Literature

A Review Of Bobby Henderson's The Gospel Of The Flying Spaghetti Monster
Robert Deyes

Books designed to make a mockery out of key principles that could change the way we view life often make claims not based on evidence but on the author's own personal biases. Sadly Bobby Henderson's The Gospel Of The Flying Spaghetti Monster is no different. For those who have not had the displeasure of reading Henderson's parody, he begins by introducing the reader to his god, the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM), and its revering pirates, the so-called Pastafarians, who await a heaven that is filled with beer volcanoes and stripper clubs. Down on Henderson's imaginary earth, there is plenty of evidence for the FSM- everything from the noodly appearance of DNA to the spaghetti-like structure of the Great Wall Of China stands as testimony to the existence of the pasta god. Reading on one quickly realizes that Henderson is out to make a point (he says so himself)- if there is a place for teaching Intelligent Design (ID) theory in the science classroom of today's public school then there is also a place for teaching about his 'FSMism'. Indeed Henderson argues that since ID theorists claim that evolution is just a theory, so too are other parts of established science such as Newtonian gravity. To make his point he sets up a farcical scenario in which gravity is simply the manifestation of the FSM pushing on the heads of his human creatures. Over time humans have got taller simply because the FSM, with his limited number of noodly appendages, is unable to keep his pressure on all the heads of the ever-growing human population. None of this is of course meant to be taken seriously. After all, Henderson is just ridiculing ID.

Nevertheless a quick glance through Henderson's book reveals some clear gaps in his understanding of what ID theory does and does not say. For example, Henderson claims that the primary objective of ID theory is to slip the supernatural into science so as to create a 'super-science' the likes of which have not been seen since the middle ages. Accepting the claims of ID in science, Henderson states, is akin to accepting medieval medical practices such as bloodletting into our hospitals. And yet it is well known that the foundations of the ID movement are built upon scientific evidence that would not have been available to scientists in centuries past (irreducible complexity of molecular systems, the exacting requirements of embryonic development and genetic regulation and the information-rich content of DNA). ID theory has never attempted to slip a supernatural god into the 'gaps' of science but has always used a sound 'cause-and-effect' type approach using what we know about design to infer design in biology. Henderson hits hard by suggesting that ID proponents have a problem in accepting not only the link between natural selection and antibiotic resistance in bacteria but also the powers of artificial selection in dog breeding (Of course ID can sit quite comfortably with these more limited forms of Darwinian theory). He likewise shows a complete disregard for the issues concerning vestigial organs. While often touted as evidence of a blundering evolutionary process that has not yet fully eliminated organs that have fallen into disuse, what is becoming clear is that many such organs do fulfill important physiological functions. Similarly, recent discoveries in molecular biology have shown that long stretches of so-called 'junk' DNA do indeed play critical roles in the regulation of gene expression.

Later on in the book, Henderson conflates supernatural creation with ID, bringing in the violence of religion, particularly Christianity, as one more reason to do away with any cogent arguments that ID theory might bring to the science 'table'. Henderson not only vilifies the religiously faithful by mocking the power of prayer but also shows that he has never bothered to investigate the scientific underpinnings of the ID movement. After incorrectly associating ID with Young Earth Creationism, he then proceeds to ridicule a God who would deliberately confuse people by creating a universe that is only a few thousand years old and later throwing in evidence that supports a much older creation. Henderson continues by making a farce out of the Genesis account and the biblical moral teachings. He selects the wrong targets to support his case against what he sees as the dogmatic approach of the church to science (eg: the execution of Giordano Bruno whose burning at the stake was because of his religious beliefs, not his views on science). He clearly ignores the established fact that it was Christianity that provided the foundation upon which our universe could be understood scientifically. Of course ID theorists have categorically steered clear of equating their designer with the biblical God, using only principles commonly used in other fields of study to infer design in biology.

In The Gospel Of The Flying Spaghetti Monster, Henderson shows his complete lack of appreciation for modern-day challenges to science. To claim as he does that the peer-review process is a water-tight tower of objectivity is to ignore high-profile cases of scientists who have dared challenge established orthodoxy (Stephen Jay Gould's punctuated equilibrium is a case in point). Henderson dismisses the 'irrefutable proof' offered by Michael Behe in support of ID by asserting that Behe's examples of irreducible complexity are as incomprehensible to those outside of mainstream science as Kurt Godel's proof for the existence of God. Perhaps unbeknown to Henderson is the recognition of Behe's Darwin's Black Box as one of the most accessible reads of contemporary, popular science. Of course one soon gets tired of hearing about the pasta deity and his pirate disciples not to mention Henderson's apparent obsession with noodles. He ends his book with a collection of bogus, fun-poking papers written by scientists who clearly have an ax to grind against ID. Most of these papers are just more fairy-tale imaginings of pirates, noodles and beer volcanoes all of which do little to strengthen Henderson's case. Likewise for Henderson's humor which at times exposes his lack of originality (I was surprised not to see Henderson claiming that 'carbonara' was the essential element of life, that angel hair was a vestige of the FSM's celestial army or that DNA stood for Deity's Noodly Appendages). While ID clearly has a place in the science classroom, the spaghetti bowl of FSMism should remain in the school canteen. As for Henderson's occasional vulgar language, one can only conclude that he is short of real props to support his case.