130-605: The Flying Spaghetti Monster ( FSM ) is the deity of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster , or Pastafarianism , a parodic new religious movement that promotes a light-hearted view of religion . It originated in opposition to the teaching of intelligent design in public schools in the United States. According to adherents, Pastafarianism (a portmanteau of pasta and Rastafarianism )
260-457: A Children's Bible of the Flying Spaghetti Monster was published in Germany. Owing to its popularity and media exposure, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is often used as a modern version of Russell's teapot . Proponents argue that, since the existence of the invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster—similar to other proposed supernatural beings—cannot be falsified , it demonstrates that
390-514: A brain tumor , a man who pumped up the skin of his face with saline solution , many different ways to clean one's earwax , and a lengthy discussion of the Internet video " 2 Girls 1 Cup ". On 18 May 2007, Boing Boing announced that Virgin America , as part of its "Name Our Planes!" campaign, would be naming one of its new aircraft "Unicorn Chaser", after having asked Boing Boing to suggest
520-503: A pantheon of deities which live, die and may be reborn like any other being. Although most monotheistic religions traditionally envision their god as omnipotent , omnipresent , omniscient , omnibenevolent , and eternal , none of these qualities are essential to the definition of a "deity" and various cultures have conceptualized their deities differently. Monotheistic religions typically refer to their god in masculine terms, while other religions refer to their deities in
650-627: A siphonophore , has been called the "Flying Spaghetti Monster". The 2019 documentary I, Pastafari examines the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and its fight for legal recognition. In September 2019, the Pastafarian pastor Barrett Fletcher offered an opening prayer on behalf of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster at an Assembly meeting of the local government in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska . In April 2023,
780-407: A zine in 1988 by married duo Mark Frauenfelder and Carla Sinclair. Issues were subtitled "The World's Greatest Neurozine" . Associate editors included Gareth Branwyn , Jon Lebkowsky , Paco Nathan , and David Pescovitz . Along with Mondo 2000 , Boing Boing was an influence in the development of the cyberpunk subculture . It reached a maximum circulation of 17,500 copies. The last issue of
910-599: A "guest blogger" sidebar, then stopped the series in summer of 2004. In 2008, the "guest blogger" series was resumed, with guests posting in the main blog for two-week periods. Guests have included Charles Platt , John Shirley , Mark Dery , Tiffany Lee Brown , Karen Marcelo of Survival Research Laboratories , Johannes Grenzfurthner of monochrom , Rudy Rucker , Gareth Branwyn , Wiley Wiggins , Jason Scott of textfiles.com , Jessamyn West of librarian.net , journalists Danny O'Brien and Quinn Norton and comedian John Hodgman . In September 2006, Boing Boing introduced
1040-422: A creator God or transcendental absolute principle ( monistic theologies), which manifests immanently in nature. Henotheism accepts the existence of more than one deity, but considers all deities as equivalent representations or aspects of the same divine principle, the highest. Monolatry is the belief that many deities exist, but that only one of these deities may be validly worshipped. Monotheism
1170-475: A demand from Polo Ralph Lauren 's lawyers to remove a post concerning a heavily manipulated image of model Filippa Hamilton , originally published by the Photoshop Disasters blog. The latter was forced to comply with the company's demand by its hosting provider. Ralph Lauren issued DMCA takedown notices to BoingBoing 's ISP and Blogspot , which hosts Photoshop Disasters, claiming their use of
1300-474: A direct effect of the shrinking numbers of pirates since the 1800s". A deliberately misleading graph accompanying the letter (with numbers humorously disordered on the x -axis) shows that as the number of pirates decreased, global temperatures increased. This parodies the suggestion from some religious groups that the high numbers of disasters, famines, and wars in the world is due to the lack of respect and worship toward their deity. In 2008, Henderson interpreted
1430-574: A few of them, particularly Dumuzid , Geshtinanna , and Gugalanna were said to have either died or visited the underworld. Both male and female deities were widely venerated. In the Sumerian pantheon, deities had multiple functions, which included presiding over procreation, rains, irrigation, agriculture, destiny, and justice. The gods were fed, clothed, entertained, and worshipped to prevent natural catastrophes as well as to prevent social chaos such as pillaging, rape, or atrocities. Many of
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#17327872533121560-495: A happy "holiday season", leading Henderson to write the President a note of thanks, including an adapted "fish" emblem depicting the Flying Spaghetti Monster for his limousine or plane. Henderson also thanked Walmart for its use of the phrase. In December 2005 Bobby Henderson received a reported US$ 80,000 advance from Villard to write The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster . Henderson said he planned to use proceeds from
1690-507: A high speed, high quality Tor exit node. For example, the act of " disemvoweling " was popularized by the site—literally stripping out the vowels of any comment a moderator had taken exception to. Sex blogger Violet Blue has been mentioned, interviewed and once contributed at Boing Boing . On 23 June 2008, Blue posted on her blog, Tiny Nibbles , that all posts related to her had been deleted from Boing Boing , without explanation. The Los Angeles Times featured an interview that cast
1820-424: A little money to pay your bandwidth bills than it will be to make a lot of money and have a real source of income from this." The advertising income during the first quarter was already $ 27,000, and as of 2010 , Boing Boing still "makes a nice living for its founders and a handful of contract employees", but it is no longer a member of Battelle's blog network Federated Media Publishing, Inc. Boing Boing featured
1950-484: A name. An Airbus A320 with registration code N626VA eventually joined the fleet with that name. In August 2007, Boing Boing introduced a gadgets-focused companion site headed by former Gizmodo editor Joel Johnson. Johnson left in July 2009, to be replaced by Rob Beschizza, formerly of Wired News . Other writers include Steven Leckart and Lisa Katayama. Offworld, a blog covering video games edited by Brandon Boyer ,
2080-627: A new component, Boing Boing TV , that consists of video segments including SPAMasterpiece Theater ( 2008 ) with John Hodgman , produced by its co-editors in conjunction with DECA, the Digital Entertainment Corporation of America . Art tech group monochrom was a frequent contributor. They created their sock puppet series Kiki and Bubu for Boing Boing TV . The episodes appear online, as well as on Virgin America flights. Boing Boing has been described as an "outspoken critic of censorship elsewhere", and operates
