Members of the Crossville, TN Chapter of The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster have installed a giant Flying Spaghetti Monster statue outside The Cumberland County Courthouse in Crossville, Tennessee.
Here’s a statement from the group:
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.
The Flying Spaghetti Monster is a pile of noodles and meatballs, but it is meant to open up discussion and provoke thought. Being able to put up a statue is a celebration of our freedom as Americans; a freedom to be different, to express those differences, and to do it amongst neighbors -— even if it is in a noodley way.
Here’s local news coverage of the installation.
UPDATE: Daniel Terdiman did a follow-up story on CNET News.com where he spoke with Ariel Safdie, a member of the Crossville, TN Chapter of The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, who was involved with the installation.
via The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
photos by Ariel Safdie
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{ 51 comments… read them below or add one }
A Great Day for Pastafarians everywhere! All hail the Noodley One!
I would never be the one calling for anything to ever be removed from a public display, but that statement from the artists is pure crap.
“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.”
Isn’t the FSM simply a mechanism to mock all faiths? Doesn’t it claim that belief in any diety is as reasonable as believing in a diety composed of noodles and meatsauce?
Do what you want. Say what you want. But please don’t claim to be embracing and understanding other faiths when all you really want to do is mock them.
Brandon, given that Pastafarians understand that other faiths are ridiculous, isn’t ridicule an appropriate response?
Perhaps a Spaghetti Prayer Circle should be formed to pray for forgiveness of the troubled soul named Brandon. The end of the noodleverse is nigh, so chop chop!
I actually find this notion that the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is some how insincere in its beliefs to be terribly offensive. As a serious worshiper of He Whose Noodleness Binds All, I feel that my belief should be taken seriously. I know there are some anti-intellectual design people out there that have posed as Pastafarians but they do not speak for the whole of FSM. Islam has its terrorists, Christianity has its crusaders, we have our satirists.
“The many faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds of Cumberland County’s residents” Uhhhh…..Crossville is an even smaller hick town than the one I live in just a bit down the way. I wouldn’t know for a fact, but I’d assume it’s not as diverse as they say.
You miss the point Brandon. FSM came about because people wanted to instill *their* religion in science classrooms.
Wow…if that statue stays it is a great victory for tolerance. All hail our noodley overlord.
“Do what you want. Say what you want. But please don’t claim to be embracing and understanding other faiths when all you really want to do is mock them.”
Well said!
Also – if this is, in fact, a “religious symbol” would the “Pastafarians” support other symbols being placed on that property … purely in the interest of public discourse, naturally.
/T
Jesus did warn his followers that they would be ridiculed for their beliefs.
Brandon, dear Brandon, how dare you mock the FSM by saying that the artist’s comments are “pure crap.”
FSM and her followers will gladly give you the respect you deserve if you will but give valid, logical reasons for belief in whatever deity you worship.
And, of course, if you will give FSM the respect she deserves, too.
May the sauce be with you.
Pasta
Pastafarnism is a serious religion, just because you can’t see the wisdom in it doesn’t make it less real. I know its hard to swallow, but you just have to have faith. Those who do not hail the Spaghetti will be forced into purgatory after the great straining.
Of course the FSM is a mechanism of ridicule. Brandon is completely right and the artist’s BS is offensive. The FSM inspires no positive dialog among people of diverse beliefs. It’s inspires laughter among people with specific beliefs.
Ah, negativity towards a “group,” “organization,” or “religion” sparked by misinformation, misunderstanding, non-education and non-compassion. I feel that this is exactly what Pastafarianism is about: no matter whether you believe in God, Buddha, Allah or a Flying Spaghetti Monster your religion is valid because you believe and it has meaning to you. RAmen.
Brandon, mockery is in fact Pastafarians’ most powerful and profound form of solidarity and support for other faiths. We are like the supreme Dadaists, but in reverse, and yet avant-garde. Other faiths benefit from our reforming mockery: it is a critical curb and a mollifying mirror by which faiths can flagellate themselves even as they flourish.
Be well and be touched by His Noodly Appendage.
I think the commentary that the artists provided about the statue recognizing the diverse religious population of the county is very accurate. Although it may be true that most people idenify who identify themselves as members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster are athiest and are mocking organzied religion–the fact that such a display is on the courthouse lawn is a remark on freedom of speech and religion.
The collection of statues reflect that our government cannot align itself with any one religion or deny the athiest population the right to display itself. The display is very appropriate. The goal is to initiate discussion on these topics in a positive venue–the fact that the courthouse is granting all groups equal recognition is a good place to start.
