I came across a couple of terms today describing a type of new religion. They are both terms related to a religious belief system that started with a single letter to a school board in 2005. I had never heard these terms before so I did what most of us would do, I Googled them to find out more. The root of the religion is something called Pastafarianism. They believe that the world was created by a big Flying Spaghetti Machine (FSM). There were pictures on the Internet of people who created FSM wreaths, knit FSM tree toppers and ornaments. There was even an FSM in a manger, surrounded by Mary and Joseph. They celebrate a variety of holidays, including Pastover (pasta and Passover) and Ramendan (ramen noodles and Ramadan). People who believe this aren’t called agnostics; they are called Spagnostics. They believe there is no omnipotent God but a delicious-looking and smiling Flying Spaghetti Machine that created everything. They also believe that Pirates are the true bearers of their religious beliefs, and that the decrease in Pirates in the world is a lead cause of Global Warming. Satirical doctrine or tongue-in-cheek agnosticism? I believe it crosses a line. It is one thing to believe there is no God, to argue that science is the supreme answer to all of our questions, to argue against the historicity of creation and the Bible, to ask questions and have doubts (which are often the seed of faith). It’s another to make fun of people who do believe in God, who believe in intelligent design and in a Divine Designer. Pastafarinists are sort of saying, “how stupid can you be, if you want to believe in a God who created everything you might as well make your God a giant Flying Spaghetti Machine. I wish I could say I would never stoop so low that I would make fun of someone’s firmly held religious beliefs, but… So when the Pastafarians get together, do they get sauced? What do they call Christmas, Pastamas? When they talk about Pastafarians who have died, do they speak of them Pastahumosly? Would it be fair to say that Spagnostics can get a little cheesy> Do you want to even think about what the meatballs symbolize on the Flying Spaghetti Machine? Pastafarianism started with a simple email questioning the teaching of Intelligent Design in the Kansas Public School system. It took on a life of its own once it hit the Internet. Maybe we should question Intelligent Design when we think of people creating a religion around a Flying Spaghetti Machine. If you want to question Intelligent Design and cast doubt on an Intelligent Creator, please try to do so in an intelligent way. Leave the parmesan on the side.