My daughter (intending to be counterculture and all-knowing): "Daddy, do you know about the Flying Spaghetti Monster?"

Me: "Pastafarianism? Sure. What do you want to know?"

Then followed a discussion about evolution, intelligent design, and the importance of respecting the beliefs of others. :)

In Russia, FSM knows about YOU...

How old is she? Did she get that question from school?

No, she got it from wikipedia. No clue what prompted the enquiry.

:::runs to the wikipedia:::

Pastafarianism is the shit.

Damn. Just too late, we just had our census taken. Pastafarianism would have looked so much better than <blank>.

Mmmmpf - it's been more widely known since 2005 or since the dawn of time depending on one's POV.

Colour me inattentive.

I have finally found a faith that makes [the most] sense.

A heathen no longer ... the FSM /is for me/!!  I'm also much closer to being a pirate than /any/ of you are, nana nana naaa naaa.

I love it.

That's weird. I always thought FSM was a way to make fun of other's beliefs.

Check out the list of 8 "I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts"

#5:  I'd Really Rather You Didn't Challenge The Bigoted, Misogynist, Hateful Ideas Of Others On An Empty Stomach. Eat, Then Go After The Bastard.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gospel_of_the_Flying_Spaghetti_Monster

... what seems to have changed you're opinion on it ???

Aren't you like 38? A "young parent" is 19-25.

My daughter is 15. Are there a lot of 15 year olds with 19-25 year old parents?

Or could this perhaps be a relative thing?

[19]

Oh, my bad.

:)

No biggie.

I know what you mean...I'm more or less the same age as you but through the miracle of getting married in my 30s my two oldest are 19 & 15.

I scored a lot of Kudos when my daughter mentioned "The London Underground Song" and I not only knew it but had it on my palmtop.

I don't intend to teach my kids to respect other's beliefs. I want them to pretend to but snicker at how dumb the people who believe in god are behind their backs.

"snicker at how dumb the people who believe in god are"

At all of them?
They are all dumb?
The overwhelming majority of this rock's population is dumb to you?

"The overwhelming majority of this rock's population is dumb to you?"

That's sorta the inevitable conclusion.

Wouldn't that be slightly arrogant?
Roughly 5 billion people disagree with you, and you say: "They're just dumb".

I'm no believer but that fact does question my disbelief.

"Wouldn't that be slightly arrogant?"

Yes. What's your point? :P

"I'm no believer but that fact does question my disbelief."

Nearly two billion people "believe" in Maoism, but you have no problem dismissing that?

"What's your point"
My point is that arrogance is not something that I would teach my kids.

About maoism: Unfortunately maoism is only believed in by the elite in power. 1.999.999.000 other so called believers try to live their lives and make due under the circustances.