FSM - I fly therefore I am

Ummm flying spaghetti. For those that haven't caught on yet FSM stands for Flying Spaghetti Monster which is a parody religion created to poke fun of (some might even say ridicule) those Kansas School Board members who voted to bring back teaching of intelligent design (ID) in science classes. Note that people who oppose ID teaching do so not simply because it is being taught, but that it is being taught in a science class. Teaching something with no scientific basis - ID is a matter of faith - has no place in science classes. Granted evolutionary theory has its detractors, but basically its the only scientific theory out there.

Personally I think that evolutionary theory should be taught with a healthy dose of skepticism, with due attention to those parts which are lacking strong scientific evidence. However just like the big bang theory, or grand unified theory and many other theories, just because there are some grey areas doesn't mean it should be replaced entirely with a theory that has no scientific basis. As far as I can see teaching ID as the mainstream explanation for our existence, the fossil record that we have etc. etc. is something that should be relegated entirely to the theology or philosophy departments.

Also note that evolutionary theory does not deny the possibility of the existence of God, or any other "intelligent designer" of the universe. It merely states that the designer, if there was one, was not responsible for the evolution of life on earth beyond the setting of basic laws of physics.

I did find it amusing that Flying Spaghetti Monsterism was featured in a recent New York Times Article that has been widely syndicated. FSMism has even already picked up its own parody religion called SPAM which came out of the Yoism group I have previously blogged about. With all this media attention to FSM I'm surprised it didn't feature in the recent Newsweek article on spirituality in America. Too bad, it might have helped us understand just what the one third of Americans who consider themselves not religious do believe.