Satirical Attack On Intelligent Design Becomes Popular

Yesterday's Toronto Star carries an article on a satirical challenge to supporters of Intelligent Design which has caught on. Bobby Henderson, a 26-year-old physics graduate from Oregon State University, in 2005 wrote that the earth and all living things were created by a Supreme Being, the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Last March he published a book, The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, (Villard, 2006), and he has launched a website that includes his "Open Letter to Kansas School Board" requesting that his theory be taught as an alternative version of Intelligent Design. Apparently the site gets 30,000 unique visits per day. The FSM movement has its own subculture of "Pastafarians". Some proponents of Intelligent Design, however, do not completely appreciate the humor. Last month, the Discovery Institute's website attacked FSM as mocking those who hold Judeo-Christian religion beliefs, saying that FSM is reportedly endorsed by 50 Darwinist academics.