Creature's picture irks (fundie) Board of Ed member

[Viking12]

State Board of Education member Connie Morris took exception Wednesday to a picture of a made-up creature that satirizes the state's new science standards hanging on a Stucky Middle School teacher's door.

Fellow board member Sue Gamble told The Eagle that Morris asked for the picture to be removed.

The creature, called the Flying Spaghetti Monster, is the creation of Bobby Henderson of Corvallis, Ore. It looks like a clump of spaghetti with two eyes sticking out of the top and two meatballs flanking the eyes.

Henderson created the entity and an accompanying mythology on the origin of mankind to make fun of Kansas' recent debate over the teaching of criticisms of evolution, including intelligent design.

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/living/education/14331100.htm

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. The really, really funny thing is...

Without anti-science Talibangelicals like Connie Morris, His Noodliness would not have gotten any mainstream media coverage. They have only themselves to blame for spreading the Gnocchi Gospel.

[soothsayer]

2. Ramen!

[Viking12]

3. rAmen.

[CottonBear]

11. LOL! Gnocchi Gospel! Ramen!

:rofl: I can't believe these Talibangelicals. They really don't have a sense of humour and their faith must be very weak if they feel threatened by the FSM.

Ramen. CB

[BrklynLiberal]

26. The real irony of this situation is THEIR lack of faith and humor.

[gatorboy]

27. Heh! Talibangelicals...

I like that. :)

[Ladyhawk]

28. RAmen!!! I just got done reading The Gospel and I have more proof!

The chosen people of the FSM are Pirates. A Pirate's favorite pet is a parrot. My pet parrot loves pasta. It has alway been his favorite food.

Coincidence? I think not!

[Archae]

4. I love this line...

Board chairman Steve Abrams, who voted for the new standards, didn't see the picture but said he thinks that the Flying Spaghetti Monster is silly.

"Personally, I think it's juvenile," he said.

And believing in some mythological supernatural superdaddy up in the sky that creates humans as the "pinnacle of creation" :wtf: ISN'T juvenile? :crazy:

[acmejack]

5. ROFL! She takes herself seriously, doesn't she?

What an ass Connie is!

[obreaslan]

8. Now Connie, Repeat after me....

Oh-Wah...Tanna...Siam...
Oh-Wah..Tanna..Siam...
Oh-Wah Tanna Siam...
Oh What An Ass I Am!!!

:)

[tanyev]

6. Those school board members are living in darkness!

We all need to email them and share the good news of the FSM immediately! Ramen.

[yurbud]

7. I heard the spaghetti monster married ravioli and they made

tortellini together. Dan Brown is writing a book about it.

[wordpix]

13. LOL. This is a funny thread!

[bunkerbuster1]

9. The FSM is as American as "Yankee Doodle"

Stuck a feather in his cap and called it Macaroni...

(well, close enough.)

[Bassic]

10. "Personally, I think it's juvenile,"

Yeah, like refusing to open your eyes to hard scientific fact is anything close to maturity? God damn moran. :mad: :banghead:

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

12. They are PERSECUTING pastafarians!

This cannot stand!!!

[redwitch]

14. pasta persecution

ravioli repression cannot stand!

It's time for linguini liberation! Free the Farfalle Four!

[Viking12]

16. It's a war on Parmesan.

Bill O'Noodles said so on the radio.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

17. Thanks.

I'd gotten as far as "war on..." before I gave up on thinking of something clever. Yours is great.

[wordpix]

15. FSM must live as symbol of the silly intelligent design movement designed

by non-intelligent people.

[Skinner]

18. This actually raises a pretty serious issue, IMO.

In this article, the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) is portrayed primarily as a response to those who oppose teaching evolution. Certainly, that is part of it. But my impression is that the FSM -- an absurd made-up god-like creature -- is by nature primarily a critique of religion and the idea of god.

This, I think, could raise a fairly serious issue related to separation of church and state. It was posted on the door of a public school teacher.

I am not a constitutional scholar, but my understanding is that public school teachers cannot proselytize their religions. If the teacher had posted a picture of Jesus on the door, or a Bible verse, I think it would not be permitted.

DISCLAIMER: Yes, I know that atheism is not a religion.

But for constitutional purposes, it seems to me that using state resources to promote the idea that god does not exist would be analogous to using state resources to promote the idea that god does exist. Both are a type of religion-related activity that would not be permitted under the Constitution.

I tend to think that if a public school teacher put a sign on his or her door that says "God Exists" we here on DU would all be opposed to it. But it seems to me that that is not very different -- from a constitutional standpoint -- from a public school teacher putting a sign on their door that says "God Does Not Exist."

[Viking12]

20. I think you read too much in the FSM

HE is merely a satire on the IDiots claims that ID is not advocacy of Cristianity. If their position were really based on the idea that there is an Intelligent Designer but we don't know who/what that designer is, they shouldn't have problem with FSM -- given the lack of evidence for any Intelligent Designer, he is equally plausible to all other explnantions.

As the creator of the "CREATOR" says:

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. Science = the study of repeatable, observable, natural phenomena. Accepting a supernatural explanation is a cop-out. It's faith, NOT science.

http://www.venganza.org/faq.htm#f4

[Skinner]

21. He may say that.

But if we did not have the benefit of his explanation, I don't think there is anything about the FSM itself which would suggest that it was intended to be a response to ID.

Taken by itself, the FSM is very clearly lampooning the idea of God.

[vickitulsa]

24. I see your point, Skinner. BUT--

I'm not quite sure that anyone viewing the FSM alone, without any accompanying text or explanations of what it is, would associate it with a god in any way. ??

