Flying Spaghetti Monster statue at TN courthouse

[Crossroads Inc.]

You can't make this stuff up!

Posted by Daniel Terdiman
If you're a fan of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and the gospel of Pastafarianism, then you have to love what's going on in Crossville, Tenn.


Members of the Crossville, Tennessee chapter of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster sought and received approval to install a statue of the Flying Spaghetti Monster outside the city's courthouse.

There, as I discovered today on Laughing Squid, some members of the local chapter of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster have gotten city approval to erect a statue of "His Noodly Appendage" outside the local courthouse.

I talked briefly by phone Monday with Ariel Safdie, one of the local chapter members involved with building and installing the statue, and she said that for her and her fellow members, the issue involved in building the statue and seeking and acquiring approval to install it wasn't about religion, but about freedom of speech.

That seems perfectly appropriate to me, since the whole point of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is to make the point--via free speech--that if communities are going to give credence to one theory of the origins of life in their schools, then they also have to give credence to others.

Safdie and others applied for permission to install their statue, and it was granted by the city of Crossville.


This is the official form granting approval to install the statue.
(Credit: Ariel Safdie)
This is the text of the statement they made at the installation ceremony, according to the blog of the Crossville chapter of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster:

"We are lucky enough to live in a country that allows us, its citizens, the freedom of speech. I have chosen to put up a statue of the Flying Spaghetti Monster to represent the discourse between people of all different beliefs. The many faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds of Cumberland County's residents make our community a stronger richer place. I respect and am proud that on the people's lawn, the county courthouse, all of these diverse beliefs can come together in a positive dialogue. Here, we are all able to share the issues close to our hearts whether it is through a memorial to the soldiers killed fighting for our country, the Statue of Liberty honoring our nations welcoming promise to all, a group's fight to stop homelessness, or powerful symbols of faith. I greatly treasure this open forum between everyone in the community."

[Atlan]

You can't make this stuff up!

Posted by Daniel Terdiman
If you're a fan of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and the gospel of Pastafarianism, then you have to love what's going on in Crossville, Tenn.


Members of the Crossville, Tennessee chapter of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster sought and received approval to install a statue of the Flying Spaghetti Monster outside the city's courthouse.

There, as I discovered today on Laughing Squid, some members of the local chapter of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster have gotten city approval to erect a statue of "His Noodly Appendage" outside the local courthouse.

I talked briefly by phone Monday with Ariel Safdie, one of the local chapter members involved with building and installing the statue, and she said that for her and her fellow members, the issue involved in building the statue and seeking and acquiring approval to install it wasn't about religion, but about freedom of speech.

That seems perfectly appropriate to me, since the whole point of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is to make the point--via free speech--that if communities are going to give credence to one theory of the origins of life in their schools, then they also have to give credence to others.

Safdie and others applied for permission to install their statue, and it was granted by the city of Crossville.


This is the official form granting approval to install the statue.
(Credit: Ariel Safdie)
This is the text of the statement they made at the installation ceremony, according to the blog of the Crossville chapter of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster:

"We are lucky enough to live in a country that allows us, its citizens, the freedom of speech. I have chosen to put up a statue of the Flying Spaghetti Monster to represent the discourse between people of all different beliefs. The many faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds of Cumberland County's residents make our community a stronger richer place. I respect and am proud that on the people's lawn, the county courthouse, all of these diverse beliefs can come together in a positive dialogue. Here, we are all able to share the issues close to our hearts whether it is through a memorial to the soldiers killed fighting for our country, the Statue of Liberty honoring our nations welcoming promise to all, a group's fight to stop homelessness, or powerful symbols of faith. I greatly treasure this open forum between everyone in the community."

Please, PLEASE don't let this be a joke. It would be so awesome.
And if it is for real, will somebody please go over there once the statue is erected and take pictures of the exploding heads of fundie christians?

[Crossroads Inc.]

Its real, click the link, theres a photo of the finished statue.

[Darth Wong]

We are lucky enough to live in a country that allows us, its citizens, the freedom of speech. I have chosen to put up a statue of the Flying Spaghetti Monster to represent the discourse between people of all different beliefs. The many faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds of Cumberland County's residents make our community a stronger richer place. I respect and am proud that on the people's lawn, the county courthouse, all of these diverse beliefs can come together in a positive dialogue. Here, we are all able to share the issues close to our hearts whether it is through a memorial to the soldiers killed fighting for our country, the Statue of Liberty honoring our nations welcoming promise to all, a group's fight to stop homelessness, or powerful symbols of faith. I greatly treasure this open forum between everyone in the community.

That is not what the FSM stands for. The FSM stands for mockery of the stupid religious mindset which says that if you can't prove something does not exist, then it is reasonable to believe it exists. Rather than celebrating (even light-heartedly) the diversity of faiths, it is an assault upon the irrationality of them all.

If I were to put up an anti-religious symbol but didn't want it to be re-interpreted by the Mindless Middle, I would probably put up a giant atom, and caption it with something like "It took scientists only three hundred years to accomplish what priests, politicians, and common sense could not accomplish in ten thousand: discover the atom. Leave science to the scientists. Creationism is a fairy tale."

[Shroom Man 777]

Um. It's really amazing to see a silly (if fun) internet meme becoming associated with the sacrifices of our (your) soldiers abroad, of Liberty and Justice and Freedom, of how America is a land of new opportunities for people of all walks of life.