2210-655: A pantheon of deities, the chief of whom was the god El , who ruled alongside his consort Asherah and their seventy sons . Baal was the god of storm, rain, vegetation and fertility, while his consort Anat was the goddess of war and Astarte , the West Semitic equivalent to Ishtar , was the goddess of love. The people of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah originally believed in these deities, alongside their own national god Yahweh. El later became syncretized with Yahweh , who took over El's role as
2340-496: A prehistoric female deity. A number of probable representations of deities have been discovered at 'Ain Ghazal and the works of art uncovered at Çatalhöyük reveal references to what is probably a complex mythology. Diverse African cultures developed theology and concepts of deities over their history. In Nigeria and neighboring West African countries , for example, two prominent deities (locally called Òrìṣà ) are found in
2470-613: A presiding deity, who inspired social rituals, special trading markets and community festivals. A deity with aspects similar to Kulkulkan in the Aztec culture has been called Quetzalcoatl . However, states Timothy Insoll, the Aztec ideas of deity remain poorly understood. What has been assumed is based on what was constructed by Christian missionaries . The deity concept was likely more complex than these historical records. In Aztec culture , there were hundred of deities, but many were henotheistic incarnations of one another (similar to
2600-536: A recognized religion. Deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over the universe, nature or human life. The Oxford Dictionary of English defines deity as a god or goddess , or anything revered as divine . C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater than those of ordinary humans, but who interacts with humans, positively or negatively, in ways that carry humans to new levels of consciousness , beyond
2730-407: A run as a guest blogger in 2009, joined the site as its Science Editor, leaving to join a Nieman Foundation fellowship in 2014. In September 2003, Boing Boing removed their Quicktopics user-comment feature without warning or explanation. Bloggers commenting on the change at the time speculated that it stemmed from "identity impersonators and idiot flamers" pretending to be co-editors. Xeni Jardin
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#17327872533122860-519: A serious offense to mock God". Henderson has also published the significant amount of hate mail, including death threats, that he has received. Within one year of sending the open letter, Henderson received thousands of emails on the Flying Spaghetti Monster, eventually totaling over 60,000, of which he has said that "about 95 percent have been supportive, while the other five percent have said I am going to hell". During that time, his site garnered tens of millions of hits. As word of Henderson's challenge to
2990-407: A specific and flawed personality. They were not omnipotent and could be injured in some circumstances. Greek deities led to cults, were used politically and inspired votive offerings for favors such as bountiful crops, healthy family, victory in war, or peace for a loved one recently deceased. The Roman pantheon had numerous deities, both Greek and non-Greek. The more famed deities, found in
3120-413: A variety of ways—male, female, hermaphroditic , or genderless. Many cultures—including the ancient Mesopotamians , Egyptians , Greeks , Romans , and Germanic peoples —have personified natural phenomena , variously as either deliberate causes or effects. Some Avestan and Vedic deities were viewed as ethical concepts. In Indian religions , deities have been envisioned as manifesting within
3250-589: A weekly podcast , "Boing Boing Boing", intended to cover the week's posts and upcoming projects. The show's cast consists of the Boing Boing editors, accompanied by a weekly guest. In the same month, Boing Boing introduced a second podcast called "Get Illuminated", which features interviews with writers, artists, and other creatives. The site's own original content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial license , as of November 2019. In September 2009, Boing Boing refused to comply with
3380-405: Is OK; just use protection). The only Monster who deserves capitalization is Me! Other monsters are false monsters, undeserving of capitalization. "Since you have done a half-ass job, you will receive half an ass!" The Great Pirate Solomon grabbed his ceremonial scimitar and struck his remaining donkey, cleaving it in two. The New Testament of The Flying Spaghetti Monster: Dinner 2.0 (also known as
3510-632: Is a "real, legitimate religion, as much as any other". It has received some limited recognition as such. The "Flying Spaghetti Monster" was first described in a satirical open letter written by Bobby Henderson in 2005 to protest the Kansas State Board of Education decision to permit teaching intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in state school science classes . In the letter, Henderson demanded equal time in science classrooms for "Flying Spaghetti Monsterism", alongside intelligent design and evolution . After Henderson published
3640-424: Is a parodic portmanteau of the terms " Amen " and " Ramen ", referring to a Japanese noodle dish and to the "noodly appendages" of their deity. The celebration of "Pastover" requires consuming large amounts of pasta, and during "Ramendan", only Ramen noodles are consumed; International Talk Like a Pirate Day is observed as a holiday. Around the time of Christmas , Hanukkah , and Kwanzaa , Pastafarians celebrate
3770-585: Is a practice created by Boing Boing editors as an antidote to blog postings linking to sites containing disgusting or shocking images . The shocking post would be immediately followed by another post containing a picture of a unicorn . Xeni Jardin posted the first one (titled "And now, we pause for a Unicorn Moment.") in August 2003 as a reply to a picture of a rash posted by editor Mark Frauenfelder in an attempt to get readers to diagnose it for him. It has also been used as an antidote for posts containing photos of
3900-587: Is deemed to be a full deity with the Christian cross as his icon. The theological examination of Jesus Christ, of divine grace in incarnation, his non-transferability and completeness has been a historic topic. For example, the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE declared that in "one person Jesus Christ, fullness of deity and fullness of humanity are united, the union of the natures being such that they can neither be divided nor confused". Jesus Christ, according to
4030-455: Is derived from Proto-Germanic *guthan , from PIE *ghut- , which means "that which is invoked". Guth in the Irish language means "voice". The term *ghut- is also the source of Old Church Slavonic zovo ("to call"), Sanskrit huta- ("invoked", an epithet of Indra ), from the root *gheu(e)- ("to call, invoke."), An alternate etymology for the term "god" comes from
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4160-479: Is described as a "prophet". They tend to satirize creationism. The central creation myth is that an invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe "after drinking heavily". According to these beliefs, the Monster's intoxication was the cause for a flawed Earth. Furthermore, according to Pastafarianism, all evidence for evolution was planted by the Flying Spaghetti Monster in an effort to test
4290-473: Is impossible to conclusively identify any prehistoric figurines as representations of any kind of deities, let alone goddesses. Nonetheless, it is possible to evaluate ancient representations on a case-by-case basis and rate them on how likely they are to represent deities. The Venus of Willendorf , a female figurine found in Europe and dated to about 25,000 BCE has been interpreted by some as an exemplar of
