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Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2005 > August > 31 > Entry
Attack of the Spaghetti Monster!
Yesterday, I wrote about Intelligent Design, and the battle over this theory of how universe began and if it should be taught in science class, side-by-side with the theory of evolution.
This is, of course, a sensitive issue for many people on both sides. Many scientists are offended by ID, viewing as “not science” and as a cloaked effort to teach religion in public school. On the other side, ID proponents say the theory is simple and sensible, worthy of discussion and many on this side are offended by the suggestion by some that believing in God is incompatible with science.
Consider this lead from a recent New York Times story on the debate (Sorry I don’t have the link. The story is no longer free on the NYT site):
“At a recent scientific conference at City College of New York, a student in the audience rose to ask the panelists an unexpected question: ”Can you be a good scientist and believe in God?” Reaction from one of the panelists, all Nobel laureates, was quick and sharp. ”No!” declared Herbert A. Hauptman, who shared the chemistry prize in 1985 for his work on the structure of crystals. Belief in the supernatural, especially belief in God, is not only incompatible with good science, Dr. Hauptman declared, ”this kind of belief is damaging to the well-being of the human race.” “
Well in pointed debates like this, it pays to maintain a sense of humor. A blogger is making a big splash with his “theory” that a flying spaghetti monster created the universe. As you might expect, this post lampoons ID. So if you are anti-ID, you probably will find this quite funny. If you are pro-ID, but have a sense of humor about the subject, you also might enjoy the post.
If you feel ID is too serious a subject to joke about, then I suggest you NOT follow the link!
UPDATE: I’m having trouble following the spaghetti monster link. The site may be down. If you can’t get through to it, try again later.
LATEST UPDATE: Sorry. The bad link was my fault. You should be able to click through to the flying spaghetti monster now.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Evolution vs. Intelligent Design
Comments
By susan
September 1, 2005 9:32 PM | Link to this
jim, there are a number of great minds that have wrestled with this issue, although most scientists have left it to theologians and philosophers. of those, thomas aquinas offered the most powerful which is, simply put, from nothing can come nothing. basically, imagine the void and then imagine how anything could simply come into existence in the void. (all apologies to aquinas, i have stripped this down to it’s core.) the other arguments (the teleolobical- the basis for intelligent design, btw - and the ontological) are more philosophical in nature. but the philosophers reveled in the value of simple reason to make their view understandable. they would never have imagined that these ideas would be co-oped by science to justify God’s existence. God was never meant to be measured and quantified, a basic requirement of science. personally, i believe that intelligent design is outside the realm of science and tells more about why God created the world. science can tell us more about how. these are two very distinct features of creation and are best not confused.By Jim
September 1, 2005 4:47 PM | Link to this
Scientists might not be able to prove that there isn’t a god but can you prove that there is?By George
September 1, 2005 7:07 AM | Link to this
Hi. I notice you call this a blog, and it sure looks like one. However, I don’t understand why the DDN ‘Speak Up’ Message Board, the only real ‘blog’ for DDN area users is SO lame. Many people actually use this site, despite its significant performance and feature shortfalls. Please improve the DDN Message Boards, then you and other journalists could actually blog on them, with the rest of the Dayton online community. Thanks.By Ralf
August 31, 2005 4:12 PM | Link to this
The Flying Spaghetti Monster as Creator seems to make at least as much sense as “Intelligent Design”. On the other hand, science will never be able to prove that there is no God. Whoever said that common sense is an uncommon virtue knew what they were talking about. I can only hope that we all survive the ravages of extremism in all forms.