*places hand on heart*

I'm sure when no one was looking at him afterwards, the guy who said that burst out laughing.

[Crossroads Inc.]

The really sad thing is how a great deal of Fundies completly miss the POINT of the FSM in that they think its a "real" religion" iove met people who ask me how I can believe "My God" is a giant Sphaghetti monster.

[Darth Wong]

The really sad thing is how a great deal of Fundies completly miss the POINT of the FSM in that they think its a "real" religion" iove met people who ask me how I can believe "My God" is a giant Sphaghetti monster.

90% of people have no idea how arguments are supposed to work. They look at an argument, take its most superficial features for themselves, and totally ignore the point that the author is trying to make. A lot of them have trouble separating examples from the points they're being used to illustrate. The FSM was never meant to be a symbol, or even a point. It was an illustration of a point.

[Spin Echo]

We are lucky enough to live in a country that allows us, its citizens, the freedom of speech. I have chosen to put up a statue of the Flying Spaghetti Monster to represent the discourse between people of all different beliefs. The many faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds of Cumberland County's residents make our community a stronger richer place. I respect and am proud that on the people's lawn, the county courthouse, all of these diverse beliefs can come together in a positive dialogue. Here, we are all able to share the issues close to our hearts whether it is through a memorial to the soldiers killed fighting for our country, the Statue of Liberty honoring our nations welcoming promise to all, a group's fight to stop homelessness, or powerful symbols of faith. I greatly treasure this open forum between everyone in the community.

That is not what the FSM stands for. The FSM stands for mockery of the stupid religious mindset which says that if you can't prove something does not exist, then it is reasonable to believe it exists. Rather than celebrating (even light-heartedly) the diversity of faiths, it is an assault upon the irrationality of them all.

I think he's taking the piss.

I hope he's taking the piss.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

I was once in a roleplaying setting that had a Church of the Nuclear Messiah, a semi-religious hyper-techocratic organization which had gone to war using thermonuclear weapons against magic and magecraft. Now that would make the Atom genuinely worth worshipping for the proles.

[Illuminatus Primus]

Now that is bizarre; sounds like the Brotherhood of Nod headed by Shep.

[Superboy]

Yeah guys, this is definetely a fake story and the quotes in it are just for laughs.

[Patrick Degan]

I was once in a roleplaying setting that had a Church of the Nuclear Messiah, a semi-religious hyper-techocratic organization which had gone to war using thermonuclear weapons against magic and magecraft. Now that would make the Atom genuinely worth worshipping for the proles.

We saw these guys in Beneath The Planet Of The Apes didn't we?

[Silver Jedi]

Yeah guys, this is definetely a fake story and the quotes in it are just for laughs.

Are you sure? The Crossville Chronicle ran an article on the statue over a week ago.

[wautd]

Pasta is an abomination unto Nuggan!

[Darth Wong]

We are lucky enough to live in a country that allows us, its citizens, the freedom of speech. I have chosen to put up a statue of the Flying Spaghetti Monster to represent the discourse between people of all different beliefs. The many faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds of Cumberland County's residents make our community a stronger richer place. I respect and am proud that on the people's lawn, the county courthouse, all of these diverse beliefs can come together in a positive dialogue. Here, we are all able to share the issues close to our hearts whether it is through a memorial to the soldiers killed fighting for our country, the Statue of Liberty honoring our nations welcoming promise to all, a group's fight to stop homelessness, or powerful symbols of faith. I greatly treasure this open forum between everyone in the community.

That is not what the FSM stands for. The FSM stands for mockery of the stupid religious mindset which says that if you can't prove something does not exist, then it is reasonable to believe it exists. Rather than celebrating (even light-heartedly) the diversity of faiths, it is an assault upon the irrationality of them all.

I think he's taking the piss.

I hope he's taking the piss.

Considering the kind of things I've seen posted on message boards about the FSM, it would be completely realistic. Of course, it's always possible this is total bullshit, but it's really not out of character. After all, these are the same kind of fucktards who interpreted Einstein's discussions of religion as a statement of faith in Jesus.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

I was once in a roleplaying setting that had a Church of the Nuclear Messiah, a semi-religious hyper-techocratic organization which had gone to war using thermonuclear weapons against magic and magecraft. Now that would make the Atom genuinely worth worshipping for the proles.

We saw these guys in Beneath The Planet Of The Apes didn't we?

No, we were never into mass suicide.

[Vendetta]

That is not what the FSM stands for. The FSM stands for mockery of the stupid religious mindset which says that if you can't prove something does not exist, then it is reasonable to believe it exists. Rather than celebrating (even light-heartedly) the diversity of faiths, it is an assault upon the irrationality of them all.

Well, more specifically it's designed to skewer the American Christian insistence that "Freedom of religion" means "Primacy of Protestant Christianity", hence it's original introduction around the ID in schools debate.

Courthouses are another of the places the Christian primacists tend to like to colonise, with things like engravings of the ten commandments, so it's an appropriate venue for the same satire the FSM was designed to provide.

Saying all the "right words" at the unveiling undermines the inevitable attempt to protest this as an "insult" or deliberate mockery of Christianity, so any protest to it will have to show it's true colours much earlier on, and not hide behind an imagined personal affront.