4420-509: Is masculine, and the related feminine equivalent is devi . Etymologically, the cognates of Devi are Latin dea and Greek thea . In Old Persian , daiva- means " demon , evil god", while in Sanskrit it means the opposite, referring to the "heavenly, divine, terrestrial things of high excellence, exalted, shining ones". The closely linked term " god " refers to "supreme being, deity", according to Douglas Harper, and
4550-463: Is not a question of theology", the ruling reads in part. "The FSM Gospel is plainly a work of satire, meant to entertain while making a pointed political statement. To read it as religious doctrine would be little different from grounding a 'religious exercise' on any other work of fiction." Pastafarians have used their claimed faith as a test case to argue for freedom of religion , and to oppose government discrimination against people who do not follow
4680-503: Is strictly monotheistic and the first statement of the shahada , or Muslim confession of faith, is that "there is no ʾilāh (deity) but Allah (God)", who is perfectly unified and utterly indivisible. Boing Boing Boing Boing is a website, first established as a zine in 1988, later becoming a group blog . Common topics and themes include technology , futurism , science fiction , gadgets , intellectual property , Disney , and left-wing politics . It twice won
4810-414: Is the belief that divinity pervades the universe, but that it also transcends the universe. Agnosticism is the position that it is impossible to know for certain whether a deity of any kind exists. Atheism is the non-belief in the existence of any deity. Scholars infer the probable existence of deities in the prehistoric period from inscriptions and prehistoric arts such as cave drawings , but it
4940-429: Is the belief that only one deity exists. A monotheistic deity, known as "God", is usually described as omnipotent , omnipresent , omniscient , omnibenevolent and eternal . However, not all deities have been regarded this way and an entity does not need to be almighty, omnipresent, omniscient, omnibenevolent or eternal to qualify as a deity. Deism is the belief that only one deity exists, who created
5070-460: Is the superstitious man who fears the gods, while the truly religious person venerates them as parents. Cicero, in his Academica , praised Varro for this and other insights. According to Varro, there have been three accounts of deities in the Roman society: the mythical account created by poets for theatre and entertainment, the civil account used by people for veneration as well as by the city, and
5200-580: Is there "changing the results with His Noodly Appendage". Henderson argued that his beliefs were just as valid as intelligent design, and called for equal time in science classrooms alongside intelligent design and evolution. The letter was sent prior to the Kansas evolution hearings as an argument against the teaching of intelligent design in biology classes. Henderson, describing himself as a "concerned citizen" representing more than ten million others, argued that intelligent design and his belief that "the universe
5330-489: Is typically seen as male . In contrast, all ancient Indo-European cultures and mythologies recognized both masculine and feminine deities. There is no universally accepted consensus on what a deity is, and concepts of deities vary considerably across cultures. Huw Owen states that the term "deity or god or its equivalent in other languages" has a bewildering range of meanings and significance. It has ranged from "infinite transcendent being who created and lords over
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5460-504: Is unclear what these sketches and paintings are and why they were made. Some engravings or sketches show animals, hunters or rituals. It was once common for archaeologists to interpret virtually every prehistoric female figurine as a representation of a single, primordial goddess, the ancestor of historically attested goddesses such as Inanna , Ishtar , Astarte , Cybele , and Aphrodite ; this approach has now generally been discredited. Modern archaeologists now generally recognize that it
5590-544: Is zoomorphic and is most often found in Middle Eastern archaeological remains depicted as a "snake-dragon" or a "human-animal hybrid". In Germanic languages , the terms cognate with ' god ' such as Old English : god and Old Norse : guð were originally neuter but became masculine, as in modern Germanic languages, after Christianisation due their use in referring to the Christian god . In Norse mythology , Æsir (singular áss or ǫ́ss ) are
5720-562: The Bloggies for Weblog of the Year, in 2004 and 2005. The editors are Mark Frauenfelder , David Pescovitz , Carla Sinclair , and Rob Beschizza , and the publisher is Jason Weisberger. One report named Boing Boing as the most popular blog in the world until 2006, when Chinese-language blogs became popular, and it remained among the most widely linked and cited blogs into the 2010s. Boing Boing (originally bOING bOING ) started as
5850-800: The First Council of Nicaea in the fourth century, which declared that all three persons of the Trinity are equal. Christians regard the universe as an element in God's actualization and the Holy Spirit is seen as the divine essence that is "the unity and relation of the Father and the Son". According to George Hunsinger, the doctrine of the Trinity justifies worship in a Church, wherein Jesus Christ
5980-488: The Latin deitatem (nominative deitas ) or "divine nature", coined by Augustine of Hippo from deus ("god"). Deus is related through a common Proto-Indo-European (PIE) origin to *deiwos . This root yields the ancient Indian word Deva meaning "to gleam, a shining one", from *div- "to shine", as well as Greek dios " divine " and Zeus ; and Latin deus "god" ( Old Latin deivos ). Deva
6110-598: The New Testament , is the self-disclosure of the one, true God, both in his teaching and in his person; Christ, in Christian faith, is considered the incarnation of God. Ilah , ʾIlāh ( Arabic : إله ; plural: آلهة ʾālihah ), is an Arabic word meaning "god". It appears in the name of the monotheistic god of Islam as Allah ( al-Lāh ). which literally means "the god" in Arabic. Islam
6240-545: The New and Improved Recipe ) was published on June 1, 2018. It is the Holy Book of The Unitarian Church of Pasta and The FSM Revival Church of Ziti . Some excerpts from The New Testament of The Flying Spaghetti Monster: Dinner 2.0 include: We need never doubt our Divine Carbohydrate, for even our DNA is shaped like a noodle so we know that pasta is holy It's Better If You Do's It's Better If You Don't's The Church of
6370-559: The Vanir went to war , according to the Nordic sources. The account in Ynglinga saga describes the Æsir–Vanir War ending in truce and ultimate reconciliation of the two into a single group of gods, after both sides chose peace, exchanged ambassadors (hostages), and intermarried. The Norse mythology describes the cooperation after the war, as well as differences between the Æsir and
6500-584: The Vanir which were considered scandalous by the other side. The goddess Freyja of the Vanir taught magic to the Æsir , while the two sides discover that while Æsir forbid mating between siblings , Vanir accepted such mating. Temples hosting images of Germanic gods (such as Thor , Odin and Freyr ), as well as pagan worship rituals, continued in Scandinavia into the 12th century, according to historical records. It has been proposed that over time, Christian equivalents were substituted for
