god

I've noticed that the believers (religious nutters) are creeping into this prog forum.......................only one question to ask? Why do you believe in a being that has never ever been seen? and that is a fact: no one has ever seen the so called god.

OPEN LETTER TO KANSAS SCHOOL BOARD

I am writing you with much concern after having read of your hearing to decide whether the alternative theory of Intelligent Design should be taught along with the theory of Evolution. I think we can all agree that it is important for students to hear multiple viewpoints so they can choose for themselves the theory that makes the most sense to them. I am concerned, however, that students will only hear one theory of Intelligent Design.

Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was He who created all that we see and all that we feel. We feel strongly that the overwhelming scientific evidence pointing towards evolutionary processes is nothing but a coincidence, put in place by Him.

It is for this reason that I’m writing you today, to formally request that this alternative theory be taught in your schools, along with the other two theories. In fact, I will go so far as to say, if you do not agree to do this, we will be forced to proceed with legal action. I’m sure you see where we are coming from. If the Intelligent Design theory is not based on faith, but instead another scientific theory, as is claimed, then you must also allow our theory to be taught, as it is also based on science, not on faith.

Some find that hard to believe, so it may be helpful to tell you a little more about our beliefs. We have evidence that a Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe. None of us, of course, were around to see it, but we have written accounts of it. We have several lengthy volumes explaining all details of His power. Also, you may be surprised to hear that there are over 10 million of us, and growing. We tend to be very secretive, as many people claim our beliefs are not substantiated by observable evidence. What these people don’t understand is that He built the world to make us think the earth is older than it really is. For example, a scientist may perform a carbon-dating process on an artifact. He finds that approximately 75% of the Carbon-14 has decayed by electron emission to Nitrogen-14, and infers that this artifact is approximately 10,000 years old, as the half-life of Carbon-14 appears to be 5,730 years. But what our scientist does not realize is that every time he makes a measurement, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is there changing the results with His Noodly Appendage. We have numerous texts that describe in detail how this can be possible and the reasons why He does this. He is of course invisible and can pass through normal matter with ease.

I’m sure you now realize how important it is that your students are taught this alternate theory. It is absolutely imperative that they realize that observable evidence is at the discretion of a Flying Spaghetti Monster. Furthermore, it is disrespectful to teach our beliefs without wearing His chosen outfit, which of course is full pirate regalia. I cannot stress the importance of this enough, and unfortunately cannot describe in detail why this must be done as I fear this letter is already becoming too long. The concise explanation is that He becomes angry if we don’t.

You may be interested to know that global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the shrinking numbers of Pirates since the 1800s. For your interest, I have included a graph of the approximate number of pirates versus the average global temperature over the last 200 years. As you can see, there is a statistically significant inverse relationship between pirates and global temperature.

In conclusion, thank you for taking the time to hear our views and beliefs. I hope I was able to convey the importance of teaching this theory to your students. We will of course be able to train the teachers in this alternate theory. I am eagerly awaiting your response, and hope dearly that no legal action will need to be taken. 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.

Sincerely Yours, Tony R

Nice graph...

In The Bible God admits he performs evil acts.

A Christian wrote: "God did not create evil. Evil is simply the state where God is not present."

some people seem to confuse "God" with "Christianity". get your terms right

when you look at nature you notice the tendency of growing intelligence and consciousness, the more complicated the structures in it get. now the most complicated structure in the universe is of course the universe itself. it is therefore quite conceivable the universe has intelligence and a consciousness. and this consciousness I would call "God"

some people seem to be of the opinion that one can't believe in evolution AND in God (some fundamentalists in the bible belt, for example). I personally don't see a contradiction there. what a wonderfully clever idea evolution is! what better way is there to create a world?

I highly recommend the lecture of Raymond Smullyan's "Is God a Taoist?"; here a link to that wonderfully witty and funny dialogue between a mortal and God: http://www.gaiaguys.net/taoist.htm

Laurent wrote: Believe what you want to believe, just don't shove your beliefs down people's throats, and don't meddle in the personal lives of others, with your beliefs. That's all I have to say.

.....and to the topic creator,FAITH plays a huge part in most religions.

Faith:

-Confident belief in the truth,value,or trustworthiness of a person,idea,or thing.

-Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.

-Loyalty to a person or thing,allegiance.

-The theological virtue defined as secure belief in God and trusting acceptance of God's will.

-The body of dogma of a religion

-A set of principles or beliefs

BaldJean:

Actually, Darwin himself believed as you do.  Here is a quote from the "Summary and Recapitulation" of "The Origin of Species":

"Authors of the highest eminence seem to be fully satisfied with the view that each species has been independently created.  To my mind, it accords better with what we know of the laws impressed upon matter by the Creator that the production and extinction of the past and present inhabitants of the world should have been due to secondary causes...There is grandeur in this view of life...having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one."  (Emphases mine.)

Thus, Darwin believed that the "laws of the universe" - including evolution - were "impressed upon matter" by God.  There is no other interpretation of his statement.

It is arguable that this makes Darwin the first proponent of intelligent design...

Peace.

tangerine62:

"Believers are creeping into this forum?"  No, we've been here all the time.  (I have personally been here for over two years: how long have you been here?)  As have many non-believers.  And new members are comprised of both believers and non-believers.  What bothers you is that we have dared to become increasingly confident in expressing our faith-based views in those threads in which they are relevant.

As for no one having ever "seen God," let me ask you something: Have you ever seen a neutrino?  Has anyone?  No, their existence is extrapolated from other scientific hypotheses.  Let me ask another: Have you ever seen the wind?  No, you have perhaps seen and felt the effects of the wind, but you have never seen the wind itself.

We who believe in God - whether Jewish, Christian, Muslim or other - believe that we have seen and felt "the effects" of God, just as all of us, believers and non-believers alike, have seen and felt the effects of the wind, but have never seen it.

Perhaps you need to use a better example.

Peace.

Faith is a wonderful thing...

Put a single dint in Einstein's theory of relativity and the whole thing falls apart.
Find a myriad holes in the religious writings and the whole thing gets better.

Religious writings have been tools for manipulating, exterminating, stagnating the masses throughout history. When all is said and done they are written by man (plural gender sense) - for man.

peace maani - I respect your intelligence and belief