Design Flaws?

In May of 2005, the Kansas State Board of Education held a series of hearings regarding science curricula. While the process of review and revision educational standards and teaching methods are not new, these specific hearings were highly abnormal. Recent elections had given six of the ten available seats on the Board of Education to socially and politically Conservative Christians who wanted to change how the Theory of Evolution, as proposed by Charles Darwin, would be presented.

These members of Board wanted to present a concept called Intelligent Design as a scientific theory that offers an opposing but plausible explanation of life on Earth. Intelligent Design, since entering into public consciousness, has been a cause of major argument. It’s proponents contend that Evolution is a theory that is still hotly debated by the majority of the scientific community, therefore in it’s place Intelligent Design could offer an explanation that uses God (the “Intelligent Designer”) in place of the seemingly random or chaotic forces of Natural Selection and Mutation.

Scientists, on the other hand, contend that there is no real debate over Evolutionary Theory’s veracity and that Intelligent Design and it’s related movement is pure pseudoscience; Intelligent Design cannot be backed by physical evidence nor be proven by the Scientific Method, given that it deals exclusively in the realm of the Metaphysical.

During the hearings, Bobby Henderson, a graduate of Oregon State University with a degree in Engineering, sent a letter to the Kansas Board of Education arguing that there may be a third argument to be had. Henderson’s letter stated that alongside Darwin’s Theory and Intelligent Design, a creation myth regarding an god known as The Flying Spaghetti Monster should also be taught. (Yes, you read that correctly.)

It must have been difficult for Henderson to predict that his letter, written as an absurdist criticism of the Intelligent Design debate, would balloon into an Internet sensation as well as a sold criticism of Religious Fundamentalism. Calling his faith “Pastafarianism,” Henderson argues that he has “written accounts” of The Flying Spaghetti Monster creating the world, as well as altering any attempts at Carbon or Nitrogen Dating materials used by scientists with the power of “His Noodly Appendage.” When word broke of this incident, it spread quickly causing many Internet users who were critical of Intelligent Design (and a large portion of those with an unusual sense of humor) to proclaim themselves “Pastafarians” and that they too believed in the power of The Flying Spaghetti Monster. In short order, Henderson launched a website as The Church of The Flying Spaghetti Monster, as well a book comprising it’s gospels. In the spirit of his original letter, The “About” section of his website claims “Some claim that the church is purely a thought experiment, satire, illustrating that Intelligent Design is not science, but rather a pseudoscience manufactured by Christians to push Creationism into public schools. These people are mistaken. The Church of FSM is real, totally legit, and backed by hard science. Anything that comes across as humor or satire is purely coincidental.”

So what can be said of Henderson’s “Church?” The website presents itself with tongue planted sharply in cheek, but the use of satire as an antidote to the sometimes venomously grim world of religion is not new. Organizations such as “The Church of The SubGenius” have made this a stock-in-trade. Venerating the clip-art image of a salesman called J.R. “Bob” Dobbs, The SubGenius aspire to a transcendent state called “Slack” and claim that they are the descendants of the Yeti (a mythical Tibetan form of Sasquatch.) The Church of the SubGenius has been making mockery of religious and social Evangelism for more than twenty years, and use their unique brand of surreal mockery as an effective, if not hilarious skewer against social and religious institutions. In the world of Religious Parody (or depending upon your worldview, Parody Religions,) The Church of The SubGenius are a sort of Dadaist gold-standard by which to be measured. The Pastafarians and could easily reach that sort of absurd pinnacle. Like anything else in life, a parody can only ultimately be as strong as it’s subject matter. In the end, The Flying Spaghetti Monster needs Intelligent Design as much as Intelligent Design needs Natural Selection.