6630-528: The Yoruba religion , namely the god Ogun and the goddess Osun . Ogun is the primordial masculine deity as well as the archdivinity and guardian of occupations such as tools making and use, metal working, hunting, war, protection and ascertaining equity and justice. Osun is an equally powerful primordial feminine deity and a multidimensional guardian of fertility, water, maternal, health, social relations, love and peace. Ogun and Osun traditions were brought into
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#17327872533126760-442: The avatar concept of Hinduism). Unlike Hinduism and other cultures, Aztec deities were usually not anthropomorphic, and were instead zoomorphic or hybrid icons associated with spirits, natural phenomena or forces. The Aztec deities were often represented through ceramic figurines, revered in home shrines. The Polynesian people developed a theology centered on numerous deities, with clusters of islands having different names for
6890-525: The American Academy of Religion's annual meeting in San Diego. The talks, with titles such as Holy Pasta and Authentic Sauce: The Flying Spaghetti Monster's Messy Implications for Theorizing Religion , examined the elements necessary for a group to constitute a religion. Speakers inquired whether "an anti-religion like Flying Spaghetti Monsterism [is] actually a religion". The talks were based on
7020-711: The Americas on slave ships . They were preserved by the Africans in their plantation communities, and their festivals continue to be observed. In Southern African cultures , a similar masculine-feminine deity combination has appeared in other forms, particularly as the Moon and Sun deities. One Southern African cosmology consists of Hieseba or Xuba (deity, god), Gaune (evil spirits) and Khuene (people). The Hieseba includes Nladiba (male, creator sky god) and Nladisara (females, Nladiba's two wives). The Sun (female) and
7150-539: The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster has sponsored an annual convention called Skepticon on the campus of Missouri State University . Atheists and skeptics give speeches on various topics, and a debate with Christian experts is held. Organizers tout the event as the "largest gathering of atheists in the Midwest". The Moldovan -born poet, fiction writer, and culturologist Igor Ursenco entitled his 2012 poetry book The Flying Spaghetti Monster (thriller poems) . On
7280-490: The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is the rejection of dogma", some general beliefs are held by Pastafarians. Henderson proposed many Pastafarian tenets in reaction to common arguments by proponents of intelligent design. These " canonical beliefs" are presented by Henderson in his letter to the Kansas State Board of Education, The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster , and on Henderson's website, where he
7410-744: The East Semitic Ishtar, became popular, with temples across Mesopotamia. The Mesopotamian mythology of the first millennium BCE treated Anšar (later Aššur ) and Kišar as primordial deities. Marduk was a significant god among the Babylonians. He rose from an obscure deity of the third millennium BCE to become one of the most important deities in the Mesopotamian pantheon of the first millennium BCE. The Babylonians worshipped Marduk as creator of heaven, earth and humankind, and as their national god . Marduk's iconography
7540-611: The Father , God the Son , and the Holy Spirit . The first person to describe the persons of the Trinity as homooúsios ( ὁμοούσιος ; "of the same substance") was the Church Father Origen. Although most early Christian theologians (including Origen ) were Subordinationists , who believed that the Father was superior to the Son and the Son superior to the Holy Spirit, this belief was condemned as heretical by
7670-482: The Flying Spaghetti Monster attracted the attention of book publishers; he said that at one point, there were six publishers interested in the Flying Spaghetti Monster. In November 2005, Henderson received an advance from Villard to write The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster . In November 2005, the Kansas State Board of Education voted to allow criticisms of evolution, including language about intelligent design, as part of testing standards. On February 13, 2007,
7800-541: The Flying Spaghetti Monster consisted of thousands of followers, primarily concentrated on college campuses in North America and Europe. According to the Associated Press, Henderson's website has become "a kind of cyber-watercooler for opponents of intelligent design". On it, visitors track meetings of pirate-clad Pastafarians, sell trinkets and bumper stickers, and sample photographs that show "visions" of
7930-521: The Flying Spaghetti Monster is often used as a more modern version of Russell's teapot —an argument that the philosophic burden of proof lies upon those who make unfalsifiable claims, not on those who reject them. Pastafarians have engaged in disputes with creationists, including in Polk County, Florida , where they played a role in dissuading the local school board from adopting new rules on teaching evolution. Pastafarianism has received praise from
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#17327872533128060-535: The Flying Spaghetti Monster. In August 2005, the Swedish concept designer Niklas Jansson created an adaptation of Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam , superimposing the Flying Spaghetti Monster over God. This became and remains the Flying Spaghetti Monster's de facto brand image. The Hunger Artists Theatre Company produced a comedy called The Flying Spaghetti Monster Holiday Pageant in December 2006, detailing
8190-668: The Germanic deities to help suppress paganism as part of the Christianisation of the Germanic peoples . Worship of the Germanic gods has been revived in the modern period as part of the new religious movement of Heathenry . The ancient Greeks revered both gods and goddesses. These continued to be revered through the early centuries of the common era, and many of the Greek deities inspired and were adopted as part of much larger pantheon of Roman deities. The Greek religion
8320-660: The Greek pantheon were the Twelve Olympians : Zeus, Hera , Poseidon , Athena , Apollo , Artemis , Aphrodite, Hermes , Demeter , Dionysus , Hephaestus , and Ares . Other important Greek deities included Hestia , Hades and Heracles . These deities later inspired the Dii Consentes galaxy of Roman deities. Besides the Olympians, the Greeks also worshipped various local deities. Among these were
8450-458: The Holy Book of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster . The central creation myth is that an invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe after drinking heavily. Pirates are revered as the original Pastafarians. The FSM community congregates at Henderson's website to share ideas about and sightings of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and display crafts representing images of it. Because of its popularity and exposure,
8580-547: The Inca people have corresponded to elements of nature. Of these, the most important ones have been Inti ( sun deity ) responsible for agricultural prosperity and as the father of the first Inca king, and Mama Qucha the goddess of the sea, lakes, rivers and waters. Inti in some mythologies is the son of Viracocha and Mama Qucha . Inca Sun deity festival Oh creator and Sun and Thunder, be forever copious, do not make us old, let all things be at peace, multiply
