In the News

A 25-year old man from Oregon has taken the web world be storm with his clever and satirical website which takes on ID. Bobby Henderson believes in the Flying Spaghetti Monster and His creative powers, and wants you to believe as well.

For a look at the FSM site, click HERE.

For a rebuttal letter from a university student, read on...

Philosophical Foundation for a FSM Worldview

Dear Mr. Henderson,

First, let me compliment you on your creative website. After viewing a theory which you disagree with, you have responded with parody, sarcasm, and satire, much as the ancient Greeks did. However, in combating one theory, you invented a second which can now be subjected to its own criticisms and complaints.

My first criticism: your theory is self-defeating. You say that there exists a power that both can and does replace true information in one's mind with false information. In saying that, you immediately open the door to the possibility that the information about your Flying Spaghetti Monster is simply false information in your mind replacing the truth about reality. And if that were the case, then the existence of the FSM would be false. In other words: If you argue that information enters the mind against its own will that alters the truth about reality, then of course, one can use your own argument against you proving that the theory you just presented was merely implanted in your head. Therefore, a Being that freely implants false information in the minds of humans cannot rationally exist. This appears to be a discrepancy in your COVERT attempt to compare the FSM to the Mono-theistic God of Judeo-Christianity as the primary basis of the existence of our knowledge of that all-good God is the creation of free-will.

Second: Darwinian evolution (the belief that all of life can be explained by the mechanisms of random mutation and natural selection) is the primary origin belief of atheists (would you agree?) as there is no other currently widely accepted belief that does not involve a deity of some sort. As of three weeks ago, atheism was declared a religion by the U.S. 7th court of appeals. Darwinism would now appear to violate the wonderful, though falsely based, separation of church and state which you seem to be a heavy advocate of, and should hence be removed from all classrooms across the country. Am I mistaken in thinking that you really only want "just science" taught in the science classroom?

Third: If you don't think that "faith-based theories should be taught in the classroom" then you really shouldn't be advocating Darwinian evolution and all it entails. Darwinian evolution requires MUCH more faith than any other theory. Given the scientific evidence seen both cosmologically and molecularly, at this point in time, even your FSM theory would be more reasonable than believing the universe existed infinitely. Of course, in there we discover another fatal flaw in your theory in that the FSM, although invisible, is materialistic. It exists in this universe as evidenced by its "noodley appendage." For it to create the universe (and the time/space/material) limits that the universe represents, it would have to be immaterial and transcend time and space. This would of course rule out your flying-spaghetti monster as #1 it's made of spaghetti (material) and #2 it is always flying from place to place inside the universe (space).

Fourth: Your tomes of historical knowledge. How do we know they are the words of a supernatural being? Do we have some sort of accurate and specific prophesies in there that can be verified as written prior to the happenings? Also, referring to my earlier point, any writings in your tome would of course be subject to being just false information implanted by your FSM. In which case, they would not prove the existence of a FSM.

Finally: If you would like a philosophical, scientific, and rational argument arguing as to why Darwinian evolution requires faith then I would recommend reading Norman Geisler’s "I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist." I understand that you are currently unemployed and therefore may not wish to spend the money to purchase a copy of this book. If that is the case, please respond to this e-mail, and I will be happy to send you my copy free of charge. Also, please feel free to post this on your website (although please credit many of my arguments to Mr. Geisler and his book). I don't see why you would consider this hate mail since I'm merely disagreeing with your theory, but seeing as similar e-mails have made it onto that page, I'll look forward to finding mine there as well.

Tom Long, of Citizen's Voice, reports on a school district in northeast Pennsylvania that is considering teaching ID.

For the full story, click HERE.

Paul Nelson and Michael Ruse will discuss "Design by Evolution or Evolution by Design?" tonight (9/15) at the University of Miami, in a program sponsored by the Department of Philosophy.

For more on the program for those who wish to attend from the south Florida area, click HERE.