Touched By His Noodly Appendage

During introduction to religious studies we have studied and scrutinized different religions and the traditions that follow them. In one of my prior post I commented on the reasoning behind taking this course. I wanted to examine religious beliefs in order to contemplate whether there really is or was such thing as a god. Some points that have slowly penetrated my mind have been

Religion as a backup- In which people use religion to explain the world through stories that are sometimes not rationally true.

When these stories begin to gain momentum among populations these religions and beliefs create stories that accommodate the followers in ways that are advantageous for them.

Some ways for scholars to study certain religions are by using the Historical- critical method or by analyzing the system of symbols. When using the historical critical method scholars may want to examine the historical context of the religious scriptures and try to apply it to the society of that time period. This application could reveal how the beliefs correlate from the origins of the religion to what has become of it.

The system of symbols is fairly simple to understand. It is researching certain key symbols that relate to a religion or belief and to elaborate on their meaning towards that particular faith.

My view on religion is now plagued with what I believe to be false faiths that are created to only help a certain group of people in society. This has led me to elaborate on a faith called Pastafarianism. 

The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster otherwise known as pastafarianism was first introduced in 2005 by Bobby Henderson. Henderson is known to be the prophet of pastafarianism. This belief was introduced in a letter by Henderson that protested the decision of Kansas state board of education to allow the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to teaching evolution. Henderson argued in this letter that if the school board wanted to teach science as intelligent design then it should be taught as “one third time for intelligent design, one third time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism(Pastafarianism), and one third time for logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence”. Since the beginning of this faith in 2005 it seems that slowly but surely new evidence arises that holds the belief to be true, per say. This belief was created to thwart the attempt of allowing creationism to be taught in schools and since its creations many people have become followers.

Pastafarianism seems to be a direct attack on creationism, which tries to show that the earth and everything that inhabits it has to have come from some sort of supernatural being. In most cases many people view creationism to have one overall deity or God, which happens to come from Christian teaching and belief. The fact that creationism only applies to the Christian God saying that everything that is has come from him has sparked controversy.  School boards have now been trying to teach this theory in science courses. Henderson Believes that this idea is biased and favors Christianity, therefore he created what he believes is the original religion, pastafarianism.

I believe Henderson and the Pastafarian movement want to show society that religions can sometimes be misconstrued in order to benefit some and not others. Henderson reaffirms this notion in his “comment on the open letter” where he writes “future goals for the church include becoming recognized as a legitimate religious organization with all the inherit benefits *and tax  loopholes* that mainstream religions enjoy”. He wants to show that certain religions claim beliefs only to benefit the few who started it.

http://www.venganza.org/about/open-letter/

Since the creation of the Pastafarian movement Henderson has come out with “The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster”, in which he explains in detail the creation of the earth and how the flying Spaghetti monster created everything. When reading through the Pastafarian official website they continuously remind readers and followers that this is a real religion although many protesters of the religion try to call it a satire on belief. The most important part about this religion is that there are no rigorous traditions to follow and that ever person who follows the faith has a say in what it should become. 

When trying to examine this faith in a historical- critical style it is almost impossible. I say this because it is believed that the flying spaghetti monster is God and this God has the ability to change whatever he feels necessary. The gospel reaffirms that the world is not billions of years old rather only thousands and that when scientist try to perform experiments that validate the old world the flying spaghetti monster is there tampering with the data. The belief has found ways or loop holes that keep historians and scientist from trying to denounce its religious backing. Here even the system of symbols becomes hard to employ. In the picture below-

We can see certain aspects of the Rastafarian religion due to the color in the background. These colors indicate that in many aspects both religions want to be freed from persecution and ultimately want to gain freedom. The difference is that Pastafarianism sees freedom as religious freedom. The fish itself is very important. The eye patch it is wearing resembles that of a pirate. Pirates are known to be the original pastafarians, hence they are depicted in most of the beliefs propaganda. Pastafarians believe that global warming is a direct effect of the dwindling number of pirates left on the earth.