8710-400: The Kansas State Board of Education, Henderson posted the letter on his website, gaining significant public interest. Shortly thereafter, Pastafarianism became an Internet phenomenon. Henderson published the responses he then received from board members. Three board members, all of whom opposed the curriculum amendments, responded positively; a fourth board member responded with the comment "It is
8840-485: The Moon (male) deities are viewed as offspring of Nladiba and two Nladisara . The Sun and Moon are viewed as manifestations of the supreme deity, and worship is timed and directed to them. In other African cultures the Sun is seen as male, while the Moon is female, both symbols of the godhead. In Zimbabwe , the supreme deity is androgynous with male-female aspects, envisioned as the giver of rain, treated simultaneously as
8970-521: The Proto-Germanic Gaut , which traces it to the PIE root *ghu-to- ("poured"), derived from the root *gheu- ("to pour, pour a libation "). The term *gheu- is also the source of the Greek khein "to pour". Originally the word "god" and its other Germanic cognates were neuter nouns but shifted to being generally masculine under the influence of Christianity in which the god
9100-483: The Sumerian deities were patron guardians of city-states . The most important deities in the Sumerian pantheon were known as the Anunnaki , and included deities known as the "seven gods who decree": An , Enlil , Enki , Ninhursag , Nanna , Utu and Inanna . After the conquest of Sumer by Sargon of Akkad , many Sumerian deities were syncretized with East Semitic ones. The goddess Inanna, syncretized with
9230-564: The Venganza forums known as Solipsy announced the beginning of a project to collect texts from fellow Pastafarians to compile into The Loose Canon, the Holy Book of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster , essentially analogous to the Bible. The book was completed in 2010 and was made available for download. Some excerpts from The Loose Canon include: I am the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Thou shalt have no other monsters before Me (afterwards
9360-536: The arbitrariness of holding any one view of creation", since any one view is as plausible as the Flying Spaghetti Monster. A similar argument was discussed in the books The God Delusion and The Atheist Delusion . In December 2007 the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster was credited with spearheading successful efforts in Polk County, Florida , to dissuade the Polk County School Board from adopting new science standards on evolution. The issue
9490-707: The beer is stale and the strippers have sexually transmitted diseases . According to Pastafarian beliefs, pirates are "absolute divine beings" and the original Pastafarians. Furthermore, Pastafarians believe that the concept of pirates as "thieves and outcasts" is misinformation spread by Christian theologians in the Middle Ages. Instead, Pastafarians believe that they were "peace-loving explorers and spreaders of good will" who distributed candy to small children, adding that modern pirates are in no way similar to "the fun-loving buccaneers from history". In addition, Pastafarians believe that ghost pirates are responsible for all of
9620-478: The board spread, his website and cause received more attention and support. The satirical nature of Henderson's argument made the Flying Spaghetti Monster popular with bloggers as well as humor and Internet culture websites. The Flying Spaghetti Monster was featured on websites such as Boing Boing , Something Awful , Uncyclopedia , and Fark . Moreover, an International Society for Flying Spaghetti Monster Awareness and other fan sites emerged. As public awareness grew,
9750-547: The board voted 6–4 to reject the amended science standards enacted in 2005. This was the fifth time in eight years that the board had rewritten the standards on evolution. With millions, if not thousands, of devout worshipers, the Church of the FSM is widely considered a legitimate religion, even by its opponents—mostly fundamentalist Christians, who have accepted that our God has larger balls than theirs. Bobby Henderson Although Henderson has stated that "the only dogma allowed in
9880-620: The book have been sold. Scientific American described the gospel as "an elaborate spoof on Intelligent Design" and "very funny". In 2006, it was nominated for the Quill Award in Humor, but was not selected as the winner. Wayne Allen Brenner of The Austin Chronicle characterized the book as "a necessary bit of comic relief in the overly serious battle between science and superstition". Simon Singh of The Daily Telegraph wrote that
10010-555: The book to build a pirate ship, with which he would spread the Pastafarian religion. The book was released on March 28, 2006, and elaborates on Pastafarian beliefs established in the open letter. Henderson employs satire to present perceived flaws with evolutionary biology and discusses history and lifestyle from a Pastafarian perspective. The gospel urges readers to try Pastafarianism for thirty days, saying, "If you don't like us, your old religion will most likely take you back". Henderson states on his website that more than 100,000 copies of
10140-415: The burden of proof rests on those who affirm the existence of such beings. Richard Dawkins explains, "The onus is on somebody who says, I want to believe in God, Flying Spaghetti Monster, fairies, or whatever it is. It is not up to us to disprove it". Furthermore, according to Lance Gharavi, an editor of The Journal of Religion and Theater , the Flying Spaghetti Monster is "ultimately...an argument about
10270-582: The dawn, for instance, is cognate to Indic Ushas , Roman Aurora and Latvian Auseklis . Zeus , the Greek king of gods, is cognate to Latin Iūpiter , Old German Ziu , and Indic Dyaus , with whom he shares similar mythologies. Other deities, such as Aphrodite , originated from the Near East . Greek deities varied locally, but many shared panhellenic themes, celebrated similar festivals, rites, and ritual grammar. The most important deities in
10400-399: The deity is a principle or reality such as the idea of "soul". The Upanishads of Hinduism, for example, characterize Atman (soul, self) as deva (deity), thereby asserting that the deva and eternal supreme principle ( Brahman ) is part of every living creature, that this soul is spiritual and divine, and that to realize self-knowledge is to know the supreme. Theism is the belief in
10530-408: The existence of one or more deities. Polytheism is the belief in and worship of multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses , with accompanying rituals . In most polytheistic religions, the different gods and goddesses are representations of forces of nature or ancestral principles , and can be viewed either as autonomous or as aspects or emanations of
10660-410: The faith of Pastafarians—parodying certain biblical literalists . When scientific measurements such as radiocarbon dating are taken, the Flying Spaghetti Monster "is there changing the results with His Noodly Appendage". The Pastafarian conception of Heaven includes a beer volcano and a stripper (or sometimes prostitute or paint stripper ) factory. The Pastafarian Hell is similar, except that
10790-582: The first podcast of "Gweek" was released. Gweek is a podcast in which the editors and friends of Boing Boing talk about comic books, science fiction and fantasy, video games, TV shows, music, movies, tools, gadgets, apps, and other "neat" stuff. In the first episode of Gweek , Rob Beschizza and Mark Frauenfelder discussed subjects such as the video game Portal 2 , graphic novels, upcoming science fiction books, and recommendations of some of their favorite adventure games for mobile platforms. Boing Boing has since added several other podcasts. In November 2017,
