The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Have I been wrong this whole time? Have I been following a false creator? I thought God made everything there was. But it seems like I was wrong. The world was created by the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Boy do I feel stupid.

Okay, cards on the table. I was being sarcastic in that last paragraph. I bring this to your attention because apparantly my sarcastic voice sounds a lot like my normal voice. And that’s when I’m speaking out loud and not typing. And while I’m on the topic of full disclosure, I feel you need to know how I feel about evolution. I personally don’t believe in it. I’m a creationist. I believe that God made every thing and that we didn’t evolve from monkeys or from single celled amoebas. But that doesn’t make me a fan of Intelligent Design either. The science that some of the ID guys come up with is pretty dodgy and weak. My understanding of Genesis is that God created the universe. At the end of the day, I don’t care how he did it. I don’t think that part of the Bible is meant to be taken word for word and treated like a science manual. Which is what some ID supporters do.

I’m a creationist, but I don’t treat creationism like a science. But some people in America want it taught as a science in schools. Which has some people upset. Especially those who want equal teaching time for the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) is a reaction to Intelligent Design being taught in schools. It’s a parody highlighting the scientific inconsistencies with this theory. I think their point comes through most clearly in their letter to Kansas State Board of Education – “I think we can all look forward to the time when these three theories are given equal time in our science classrooms across the country, and eventually the world; 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.”

What place does Christian thought have in the classroom? Science and Christianity are often seen as enemies, but there’s no reason for this. Science and Christianity are doing two different things that compliment each other. Science shows us how things happen. Christianity shows us the why. Science shows us that the universe was created by the Big Bang. Christianity shows us that the universe was created by God. Where did the Big Bang come from? Who started it? Why did it happen? These are the questions that science, by its very nature, can not answer. These “why” questions belong to Christianity.

Let’s not treat Genesis as a science text book. It wasn’t written that way and shouldn’t be treated that way. How about we let science do its job of helping us understand the mechanics of how this universe works. And as Christians, lets focus on the real question here, the question that underpins everything – Why does the universe exist? Science can’t answer that question. But the Bible can.