By: J. Troy Tyler
After hearing of the Kansas State Board of Education’s
decision to require that the Theory of Evolution and
Intelligent Design get equal time in the classroom, Bobby
Henderson, an out-of-work physics major from Oregon,
decided to do something about it. In an open letter to the
Board of Education, Mr. Henderson expresses concern that
only one theory of intelligent design will be taught when
there are, in fact, several such theories. Mr. Henderson then
professes belief that the universe was created by a Flying
Spaghetti Monster, who is of course invisible and affects our
world through the touch of “his noodly appendage.” The letter
goes on to express the hope that all three theories can
share equal time in the classroom: “one third time for
Intelligent Design, one third time for Flying Spaghetti
Monsterism, and one third time for logical conjecture based
on overwhelming observable evidence.”
The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster even has its own website: www.venganza.org. A detailed copy of the letter to the Board of Education is present, and it includes helpful information such as a statistically significant rise in global temperature due to the reduction in the number of pirates in the world (there is even a graph!), as well as various images depicting the Flying Spaghetti Monster, messages from supporters, and even hate-mail. The purported believers in Flying Spaghetti Monsterism (FSM) are known as “Pastafarians,” and include several well-known personalities such as Hoobastank vocalist, Doug Robb.
Those who wish to support Henderson’s crusade can contact him at the above website. Emails, letters and photos from fans are featured throughout the site. Products such as FSM car ornaments (akin to the “Darwin” fish with legs), t-shirts, and more are available. If Henderson’s actions have outraged you, your messages are just as welcome – a section of the organization’s home page is dedicated to hate mail. Whether you truly believe or not, Henderson’s message is clear: use your noodle!