The religion itself  allows its followers to create their own vision of what they should believe and how to follow it. Niko Alm pictured below is a devout follower and believed that the head garment he should wear to show his religion in his license was a spaghetti strainer to show his faith. It took three years for the Austrian government to pass the identification card. Alm’s argument was that the sieve was a requirement of his faith. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14135523

This topic in religion interested me because I feel as if it applies to the religions we have learned. This religion has been based on the same premises of prior religions but because it is so absurd many people feel as if it does not warrant the approval of being called a religion.  Maybe they should scrutinize their own religion before casting doubts on others.

Jo the con artist

In class we have been reading the Book of Mormon. This week we were made to read the book of Abraham which was translated once again by Joseph Smith. When reading through the text it increasingly becomes very related to the text of the Book of Nephi. A correlation that I made while reading through the book of Abraham was that the old Egyptian text happened to sound remarkably similar to that of the original Book of Mormon although those text came from tablets that no one has ever seen. It seems that Joseph Smith was a con artist but was a great writer. In his original translations of the Book of Mormon it seems as if he tried to give Americans an excuse for the genocide of Native Americans. In the Book of Abraham it seemed as if he were writing it to give an excuse for why slavery should be okay. Joseph Smith translated ancient works and lied in the process to profit his own lifestyle.

Jo Shmoe

In religious studies class this past Monday we spoke about the Book of Mormon and how to understand it. This religion I believe seems like others that we have studied in the past. It is a religion that was established to answer questions for a certain group of people. These answers help the group of people to understand the world in a view that all can agree with. In this case, I believe that the book of Mormon speaks out to Americans in the New World. The answer that it gave, through a system of symbols, was a suitable explanation for why Americans should have taken the New World and done away with the residents that were there before hand.

In the Third Book of Nephi in the Book of Mormon it affirms the coming of Jesus Christ and the word that he spread onto the house of Israel and most importantly to the people of Nephi. In the twenty second chapter it portrays and gives Jesus ‘explanation for why there would be Gentiles in the new world. This account was written so that it would seem to have been written at the time, however it mysteriously seems to facilitate an understanding for why Americans, who are Mormon, have been placed in the New World. A part of the Third Book of Nephi that stood out to me was,

“For in that day, for my sake shall the Father work a work, which shall be a great and a marvelous work among them; and there shall be among them those who will not believe it, although a man shall declare it unto them. But behold, the life of my servant shall be in my hand; therefore they shall not hurt him, although he shall be marred because of them. Yet I will heal him, for I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil.”

The reason that this excerpt stood out to me was because it pertains, to what I believe, is the beginning of Mormonism in the New World. Joseph Smith is known as the official translator of the tablets that were found in upstate New York. It seems all to conventional that this segment would have been said by Jesus. This excerpt helps justify Joseph Smith in his translations and findings. So when the Book of Mormon was received by Americans it allowed reasoning for why the tablets would be found in the New World and also secured Joseph Smith in the hands of Jesus. Maybe I’m looking to into the whole excerpt but its seems kind of peculiar.

Can't We All Have A Peace?

In religious studies we are reading Baha’u’llah: A Short Biography. Throughout this biography we get to understand Baha’u’llah’s faith and why he believes in it. The Baha’i is the religion or faith that was established and pushed forth by Baha’u’llah. This faith is based on unity and compassion. It is the faith of unifying but having religions excel and move forward. What strikes me interesting about this religion is that Baha’u’llah believes in a reoccurring system of faith. He believes that god has spoken to not only him but other messengers of the faith. He is not trying push religious ideology onto people however stating that religion evolves or that faith evolves. Religious faith has different eras. If this is so then the system of symbols must be all over the place. It incorporates different faiths and the symbols of those religions. This is why their churches have symbols of different religions reflecting the unity that should be perpetuated by the faith. Faith should be what one believes in, whether that be a god, idle, toy, or comic book character, people should follow what is in their heart while understanding that there should be peace among all.

