympathetic members of the board. A third response was also received in mid-August. 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in June June 27: Shelby Foote June 27: John T. Walton June 26: Richard Whiteley June 25: John Fiedler June 25: Chet Helms June 24: Paul Winchell June 21: Jaime Cardinal Sin June 20: Jack Kilby... State nickname: The Sunflower State Other U.S. States Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D) Official languages None Area 82,277 mi²; 213,096 km² (15th)  - Land 81,815 mi²; 211,900 km²  - Water 462 mi²; 1,196 km² (0. ... Theory Intelligent Design (or ID) is the controversial assertion promoted by a movement denominated by the same name, that certain features of the universe and of living things exhibit the characteristics of a product resulting from an intelligent cause or agent. ... Charles Darwin, father of the theory of evolution by natural selection. ...

Over the next two months, traffic on Henderson's FSM website grew steadily. The popularity of the site exploded in August, when the Flying Spaghetti Monster was featured on several blogs and Internet news sites such as Fark.com. Articles in the mainstream media soon followed. Screenshot Fark. ...

In the "Latest News" section of his website Henderson notes that U.S. President George W. Bush ^[1] and U.S. Senator Bill Frist ^[2] have publicly supported the teaching of non-evolutionary theories, and infers that they therefore support the teaching of Flying Spaghetti Monsterism. For the pop band, see Presidents of the United States of America. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the Halliburton and Dick Cheneys puppet. ... The United States Senate is the upper house of the U.S. Congress, smaller than the United States House of Representatives. ... Dr. William Harrison Frist (born February 22, 1952 in Nashville, Tennessee) is a Republican U.S. Senator from Tennessee and a cardiac surgeon. ...

Beliefs

Images depicting the creation of the universe typically show the Monster, a tree-covered mountain, and a midgit [sic].

Many of the "beliefs" proposed by Henderson were intentionally chosen to parody arguments commonly set forth by proponents of Intelligent Design. Image File history File links An artist impression of Him, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, from http://www. ... Image File history File links An artist impression of Him, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, from http://www. ... In the 19th century, midget was a medical term referring to an extremely short but normally proportioned person (e. ...

• The Universe was created by an invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster. All evidence pointing towards evolution was intentionally planted by this being.
• Global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct consequence of the decline in numbers of pirates since the 1800s. A graph showing the inverse correlation between the pirates and global temperatures was also provided. This was presumably intended to highlight the logical fallacy of correlation implying causation.
• Bobby Henderson is the "prophet" of this religion.

Global mean surface temperatures 1856-2004 Mean temperature anomalies during the period 1995 to 2004 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980 Global warming is a term used to describe the increase over time of the average temperature of the Earths atmosphere and oceans. ... Global earthquake epicenters, 1963–1998. ... This article is about weather phenomena. ... This article is about sea pirates. ... Events and Trends Beginning of the Napoleonic Wars (1803 - 1815). ... A logical fallacy is an error in logical argument which is independent of the truth of the premises. ... Correlation implies causation, also known as cum hoc ergo propter hoc (Latin for with this, therefore because of this) and false cause, is a logical fallacy by which two events that occur together are claimed to be cause and effect. ... In numerous religions, including Abrahamic religions, Jah religions, Sikhism, and many forms of Paganism, a prophet is an intermediary with a deity, particularly someone who claims to speak for the deity or interprets the deitys will or mind. ...

Codes of conduct

• Prayers are ended with the word "RAmen" rather than "Amen". The "A" is capitalized to emphasize the linguistic similarity.
• Followers are expected to dress in full pirates' regalia.

Prayer is an effort to communicate with a God, or to some deity or deities, either to offer praise to the deity, to make a request of the deity, or simply to express ones thoughts and emotions to the deity. ... This article is about the Japanese food. ... The word Amen (Tiberian Hebrew אמן ’Āmēn So be it; truly, Standard Hebrew אמן Amen, Arabic آمين ’Āmīn) is a declaration of affirmation found in the Hebrew Bible and in the Quran. ... A pirate digging for treasure. ...

Benefits of conversion

Henderson initially gave the following reasons for converting to Flying Spaghetti Monsterism:

• Like the noodles they worship, Flying Spaghetti Monsterists have flimsy moral standards.
• Every Friday is a religious holiday.
• Promise of a stripper factory and a beer volcano in Heaven.

The heavens are the sky, the celestial sphere, or outer space. ...

See also

• Creation and evolution in public education
• Creation-evolution controversy
• Parody religion
• Spaghetti

The legal status of creation and evolution in public education is the subject of a great deal of debate in legal and religious circles, mainly in the United States. ... The creation-evolution controversy (also termed the creation vs. ... A parody religion, sometimes called mock religion is a parody of a religion, sect or cult. ... Spaghetti is a typical Italian dish comprised of long, thin, round pasta. ...

References

1. ^  Bush: "Intelligent design" should be taught
2. ^  Frist Backs 'Intelligent Design' Teaching
3. ^  McCain Backs 'Intelligent Design', 5th down

External links

• Originating Website
• Mention in New Scientist Magazine
• Mention in Hartford Courant
• Boing Boing $1,000,000 Intelligent Design Challenge
• Chicago Sun-Times | "Church's spaghetti dinners must be yummy"
• The Guardian | "Intelligent Design and Pastafarianism"
• Article from Spiegel Online (written in German)
• Baltimore Sun | "Parody deity flies in face of Intelligent Design"
• Lawrence (Kansas) Journal-World | "Evolution debate creates monster"
• German Site on FSM
• Parody of the "First Vision" of Joseph Smith