(I'm screwing up my courage to discuss this with you, as it seems most here didn't want to argue. I figure it's because they all know you're The Man and can "disappear" them right out of DU-land in a flash! ;))

OTOH, the point the teacher with FSM on her door seems to be making, IMO, is that laws permitting the teaching of ID in science classes are inherently nutty. Or noodly, if you will.

If ID does not "preach" about the god of the Jews and Christians (and perhaps the Muslims), but allows, as I've been told it does, for almost any kind of "Intelligent Designer," then why not the FSM?

As I said, I do see your point and I'm still thinking about it. You may be right. But if these crazy fundies are going to propose something so ridiculous as teaching ID in science classes, they need to recognize that there's gonna be a lot of backlash from it. Many teachers refuse to drop all mention of Jesus or God from their classrooms; and in some places it's still okay to, say, quote a Bible verse in class -- perhaps only if you also quote a similar Koran verse or Ben Franklin saying, but still....

It may only be when the fundies install their ID teachings in science classes all over the country and then slowly press the idea that the "Designer" is their Christian God while at the same time punishing anyone who has a different view or a different god, that the general public wakes up to what is being promoted in the guise of ID.

If it's true that around 80 percent of Americans identify themselves as nominal "Christians," it's also true, I would think, that a great many of those people would be as offended by the fundie version of God as by the FSM....

What do you think?

[gratuitous]

19. What pastafazools this mortal be

Dear Connie: Go take an aspirin and lie down for a while, until you no longer take yourself quite so seriously.

[sinkingfeeling]

22. There's a war on Pastafarians!! Call O'Lielly! I see lawsuits in the

future as Christians try to destroy this new, international religion.

Ramen

[berni_mccoy]

23. ALL HAIL THE FSM!

:woohoo:

[SoCalDem]

25. I posted this in March.. Wichita Eagle's slow on the uptake

Kansas Bd of Educ. responses re;Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Posted by SoCalDem in General Discussion

Wed Mar 15th 2006, 04:25 AM

I found this totally by accident. but surely the ID "issue" will crop up again.. It amazes me that they actually took the time to respond This is not new, by any means, but it's still relevant..and funny as hell


Be sure and check out this guy's website./.Lots of great stuff..
http://www.venganza.org /


Response from Mrs. Janet Waugh - District 1 - Received 6/25/05

From: JWaugh1052@
To: [e-mail]
Date: Jun 25, 2005 6:34 AM
Subject: Response from a member of the Kansas Board of Education

Thanks for your comments about the Flying Spaghetti Monster and all the supporters who have sent their support to members of the Kansas Board of Education. I am supporting the recommendations of the science committee and am currently in the minority. I think your theory is wonderful and possibly some of the majority members will be willing to support it.
Thanks again,

Janet Waugh
District 1

...........................................................................
Response from Mrs. Sue Gamble - District 2 - Received 6/26/05

From: msgamble@
To: [e-mail]
Date: Jun 26, 2005 6:34 PM
Subject: Reply

Dear Mr. Henderson, Thanks for your message. Thanks for the laugh. Your web site is fascinating. I will add your theory to a long list of alternative theories I intend to introduce when it is appropriate. I am practicing how to do this with a straight face which is difficult since it's such a ridiculous subject; it is also very sad that we are even having the discussion.

I will be one of the four member minority who will be voting against the flawed science standards currently being proposed by the six member majority.

Sincerely, Sue Gamble

.......................................................
Response from Mrs. Carol Rupe - District 8 - Received 8/16/05

From: Carol Rupe <crupe@>
To: [e-mail]
Date: Aug 16, 2005 8:19 AM
Subject: Kansas State Board of Education

Dear Mr. Henderson,

In the midst of the sad circumstances of having our science standards lowered, you and your legion of fellow FSM followers have offered wonderful comic relief. Rather than the form letters which we often receive on other topics, each FSM letter has been clever and unique. I responded to several at first, but now there have just been too many. I am a member of the Kansas State Board of Education and have voted repeatedly to maintain excellent science standards. Last week was the vote to send a new draft (written by the 6 conservative members) out for external review. The four of us on the board who are moderates were in the minority on the vote. The group of science teachers and university professors who had written the original standards (before they were changed) have now asked that their names be withdrawn from the document. The new version changes the very definition of science from "seeking natural explanations" to "seeking logical explanations". That is why I think FSMism is able to be included. It is as "logical" as any other theory.

The final vote on the standards will be in October. We will be in Lawrence, Kansas for that meeting. Those of us who are moderates on the board are trying to have the meeting in the Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas. We think that would be an appropriate setting for the occasion. We welcome you to be in attendance.

We have received thousands of emails from scientists around the world. At first, they all tried to explain good science to us. After the vote last week, however, they have resorted to calling us hillbillies and morons. And those are the nice letters!

Thank you for adding levity to this situation. You have developed quite a following. I was wondering if we could reverse the effects of global warming if we started breeding pirates.

Sincerely,
Carol Rupe

P.S. I ordered a Kansas Museum of Science t-shirt. I may just have to wear it to a board meeting.


....................................................

From: Mrs. Kathy Martin, District 6

"It is a serious offense to mock God."

[AnneD]

29. There is no God

but Ramen, praise be to Ramen.....
Alleat Ramen Alleat Ramen Alleat Ramen Alleat Ramen.

From the water came the primordial soup, from which there was no life. Then, within 60 seconds, his noodle appendages appeared and seperated the wet from dry, the pea from the corn, the TVP from the seasoning...and all were satiated. Praise be to Ramen.

[DarkTirade]

30. Yarr.

Avast!

[Canuckistanian]

31. This is all part of the "War on FSM"

See, what have I been saying? We're being persecuted.

And here's the proof !

Blessed be the Noodly Appendages. Ramen.