Sam Harris

http://www.venganza.org/

I used to think this goof was pretty cool beans, until I spent some time on the forum and saw people ernestly referring to it as their "religion." Then the founder of the thing set up a Paypal account and asked for donations to buy a sailboat for his own private use. Charlatan.

This is called humor.

In this case it’s being used to criticize religious nonsense, so mimicking religious nonsense in a humorous manner is part of the package—in fact that’s pretty much the whole schtick, and it goes a long way. The only thing adherents are actually taking seriously in all of that (if anything) is that they’re taking shots at a very worthy target.

Byron

Whenever people portrayed televangelists as making themselves rich by manipulating believers, I assumed these critics were creating a caricature based on their memories of church collection plates. But “The Real Frank Zappa Book” has a couple of transcripts of televangelists. If these are real, then there may certainly be something to the stereotype. Still, my biggest concern about televangelists is when they advocate theocracy.

[quote author=“SkepticX”]This is called humor.

In this case it’s being used to criticize religious nonsense…

Yes, I’m aware of that. That’s why I thought it was so cool in the first place. However, some frequent posters are not being satirical in their embrace of the “religion,” they’re looking to be part of an extended family and feel the gratification of belonging. Granted, the ones who talk about their “religion” with a straight face are mostly about 15 years old.

And—now hear this—the founder guy (name escapes me just now) actually did set up a Paypal account and ask for money to buy himself a sailboat. Not the pirate ship he used to talk about, but a lil’ sailboat for his own personal enjoyment. It wasn’t satire, he just wanted a sailboat. Even posted pictures of one he was looking at. So, the guy who started out mocking religion so creatively succumbed to the same temptations as the rest of the charlatans.

There. Now I’ve said the same thing twice. Hope I’m being clear this time.

I will gladly kick in a few bucks so Bobby Henderson can ply the waters of free thought and creativity a little longer.  I figure the entertainment value he has given me through the Gospel of the FSM, and the emblems, and the pirate regalia, and the notion of pastafarianism are worth it.  I don’t think he is a cynical person preying on the earnest belief of his flock, like the worst of the televangelists.  I don’t think there is a single person in the entire pastafarian community who truly believes that the Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is real, in the way that some people believe that Jesus Christ is real.  I think, like me, they get a kick out of it, they enjoy the humor, and yes—it is fun to be a part of a community, even if it’s an exceedingly goofy one.

Yeah, you’re right about all that. It was fun for a while, but as a personal thing, I just couldn’t get past the buy-me-a-sailboat bit.

I still suspect it’s all meant as a joke, but I haven’t seen the solicitation on the site—couldn’t find it last time I looked, but I didn’t put a whole hell of a lot of effort into it either. It’s something I’ll try and dig into one of these weekends.

Byron

[quote author=“SkepticX”]I still suspect it’s all meant as a joke, but I haven’t seen the solicitation on the site—couldn’t find it last time I looked, but I didn’t put a whole hell of a lot of effort into it either. It’s something I’ll try and dig into one of these weekends.

Byron

It was on their messageboard, which is really difficult to navigate. A few months ago, he had it on the front page, but I haven’t looked since then. For all I know, he may have come to his senses and deleted any mention of it.