10920-464: The formation of an Egyptian state under the Pharaohs and their treatment as sacred kings who had exclusive rights to interact with the gods, in the later part of the 3rd millennium BCE. Through the early centuries of the common era, as Egyptians interacted and traded with neighboring cultures, foreign deities were adopted and venerated. The ancient Canaanites were polytheists who believed in
11050-796: The goat-legged god Pan (the guardian of shepherds and their flocks), Nymphs ( nature spirits associated with particular landforms), Naiads (who dwelled in springs), Dryads (who were spirits of the trees), Nereids (who inhabited the sea), river gods, satyrs (a class of lustful male nature spirits), and others. The dark powers of the underworld were represented by the Erinyes (or Furies), said to pursue those guilty of crimes against blood-relatives. The Greek deities, like those in many other Indo-European traditions, were anthropomorphic. Walter Burkert describes them as "persons, not abstractions, ideas or concepts". They had fantastic abilities and powers; each had some unique expertise and, in some aspects,
11180-870: The god of darkness and light and is called Mwari Shona . In the Lake Victoria region, the term for a deity is Lubaale , or alternatively Jok . Ancient Egyptian culture revered numerous deities. Egyptian records and inscriptions list the names of many whose nature is unknown and make vague references to other unnamed deities. Egyptologist James P. Allen estimates that more than 1,400 deities are named in Egyptian texts, whereas Christian Leitz offers an estimate of "thousands upon thousands" of Egyptian deities. Their terms for deities were nṯr (god), and feminine nṯrt (goddess); however, these terms may also have applied to any being – spirits and deceased human beings, but not demons – who in some way were outside
11310-501: The goddess Meretseger represented parts of the earth, and the god Sia represented the abstract powers of perception. Deities such as Ra and Osiris were associated with the judgement of the dead and their care during the afterlife. Major gods often had multiple roles and were involved in multiple phenomena. The first written evidence of deities are from early 3rd millennium BCE, likely emerging from prehistoric beliefs. However, deities became systematized and sophisticated after
11440-607: The gospel "might be slightly repetitive...but overall it is a brilliant, provocative, witty and important gem of a book". Casey Luskin of the Discovery Institute , which advocates intelligent design, labeled the gospel "a mockery of the Christian New Testament ". In September 2005, before Henderson had received an advance to write the Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster , a Pastafarian member of
11570-484: The grounded preoccupations of ordinary life". Religions can be categorized by how many deities they worship. Monotheistic religions accept only one deity (predominantly referred to as " God "), whereas polytheistic religions accept multiple deities. Henotheistic religions accept one supreme deity without denying other deities, considering them as aspects of the same divine principle. Nontheistic religions deny any supreme eternal creator deity , but may accept
11700-453: The growing pirate activities at the Gulf of Aden as additional support, pointing out that Somalia has "the highest number of pirates and the lowest carbon emissions of any country". Pastafarian beliefs extend into lighthearted religious ceremony. Pastafarians celebrate every Friday as a holy day. Prayers are concluded with a final declaration of affirmation, "R'amen" (or "rAmen"); the term
11830-1047: The head of the pantheon, with Asherah as his divine consort and the "sons of El" as his offspring. During the later years of the Kingdom of Judah , a monolatristic faction rose to power insisting that only Yahweh was fit to be worshipped by the people of Judah. Monolatry became enforced during the reforms of King Josiah in 621 BCE. Finally, during the national crisis of the Babylonian captivity , some Judahites began to teach that deities aside from Yahweh were not just unfit to be worshipped, but did not exist. The "sons of El" were demoted from deities to angels . Ancient Mesopotamian culture in southern Iraq had numerous dingir (deities, gods and goddesses). Mesopotamian deities were almost exclusively anthropomorphic. They were thought to possess extraordinary powers and were often envisioned as being of tremendous physical size. They were generally immortal, but
11960-444: The history of Pastafarianism. The production has spawned a sequel called Flying Spaghetti Monster Holy Mug of Grog , performed in December 2008. This communal activity attracted the attention of three University of Florida religious scholars, who assembled a panel at the 2007 American Academy of Religion meeting to discuss the Flying Spaghetti Monster. In November 2007, four talks about the Flying Spaghetti Monster were delivered at
12090-403: The image infringed copyright. Blogspot complied, but Boing Boing 's ISP consulted with Boing Boing and agreed that the image was fair use . As a result, Boing Boing issued a mocking rebuttal, using the same image again and posting the takedown notice. The rebuttal was widely reported, including on frequently viewed websites such as The Huffington Post and ABC News . On 3 May 2011,
12220-515: The imposition of Christianity during Spanish colonialism , the Inca people retained their original beliefs in deities through syncretism , where they overlay the Christian God and teachings over their original beliefs and practices. The male deity Inti became accepted as the Christian God, but the Andean rituals centered around Inca deities have been retained and continued thereafter into
12350-404: The intelligent design movement uses ambiguous references to a designer, any conceivable entity may fulfill that role, including a Flying Spaghetti Monster. Henderson explained, "I don't have a problem with religion. What I have a problem with is religion posing as science. If there is a god and he's intelligent, then I would guess he has a sense of humor". In May 2005, having received no reply from
12480-704: The laughing stock of the world". Lofton later stated that she had no interest in engaging with the Pastafarians or anyone else seeking to discredit intelligent design. As the controversy developed, scientists expressed opposition to intelligent design. In response to hopes for a new "applied science" campus at the University of South Florida in Lakeland , university vice president Marshall Goodman expressed surprise, stating, "[intelligent design is] not science. You can't even call it pseudo-science". While unhappy with
12610-500: The letter for [his] own amusement as much as anything". In August 2005, in response to a challenge from a reader, Boing Boing announced a $ 250,000 prize—later raised to $ 1,000,000—of "Intelligently Designed currency" payable to any individual who could produce empirical evidence proving that Jesus is not the son of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was modeled as a parody of a similar challenge issued by young-earth creationist Kent Hovind . According to Henderson, newspaper articles on
12740-601: The letter on his website, the Flying Spaghetti Monster rapidly became an Internet phenomenon and a symbol of opposition to the teaching of intelligent design in state schools. Pastafarian tenets (generally satires of creationism) are presented on Henderson's Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster website (where he is described as "prophet"), and are also elucidated in The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster , written by Henderson in 2006, and in The Loose Canon,
