O'Reilly James Flowers/Pastafarianism

<O'Reilly James Flowers

Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2015 20:41:01
Subject: Pastafarianism
From: Nathan Larson <redacted>
To: Michael Suarez <redacted>

What would be your reaction if you made a new friend and they eventually started talking about their Pastafarian religious beliefs? Perhaps you would say, "Oh, I guess you just took that up as a shtick to annoy and mock Christians, right?"

But suppose they responded, "No, no, it's really real! I've been touched by his noodly appendage!" and went on and on about how the Flying Spaghetti Monster changed their life. Might you not eventually wonder, "Wow, does he really believe this? Or is this just the most elaborate prank that's ever been played on me? Is this just a game he plays for his own amusement?"

When you run into a Christian, Buddhist, etc. you can explain their beliefs by thinking, "This is a serious religion that most people joined through the influence of their parents, or by having a major crisis such as going to prison that made them want to turn to God, etc." With Pastafarianism, one is left wondering, how could a person come to seriously believe in it?

Don't reveal that I said this, but that is the closest metaphor I can think of for what it's like to talk to Jasper. August concluded that he was insane, but sometimes I suspect that he consciously chooses to live in fantasy, and even profit by it. But it's really hard to tell definitively.

-- 
Nathan