Guest Columnist, Craig Cooper, had his piece, “Hail to the Pastafarians”, published in the Post Register today.  “Cooper is a local scientist with expertise in energy, environmental, and policy issues; and a former member of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s legislative staff.”

Excerpts from his article,

My pastor and I were chatting after church the other day, and he shared the story of an interesting Nativity display that that some Pastafarians put up in a small Virginia town. . . .

Ya’ll will not be surprised to learn that this display was a tad bit controversial!  My pastor, however, was amused by the display’s creativity and seemed to consider it an example of how, “God works in mysterious ways.” . . .

The Pastafarians originated as a response to the growing political influence of fundamentalist Christian organizations. . . .

Many Pastafarians believe success in this endeavor could weaken the political power of Christian fundamentalism, and bring our society closer to a world where facts are established by science — not religion.

I am a Christian.  But I am also a scientist.  Many people see conflict in this.  I do not. . . .

To prosper, human society needs both science and religion.  Yet, we also need to understand the limits of each.  The Pastafarians can help us to better understand the limits of these two worlds of thought, and God bless them for that.

Let me say that I am a Christian who holds to bedrock fundamentals of Christian doctrine.  And secondly, I care not really about the power of American politics or its current trends (less so, I am sure, than Cooper).

But when Craig brings in a flying spaghetti monster into the debate between theistic evolution and creationism, what technique do you call this in debate?  In pofo format, how would you respond when your opponent throws out to you the meatballs?

(laughter?)