Brandon: You say “Doesn’t it claim that belief in any diety is as reasonable as believing in a diety composed of noodles and meatsauce?”
Well isn’t it?
Brandon, the FSM is a God. Show him the respect that a God deserves. It’s ironic that you saying that the FSM isn’t a God, yet you seem concerned about embracing and understanding other faiths.
You know what they say about the speck in other’s eye, and the noodle in your own eye.
You’re all nuts. Zeus is the King of Gods. Come back to the true religion. Give up your Christ, your Allah, and your Yahweh. You can hear him calling you at every storm, his thunderbolts hark you back to Mount Olympus. The true holy mountain.
TJ, that is absolutely correct, and Flying Spaghetti Monster told us to mock Jesus because the two are best buds. In fact, they share beer from the beer volcano and play Grand Tourismo 6 all day long. You really should read the gospel of the flying spaghetti monster.
In addition, Pastafarianism only becomes a “mechanism of ridicule” if you use it as such. It’s similar to the way some Christians use their religion to condemn non-Christians, and some don’t.
To me the Noodly One stands for open-mindedness and acceptance. With a sense of humor.
Loaves and fishes, my butt! One of Christianity’s greatest coverups of all time was the historical rewriting of the day of feeding the crowds. Jesus’s sous chef and 13th disciple, Luigi, who had a deep personal commitment to feeding the masses (thanks to his very traditional Italian grandma) actually orchestrated the largest spaghetti dinner of all time. All those lost souls were nourished with the finest semolina and the most lovingly handcrafted polpette this world has ever seen.
Too bad they had business disagreements about the name of their restaurant–that would have been delicious. And Jesus had connections to write him out of the Bible. Tisk. That recipe’s gone forever, but His al Denteity lives on in our hearts and stomachs for all time.
Emily seems to have hit it right on the head. Pastafarianism was created by a guy that thought it was ridiculous that he was being forced to teach “intelligent design” theory in a science classroom, basically saying that said intelligent design could be anything, such as an FSM.
This display can be viewed as an alternative to traditional deity beliefs, or it can be viewed as a mockery. Either way, it’s all open to interpretation. While Pastafarianism was created to prove a man’s point about teaching intelligent design in a classroom in a humorous if not ridiculous way (no offense to those Pastafarains, as even you have to admit it was intended to be “out there”), it seems to me that the artists’ intentions were to simply show a diverse belief that they don’t believe in a traditional deity. That’s an acceptable thing to display, just as a cross is acceptable to display for Christians.
The bottom line is that people need to stop getting so offended over everything and learn to have a sense of humor – even if it’s at themselves.
Anyone check their calendars? Jeesh
@TJ
So far no Pastafarian has told me that I am going to hell. I haven’t heard them condemn anybody, picket outside abortion clinics, or try to oppress black people (Christians supported slavery). The FSM chuch respects the dignity of gay people and does not seek to instill its own values on anybody.
Putting the FSM outside a courthouse is about as threatening as having a puppy. Putting a cross there signifies hatred, oppression, and disrespect.
Jesus warned people that they would be laughed at because much of the Bible is silly. There isn’t a single church that obeys it completely without “interpreting” (actually ignoring) direct instructions from God. Furthermore there is no consensus among churches on how to translate the Bible or even which bits to include in it. Telling somebody that they are immoral and going to hell based on this is silly. Asking me to believe that all humans descended from two humans is silly. Asking me to believe that the entire planet was flooded and is now populated with so many varieties of fish is silly (yes, fish would die if the planet were flooded).
tj said:
Also – if this is, in fact, a “religious symbol†would the “Pastafarians†support other symbols being placed on that property … purely in the interest of public discourse, naturally.
maybe try finding out the whole story before you make an idiotic comment. there were already other symbols placed on the courthouse lawn before the fsm was constructed. there is a statue of liberty as you can see in the video, as well as 2 christian religious figures.
and even if the great noodley one was the first to grace the lawn, yes we pastafarians would be delighted to share the space will all our fellow religious figures. thats what makes us different.
“Anyone check their calendars? Jeesh”
Yeah, it was posted on 31 March. So…. ?
Pfft…. There’s been a giant statue to the one true creator there for ages, the Invisible Pink Unicorn, just nobody noticed it. Because it’s invisible.
Where is the Ceiling cat statue?
Ariel Safdie..beautiful Jewish name I believe. As a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster it would serve well to go back to your Hebrew roots? If so remember the Shema found in the Hebrew scripture Deut. chap.6 vs 4 and 5. Hear, O Isreal: The Lord our God is one Lord.And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Just a thought to ponder.
