About book The Gospel Of The Flying Spaghetti Monster (2006)
What started as an innocent letter to the Kansas State Board of Education has now started the transformation of the world's non-believers into their once-loathed, faith-based, subservient counterparts. Sarcasm aside, this is an entertaining satire of religion for the open-minded reader of any particular belief. Some atheists have complained that this will not convert any non-believers and the condescending tone furthers the misunderstanding between the fact- and faith-based communities. I think it has helped fill a necessary void (the FSM is infinitely cooler than a teapot) in a fun, creative and thought-provoking manner, but admittedly will not convert any skeptic on its own. Meanwhile, it has greatly succeeded as an effective device against Creationism and has stifled educational changes in favor of Intelligent Design - its originally intended purpose. The Gospel hits a home run that appeals to both the "logical" and emotional (a personified Italian dish!) requirements for a successful campaign.Memorable portions:"Our rejection of dogma is so strong that we leave open the possibility that there is no Flying Spaghetti Monster at all. So, in a sense, you could say that we're extremely open-minded - we could change our minds some day. All we ask is proof of His non-existence.""Examples of Unintelligent Design... 5. The Appendix. Might once have had value but is now completely useless." (Footnoted: "This includes its presence in book form.")The use of religiously spoofed terms: RAmen (to end a prayer), Pastafarians (FSM believers), The Olive Garden of Eden, The Tower of Scrapple and The Eight "I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts.""Disclaimer: While Pastafarianism is the only religion based on empirical evidence, it should also be noted that this is a faith-based book. Attentive readers will note numerous holes and contradictions throughout the text; they will even find blatant lies and exaggerations. These have been placed there to test the reader's faith.""WWJD? HWCTFSM." (Footnoted: "He Would Convert to FSM.")"6. I'd Really Rather You Didn't Build Multimillion-Dollar Churches/Temples/Mosques/Shrines To My Noodly Goodness When The Money Could Be Better Spent (Take Your Pick):A. Ending PovertyB. Curing DiseasesC. Living In Peace, Loving With Passion, And Lowering the Cost of Cable"
The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is one of the funniest things I have come across in a while. Bobby Henderson, a physics grad student, has ingeniously crafted a mock religion that effectively parodies the fundamentalist aspects of western religions (especially Christianity) that mainstream Christians and non-Christians find groan-worthy. Henderson created the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, also known as Pastafarianism, in response to the recent trials over Intelligent Design and whether or not it belongs in a school's curriculum (or whether evolution has no place there). FSM claims that the world was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster, that pirates are His chosen people, and that Earthly problems, such as global warming are a direct result of the shrinking numbers of (actual) pirates in the world (Henderson has a graph that shows there is a direct correlation between the number of pirates and average global temperatures). Using "facts" and "science", Henderson shows how evolution is wrong and that life can only have been created by the FSM, who obviously has a sense of humor due to certain things that happen in life. He also talks about how FSM heaven is so much better than Christian heaven due to the presence of a beer volcano and a stripper factory. Other great aspects are the twists on biblical stories and places (such as why the great flood occurred or the Olive Garden of Eden) as well as the 8 Commandments (or is it Condiments) or FSM, commonly known as the "8 I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts", due to the fact that each one starts off with, "I'd really rather you didn't...". Obviously, this book requires a sense of humor to be enjoyed, because it pokes fun at religion. But if you can see this book for what it is, a great parody of some of the stranger aspects of religion, you will definitely enjoy it.
Do You like book The Gospel Of The Flying Spaghetti Monster (2006)?
I had been interested in reading this book since it was published in 2006, which was around the time that I was consuming a lot of atheistic and scientific materialist content from the likes of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris. I imagine that if I had read the book back then, I would have found it more entertaining, and I wanted to like it more than I did—but I couldn't.The book is incredibly tedious and repetitive, and runs out of steam fairly quickly. I will admit that it did make me chuckle a few times in the beginning, but as I read further into the book I found myself being frustrated and bored.The basic idea behind the book is that it is the gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, the sarcastic equivalent of God, or the creator of our universe. It is meant to be a humorous attack on religious and non-scientific thinking, and I imagine it would appeal to scientific materialists and atheists alike. However, that line of thinking no longer resonates with me, and I ended up disliking the book almost entirely.I wouldn't really recommend that anyone read this book. If you're interested, go for it, but don't expect anything that clever or funny. I did have that sort of expectation, and was severely let down and felt like I wasted the time I spent reading it.2/5 stars. 169 pages.
—David
A friend introduced me to The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. It is a parody religion, something along the lines of Discordianism but more modern. The church's purpose is to expose the flaws in modern religious institutions and spiritual beliefs, with special emphasis on intelligent design. I was surprised to find the book “Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster” at my local library. It is a collection of topics and essays explaining the religion and its goals. Topics as varied as dogma, faith, and biblical stories were examined by use of satire, mock statistics, absurd conclusions, and – this being the only unfortunate part – some profanity. The book was amusing, but also thought-provoking.
—Tyne
This book is well on its way to become a favorite amongst the younger and the less uptight about their relgion. It was an absolutely wonderful commentary on the stupidity of religion and the arguments of it. Overall, I took away: play nice and be friends. What a simple and wonderful message that everyone could do a little better if they only followed it. My recommendation goes out to everyone and anyone. This book is a real eye-opener. However, it could be difficult to understand and is slightly repetitive in parts. That aside, it blends humor with a life lesson. A lot of humor.It is one of the funniest books I think I have ever read.
—Morgan
