Pasta Religion

Heaven has a stripper factory and a beer volcano. No, really, it does. And believe it or not, there is a statistically sound, inverse relationship between pirates and global warming. Wait, it gets better. The creator of life is on top of spaghetti and covered with cheese, and His name is Flying Spaghetti Monster.

The bona fide prophet of this religious spoof is Bobby Henderson, a graduate of Oregon State University who has a degree in physics. This idea, Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, is a satirical stab at intelligent design, which is currently in the midst of an ideological and scientific schoolyard fight with creationism and evolutionary theory in school boards across the country.

Monsterism suggests that since intelligent design claims that any force could have created life, the idea of a flying spaghetti monster playing the role of creator falls within their belief system. Who is to say that a spaghetti monster couldn’t have had a noodle tentacle or meatball in life? Henderson is extrapolating on the claim that their creator could be anything, and he shows just how ridiculous that is.

The argument concerns whether or not religious-themed ideas should be infused into science classes as a crutch to teach the origin-of-life findings. Intelligent design incorporates a sliver of religion in its definition; it also uses science as a modifier of evolution by claiming to fill in the gaps that science cannot. The problem, proponents say, is that intelligent design is simply an idea, not a theory that can be tested.

However, intelligent design deserves a back-row seat in the classroom. That is, the idea should be taught, but it should not be at the forefront of scientific theory on the evolution of life.

There is a ‘show me, don’t tell me’ mentality in the classroom, and even though intelligent design is able to be told, evolution can be shown through tangible proof.

The majority of the country believes in a god or supreme being that might have had a hand in creation. Whether it is a day or a week in a school year, it is important that children are introduced to the idea of intelligent design. But still, adversaries of the design theory say that teaching it in the classroom is a way for religion to sneak its way into the sponge-like minds of children.

It would only be right to mention this as an alternative or even as support for evolutionary theory in the classroom. Whether religion is right or wrong, it still exists, much like the invisible, intangible Flying Spaghetti Monster.