Psalm 135: 15-18; Isaiah 44: 9-20; Habakkuk 2: 18-20.
Mr. Hepburn,
Psalm 135: 15-18; Isaiah 44: 9-20; Habakkuk 2: 18-20 are all about making idols and worshiping them. I wonder, does this include the Christian graffiti we are constantly confronted with, the crosses, the crucifixes, the 10 Commandment tablets and such certain Christians are trying to put in and on government building?
the churches certainly do use idols in their worship – crosses and beads etc. I suppose the ten commandments could be put on a display and that display be idolized or whatever
Its good for the village atheists to publicize their viewpoint that atheism is untenable, and that they have agreed to move on to the second stage of the arguement which is about the Nature of the Deity. Certainly, ID has nothing to say about the nature of the Designer–Vishnu, Odin, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or even the Logres.
Of course, people throughout history have claimed to have met Odin, and others, but I don’t recall FSM sitings from the 2nd century. I also don’t recall any martyrs for FSM, or any great hospitals built by FSMers, or well really any effect at all from the FSM…which is rather odd.
So on balance, there is way more evidence that Odin, or Zeus exists than the FSM. And this is not even dealing with the vast amount of historical proof of the Ressurection.
And philosophically, we can go a long way toward proving the Logres, as well.
But hey, you’re atheists, don’t let facts get in your way. Have faith!
If that was the case, then Hinduism is the true religion since it’s much older than even the first Judaic God(s) and Jesus is a knockoff of Zoroaster. We can play too :)
Haha, religion
I commend you guys and have been waiting for a jab like this directed at christian zealots that believe this to be an exclusively christian country. I don’t have much time to write everything that comes to mind, but rock on! Keep up the good fight for 1st amendment rights.
Resurrection?..Evidence? What in the hell are you talking about. The gospels don’t even tell the same story. There were about a dozen people running during that time period making similar claims.
FSM! I freaking love it! I would worship her over the evil Christian ‘god’ any day.
Danielle-actually it’s a “HiM”(see original drawings)
I wonder how long before this thing gets “tarred and feathered”?
the meatballs of the FSM are the remains of many child unbelievers. By the way, the invisible pink unicorn is a hoax, because everyone knows that after the great curry war, he was captured, and sent to the freezing works
This is the biggest, pointless, most useless piece of art I have ever seen
May all be blessed by His noodley appendage, that those who be touched by Him walk (or jog, or run) without fear of being unbound from the Meatballs of Patience & Grace (Left and Right, respectively).
Always strive to please His Noodleyness!
As a fundamentalist pastafarian, i would remind you all that the penalty for creating an image of the HOLY ONE is death! I’m heading now to the land of Dolly Parton to behead all of those involved, then I will blow myself up in front of Graceland as a show of my piety…17 virgins, here I come!!!
The Flying Spaghetti Monster is an important contribution to the question of how an immaterial spirit, be it soul or god or angel, can interact with with the material world. Pasta and meat – or vegetable – sauce contain a large proportion of carbon, and will therefore be able to burn either in the saucepan or in Hell. If knowledge of the Flying Spaghetti Monster had been more widespread in the time of René Descartes he would have felt less need to resort to a questionable version of the ontological argument for the existence of the material world and could have made better use of empirical data such as whether there was a smell of burning in the fireplace where he sat meditating.
Christians supported slavery. Atheists supported eugenics to at the very least the same degree. Thank the Flying Spinach Man that we Rastafarians have done neither!
I actually agree with Jungian philosophy and the Collective Consciousness. Why? So many myths/religions share the same stories… and yes, that includes you too, Christians. Trust me, what you think is original is definitely NOT. Been done & copied before… even Islam, Judeaism, Mormonism, Shintoism all have their roots in other myths/religions. Heck, Scientology has its roots in the Order of the Golden Dawn.
Commandements… the rules that make sense to me are the 8 “I’d really rather you didn’ts” of the FSM.
Plus about idol worship – that cross is so idolized by so many Christians, lots that I personally know. Anyway… to quote Bill Hicks: “If Jesus were to come back, do you think he’d want to see a f**kin’ cross?”
So I rambled.
where do I get the Tshirt?
Where is your god now?
It's a marvel to know that this statue has been erected in the bible-belt. As a Scottish Pastafarian I am envious and am looking forward to the day we have one of these outside our High Court, City Chambers or even Parliament. May His Appendage touch us all, rAmen.
Heed my word Pastafarians
If thou truly believe,thou shalt survive the Great Straining.