12870-409: The mainstream media picked up on the phenomenon. The Flying Spaghetti Monster became a symbol for the case against intelligent design in public education. The open letter was printed in several major newspapers, including The New York Times , The Washington Post , and Chicago Sun-Times , and received worldwide press attention. Henderson himself was surprised by its success, stating that he "wrote
13000-643: The modern era by the Inca people. In Maya culture , Kukulkan has been the supreme creator deity , also revered as the god of reincarnation , water, fertility and wind. The Maya people built step pyramid temples to honor Kukulkan , aligning them to the Sun 's position on the spring equinox . Other deities found at Maya archaeological sites include Xib Chac —the benevolent male rain deity, and Ixchel —the benevolent female earth, weaving and pregnancy goddess. The Maya calendar had 18 months, each with 20 days (and five unlucky days of Uayeb ); each month had
13130-549: The movement satisfies criteria laid down for organisations that primarily promote religious, philosophical, or humanitarian convictions. A federal court in the US state of Nebraska ruled that Flying Spaghetti Monster is a satirical parody religion , rather than an actual religion, and as a result, Pastafarians are not entitled to religious accommodation under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act : "This
13260-605: The mysteriously lost ships and planes of the Bermuda Triangle . Pastafarians are among those who celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19. The inclusion of pirates in Pastafarianism was part of Henderson's original letter to the Kansas State Board of Education, in an effort to illustrate that correlation does not imply causation . Henderson presented the argument that " global warming , earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are
13390-452: The mythologies and the 2nd millennium CE European arts, have been the anthropomorphic deities syncretized with the Greek deities. These include the six gods and six goddesses: Venus, Apollo, Mars, Diana, Minerva, Ceres, Vulcan, Juno, Mercury, Vesta, Neptune, Jupiter (Jove, Zeus); as well Bacchus, Pluto and Hercules. The non-Greek major deities include Janus, Fortuna, Vesta, Quirinus and Tellus (mother goddess, probably most ancient). Some of
13520-650: The natural account created by the philosophers. The best state is, adds Varro, where the civil theology combines the poetic mythical account with the philosopher's. The Roman deities continued to be revered in Europe through the era of Constantine, and past 313 CE when he issued the Edict of Toleration. The Inca culture has believed in Viracocha (also called Pachacutec ) as the creator deity . Viracocha has been an abstract deity to Inca culture, one who existed before he created space and time. All other deities of
13650-508: The nature of existence, guardians in daily lives as well as during wars, natural phenomena, good and evil spirits, priestly rituals, as well as linked to the journey of the souls of the dead. Christianity is a monotheistic religion in which most mainstream congregations and denominations accept the concept of the Holy Trinity . Modern orthodox Christians believe that the Trinity is composed of three equal, cosubstantial persons: God
13780-578: The non-Greek deities had likely origins in more ancient European culture such as the ancient Germanic religion, while others may have been borrowed, for political reasons, from neighboring trade centers such as those in the Minoan or ancient Egyptian civilization. The Roman deities, in a manner similar to the ancient Greeks, inspired community festivals, rituals and sacrifices led by flamines (priests, pontifs), but priestesses (Vestal Virgins) were also held in high esteem for maintaining sacred fire used in
13910-535: The nonprofit microfinancing site, Kiva , the Flying Spaghetti Monster group is in an ongoing competition to top all other "religious congregations" in the number of loans issued via their team. The group's motto is "Thou shalt share, that none may seek without funding", an allusion to the Loose Canon which states "Thou shalt share, that none may seek without finding". As of October 2018 it reported to have funded US$ 4,002,350 in loans. Bathyphysa conifera ,
14040-505: The original uncreated creator, with power of life, with nothing outside or beyond him. Other deities in the Polynesian pantheon include Tangaloa (god who created men), La'a Maomao (god of winds), Tu-Matauenga or Ku (god of war), Tu-Metua (mother goddess), Kane (god of procreation) and Rangi (sky god father). The Polynesian deities have been part of a sophisticated theology, addressing questions of creation,
14170-476: The outcome, Lofton chose not to resign over the issue. She and the other board members expressed a desire to return to the day-to-day work of running the school district. National branches of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster have been striving in many countries to have Pastafarianism become an officially (legally) recognized religion, with varying degrees of success. In New Zealand , Pastafarian representatives have been authorized as marriage celebrants, as
14300-545: The paper, Evolutionary Controversy and a Side of Pasta: The Flying Spaghetti Monster and the Subversive Function of Religious Parody , published in the GOLEM Journal of Religion and Monsters. The panel garnered an audience of one hundred of the more than 9,000 conference attendees, and conference organizers received critical e-mails from Christians offended by it. Since October 2008, the local chapter of
14430-434: The people, and let there be food, and let all things be fruitful. —Inti Raymi prayers Inca people have revered many male and female deities. Among the feminine deities have been Mama Kuka (goddess of joy), Mama Ch'aska (goddess of dawn), Mama Allpa (goddess of harvest and earth, sometimes called Mama Pacha or Pachamama ), Mama Killa ( moon goddess ) and Mama Sara (goddess of grain). During and after
14560-580: The principal group of gods, while the term ásynjur (singular ásynja ) refers specifically to the female Æsir . These terms, states John Lindow, may be ultimately rooted in the Indo-European root for "breath" (as in "life giving force"), and are cognate with Old English : os (a heathen god) and Gothic : anses . Another group of deities found in Norse mythology are termed as Vanir , and are associated with fertility. The Æsir and
14690-481: The project incorporated as Happy Mutants LLC, and John Battelle became the blog's business manager. Boing Boing , by the mid-2000s, "had become one of the most-read and linked-to blogs in the world" according to Fast Company . The site added advertising over the course of late 2004, placed above and to the left and right of material, and, in 2005, in the site's RSS feed as well. Editor Cory Doctorow noted that "John [Battelle] said it's going to be harder to make
14820-545: The same idea. There are great deities found across the Pacific Ocean. Some deities are found widely, and there are many local deities whose worship is limited to one or a few islands or sometimes to isolated villages on the same island. The Māori people , of what is now New Zealand, called the supreme being as Io , who is also referred elsewhere as Iho-Iho , Io-Mataaho , Io Nui , Te Io Ora , Io Matua Te Kora among other names. The Io deity has been revered as