Fundamental Compassion

Karen Armstrong’s short video on compassion named, Charter for Compassion, Begins with this sentence, “A militant kind of aggressive religiosity sometimes called fundamentalism has grown up in every single one of the major world traditions as a rebellion against this imbalanced world, a rebellion against humiliation, powerless”, evoking the sentiment that has grown around the world and more importantly around religion. The idea or theory of fundamentalism began with the protestant church in the 20^th century. This idea may have been expressed and written down then, however I do believe that this idea has been a cyclical and monotonous motif throughout time.

                The idea of adhering to a specific theology and believing that the rest of the world should also do the same has been part of history as we know it. It has been the root cause of many disputes and conflicts. This reasoning pushes forth the idea of compassion within religion and also the world. This compassion is the idea that religions should be able to overcome intolerance and unite human beings under the umbrella of peace. Karen Armstrong believes in this idea as so I believe Baha'u'llah also did. His faith as reflected in his biography seems to correspond with that of Armstrong’s. He tried to spread the word of religious tolerance in an era that had horrible communication networks. He sent letters to world leaders stating that he was the one promised in the scriptures but more importantly that he wanted to establish the conditions for peace around the world. This initiative I believe was motivated by not only his faith but his understanding that faith should be seen in a positive light no matter which faith you follow or believe in. It is the will of people that can illuminate a path to justice, righteousness, and peace but we need many to understand and believe in the faith of all religions.

Losing my Balance

So as my religious studies class progresses I have noticed that I have began to study myself and what I believe in. I don’t believe that I am examining my religion per say but I do believe that I have had more introspective thoughts on my core values and morals. We have been researching and examining the Rastafari way of life and culture. This culture has really made me think deeper about the society I live in versus those that I might have, once in my life thought down upon. During class we watched a video on  Bob Marley and why he smokes ganja. What he said really had an impact on me. It wasn’t the part about ganja that really inspired me rather it was his statement on why he gets upset when other people and other societies do not let him live his life in peace. The small subtly of wanting to restrict ganja opened up a door for why should any other culture of societal influence be allowed to enforce provisions or laws that prohibit another cultures attitudes. So with that said it made realize certain aspects of my life have been determined for me before I could even judge whether I like the consequences of the prior. It made me want to think outside of the bubble whether that be the Lawrence bubble, or the social constructions that have been imposed on society due to what I would call a media revolution. Think about it and start making your own decisions and not the ones that would be deemed as normal if that’s not your thang. Peace and love.

Life, Liberty, and DANCE baby!!!

In religious studies we have begun to discuss and thus learn about the Rastafarian culture. Through analyzing two different sources, “Rastafari: From Outcast to Culture Bearers” written by Ennis Barrington Edmonds and a brief documentary titled “Orden Boboshanti- Creecias Rastas”. Both of these sources help shed light on the Rastafarian way of life and culture. These sources show us how group organization and routines lead to a feeling of legitimization within the culture. Like we discussed in class the logic behind the religious culture of the Rastafari stem from

1)      Ideas- Where oppression and social stratification allow for a disruption in society

2)      Charismatic leader- A leader or prophet who can persuade a division within society to believe and stand under one understanding and way of life

This leads to institutionalization or routinization where, eventually the charisma of the leader becomes imbedded within the fabric of that new society.   Thus the culture becomes tradition and society deems it rational and begins to follow its structure and authority. The Rastafarian religion failed to become established, however the ideals of it were so imbedded in society that many people believed Rastafari created a promise land, Ethiopia, and deemed Jamaica as Babylon.

                In both of the above mentioned sources we can see a clear system of symbols that,  in many respects, creates order within the society. In the documentary the Rastafari society that livesin that remote village call themselves the Boboshanti. A key symbol that they participate in is within the use of their reggae. The Boboshanti prey five times daily. In each prayer they use reggae and dance to demonstrate their efforts in the fight for a better society. Reggae becomes this routine that they can unite themselves under and helps  to  illustrate their struggles and how to  overcome them. In the monograph mentioned above it states that reggae is a medium of sorts in which society may be restored and regain self awareness it is also a way in which people learn what they believe to be the truth within society. We can clearly see that the Boboshanti wish to do this through reggae in seconds 49 and minute 2:32 within the documentary.