Tuesday, March 27, 2007

A change of faith?

I've been a atheist for a really long time because, well, I hadn't seen convincing evidence for God's existence. Until today. I just found out about some really amazing miracles while I was reading the website of the Church of the FSM.

When I clicked on the site, there was a post about the image of the FSM appearing in a sand dune, and the dune in question was none other than the Dune of Pyla, which is near where I live!!! I've been there!!!



When I saw the Dune of Pyla right there on the front page of the Church of the FSM site, I felt like the Flying Spaghetti Monster was talking directly to me. (although hopefully not touching me with his "noodly appendage" as they say because that's kind of creepy...)

Even more convincing is the miracle of the fact that the expanding universe and mouse neurons are both seen to have the form of FSM:



Now, that can't be a coincidence or have a natural explanation, can it?

So, I was thinking of converting to Pastafarianism. I figure it wouldn't be much of a lifestyle change for my family since my kids already like pirates.

On the other hand, if I'm going to join a religion, I have to be sure I'm picking the right one (otherwise that whole "Pascal's wager" thingy doesn't work), and there was one other contender that caught my attention: Thor. The Thor-worshipers like to say "You believe in Jesus? Well, I believe in Thor. Your god died nailed to a cross. My god has a hammer. Any questions?"

That's a pretty convincing argument since if you're going to be "God-fearing" it makes sense to pick a God who really inspires fear. So I'm torn.

Of course it may already be too late to steer my kids off the atheist track. My little Leo loves this evolution of Homer video we found posted at Pharyngula -- he keeps watching it over and over and laughing.

So which should I go with? FSM? Thor? Or should I just keep on atheizing?

21 comments:

OnigiriFB said...

ROFL All hail Thor! :P

C. L. Hanson said...

Hey Onigiri!!!

Okay, so that's one vote for Thor. ;-)

Anonymous said...

I don't know what to say. My heart pulls me toward Pastafarianism, but Thor has a hammer....

AnnM said...

Hmm, the links to the evolution of homer aren't working for me. How am I supposed to decide if it's true or not? Pray?

[ROTFL. Pulls self up off the floor]

Yup, definitely an atheist.

C. L. Hanson said...

Hey Kristi!!!

You see my dilemma... If only Thor had some cool miracles to tip the scales in his favor!!! ;-)

Hey Sam-I-Am!!!

That's too bad -- the links work for me. Pray for an answer on this? Hmmm... interesting technique... ;-)

Anonymous said...

You do realize there are people who actually worship Thor seriously today don't you? Asatru is the religion. It's practitioners are something else entirely but they throw really good parties.

C. L. Hanson said...

Hey Sinister Porpoise!!!

Yeah, I've heard that some of these ancient pagan religions are making a real-world comeback. It's kind of an interesting phenomenon....

Catherine said...

I'm voting for pastafarianism because of all the scientific evidence. What good is a religion if you can't use obscure nonsensical references to make yourself look smarter than everyone else?

Love the blog. I found it through main street plaza.

Texas said...

Lol!!!

Well I could never convert to pastafarianism. I love baked Ziti way to damn much. And as far as I know Christianity is the only religion that lets you consume the body of your god. Ritualistic cannibalism has not been en vogue for a long time, so unless I am missing something, say good bye to Italian food.

C. L. Hanson said...

Hey Catherine!!!

Exactly -- did you see how they showed that global warming is tied to the decline of pirates? They've got hard data!!!

Hey Johnny!!!

Is it true that Pastafarians can't eat pasta? Wow, now that I think about it, maybe I should try to find the website for ex-Pastafarians to see if I can find out the stuff about the religion that their rosy conversion pnmphlets don't say... ;-)

Hellmut said...

C.L., let me spare you a horrible mistake. The proper name of Thor is Donar.

I pray thee, pay attention to the details. There is no end to the wrath of the gods.

C. L. Hanson said...

Hey Hellmut!!!

Wow, thanks for the heads-up!!! I'd hate to incur His wrath right off the bat like that!!! ;-)

JulieAnn said...

CHOOSE NONE OF THEM FOR THEY ARE ALL CORRUPT. THUSLY I SAY UNTO YOU THAT YOU MUST NOT JOIN ANY OF THESE CHURCHES WITH THEIR FALSE PROPHETS. I AM AND I ALWAYS WILL BE, UNTO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH THE ONE AND ONLY. THIS IS MY SON, LIBER. HEAR HIM! THUS SAYETH ME, BACCHUS, LORD OF THE GRAPE.

C. L. Hanson said...

Uh oh... That's the third minor diety who's said that to me today... Now what do I do???

;-)

Freckle Face Girl said...

Tough decision, but I'm a Homer fan...

Stephen said...

"pastafarianism" ... had one on a jury recently ...

BTW, Thor is merely the end point for the thunderer, who is also Ba'l, Jupiter, Zeus, etc., one of the three of the indo-european gods.

I was just blogging on a corner of that mythos at http://ethesis.blogspot.com/2007/03/discussion-on-kids-borrowing-car-keys.html

C. L. Hanson said...

Hey Stephen!!!

You saw someone on a jury actually identify as Pastafarian? LOL!!!

Great mythology post by the way -- I love the Epic of Gilgamesh!!! That's one of the reasons I went to visit the Hammurabi. The proprietor of the restaurant recounted that because his culture traces back to Mesopotamia, his (Eastern Orthodox Christian) church does a Gilgamesh pageantas part of their spring festival.

Anonymous said...

My son's middle name is Gilgamesh. I kid you not.

Anyway, I'd go with Thor. He's in the avengers.

C. L. Hanson said...

Hey Kullervo!!!

Gilgamesh is cool!!! I didn't know Thor was in the avengers -- that does give him a bit of an edge, doesn't it? ;-)

Spekkio said...

If it helps you, Thor has been missing in action for awhile after Ragnarok.

C. L. Hanson said...

Hey Scott!!!

Thanks for the heads up -- I guess I'll go with the FSM then... ;^)