14950-468: The scientific community and criticism from proponents of intelligent design. In January 2005, Bobby Henderson, a 24-year-old Oregon State University physics graduate, sent an open letter regarding the Flying Spaghetti Monster to the Kansas State Board of Education. In that letter, Henderson satirized creationism by professing his belief that whenever a scientist carbon-dates an object, a supernatural creator that closely resembles spaghetti and meatballs
15080-608: The silence on the part of Boing Boing on the matter as "inexplicable", causing a controversy as Boing Boing "has often presented itself as a stalwart of cultural openness". A heated debate ensued after a brief statement on the Boing Boing site regarding this action stated: "Violet behaved in a way that made us reconsider whether we wanted to lend her any credibility or associate with her. It's our blog and so we made an editorial decision, like we do every single day". In commentary attached to that blog entry, "many commenters surmised that they had something to do with Blue's suing to stop
15210-514: The site was sued by Playboy , which alleged that a hyperlink to copyright-infringing content at Imgur and YouTube was itself illegal. A Federal Court dismissed Playboy's claims on 14 February 2018 and Playboy released a statement suggesting that it was standing down on 28 February. Cory Doctorow left Boing Boing in January 2020, and soon started a solo blogging project titled Pluralistic . The circumstances surrounding Doctorow's exit from
15340-639: The sphere of everyday life. Egyptian deities typically had an associated cult, role and mythologies. Around 200 deities are prominent in the Pyramid texts and ancient temples of Egypt, many zoomorphic . Among these, were Min (fertility god), Neith (creator goddess), Anubis , Atum , Bes , Horus , Isis , Ra , Meretseger , Nut , Osiris , Shu , Sia and Thoth . Most Egyptian deities represented natural phenomenon, physical objects or social aspects of life, as hidden immanent forces within these phenomena. The deity Shu , for example represented air;
15470-407: The temple of every living being's body, as sensory organs and mind. Deities are envisioned as a form of existence ( Saṃsāra ) after rebirth , for human beings who gain merit through an ethical life, where they become guardian deities and live blissfully in heaven , but are also subject to death when their merit is lost. The English language word deity derives from Old French deité ,
15600-591: The universe" (God), to a "finite entity or experience, with special significance or which evokes a special feeling" (god), to "a concept in religious or philosophical context that relates to nature or magnified beings or a supra-mundane realm", to "numerous other usages". A deity is typically conceptualized as a supernatural or divine concept, manifesting in ideas and knowledge, in a form that combines excellence in some or all aspects, wrestling with weakness and questions in other aspects, heroic in outlook and actions, yet tied up with emotions and desires. In other cases,
15730-434: The universe, but does not usually intervene in the resulting world. Deism was particularly popular among western intellectuals during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Pantheism is the belief that the universe itself is God or that everything composes an all-encompassing, immanent deity. Pandeism is an intermediate position between these, proposing that the creator became a pantheistic universe. Panentheism
15860-641: The vaguely defined "Holiday". Holiday does not take place on "a specific date so much as it is the Holiday season, itself ". According to Henderson, as Pastafarians "reject dogma and formalism", there are no specific requirements for Holiday. Pastafarians celebrate Holiday in any manner they please. Pastafarians interpret the increasing usage of language such as "have a happy Holiday Season", rather than more traditional greetings (such as "Merry Christmas"), as support for Pastafarianism. In December 2005, George W. Bush 's White House Christmas greeting cards wished people
15990-543: The votive rituals for deities. Deities were also maintained in home shrines ( lararium ), such as Hestia honored in homes as the goddess of fire hearth. This Roman religion held reverence for sacred fire, and this is also found in Hebrew culture (Leviticus 6), Vedic culture's Homa, ancient Greeks and other cultures. Ancient Roman scholars such as Varro and Cicero wrote treatises on the nature of gods of their times. Varro stated, in his Antiquitates Rerum Divinarum , that it
16120-490: The website were unclear at the time, although Doctorow acknowledged that he remained a co-owner of Boing Boing . MetaFilter described the end of the 19-year association between Doctorow and Boing Boing as "the equivalent of the Beatles breaking up " for the blog world. Doctorow's exit was not acknowledged by Boing Boing, with his name being quietly removed from the list of editors on 29 January 2020. A "unicorn chaser"
16250-589: The zine was #15. Boing Boing was established as a website in 1995 and one year later was a web-only publication. While researching for an article about blogs in 1999, Frauenfelder became acquainted with the Blogger software. He relaunched Boing Boing as a weblog on 21 January 2000, describing it as a "directory of wonderful things". Over time, Frauenfelder was joined by four co-editors: Doctorow, Pescovitz, Jardin and Beschizza, all of whom previously contributed to Wired magazine . Maggie Koerth-Baker , after
16380-633: Was a guest on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer to discuss The Washington Post ' s decision to remove its Comments section on its website, and she spoke from her experience at Boing Boing. In August 2007, Boing Boing staff launched a redesigned site, which included a restored comment facility, moderated by Teresa Nielsen Hayden . In 2013, Boing Boing switched from the proprietary Disqus comment system to Discourse , an open-source internet forum developed by Jeff Atwood , Robin Ward and Sam Saffron. In 2004,
16510-599: Was added in November 2008. These sites were incorporated into Boing Boing itself around 2010. Plans to revive the Offworld site were announced in 2015, with Leigh Alexander as Editor-in-Chief and Laura Hudson as Editor. Leigh Alexander and Laura Hudson left Offworld in early 2016 after publishing a collection of selected articles, successfully crowdfunded on Kickstarter in March 2016. In October 2007, Boing Boing started
16640-455: Was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster" were equally valid. In his letter, he noted, 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. According to Henderson, since
16770-414: Was polytheistic, but had no centralized church, nor any sacred texts. The deities were largely associated with myths and they represented natural phenomena or aspects of human behavior. Several Greek deities probably trace back to more ancient Indo-European traditions, since the gods and goddesses found in distant cultures are mythologically comparable and are cognates . Eos , the Greek goddess of
16900-479: Was raised after five of the seven board members declared a personal belief in intelligent design. Opponents describing themselves as Pastafarians e-mailed members of the Polk County School Board demanding equal instruction time for the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Board member Margaret Lofton, who supported intelligent design, dismissed the e-mail as ridiculous and insulting, stating, "they've made us
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