How is belief in God different than belief in a Flying Spaghetti Monster?

from the old testament

• Genesis 1 tells us God created life and the universe. Common sense tells us that complex designs require a Designer. Something cannot come from nothing (if it could, why don’t things pop into existence all that time?).
• Psalm 19:1 uses this common sense argument for God’s existence: "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." Nature provides evidence of design.

from the new testament

• In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote, "For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made" (Romans 1:20). Creation itself provides evidence of God's existence.
• Paul identifies the cause of people not believing what is plain for them to see: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them” (Romans 1:18-19; emphasis added).
• Jesus indicated this same reason in his conversation with Nicodemas: “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (John 3:19). Many people love sin more than they love God. Believing in God means that people have moral responsibilities; people reject God because they want to live their way rather than God’s way.
• The popularity of the flying spaghetti monster tactic should come as no surprise. As the apostle Peter wrote, “. . . scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires” (2 Peter 3:3). Believers shouldn't be surprised when scoffers reject God's wisdom. It happened in Noah's time (Genesis 6:5-7). The “flying spaghetti monster” is a disingenuous analogy whose purpose is to mock the Christian worldview.
• Ultimately, those who are in darkness need light. Jesus called Christians to be “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). We should share the truth with atheists and those who are deceived by false analogies like the flying spaghetti monster. If after hearing the truth multiple times, they still choose to ignore all evidence, remain in darkness, and mock the messengers, believers are within their rights to take Jesus’ advice to His apostles: “And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town” (Matthew 10:14).

implications for today

From a philosophical perspective, evidence for the God of the Bible can be seen in the argument from contingency (the idea of a necessary Being that is timeless), the argument from the beginning of the universe (God being the first cause), and the argument from absolute moral values.

Advances in science also confirm the existence of God. The current understanding is that the universe exploded into existence out of nothing. This evidence strengthens the philosophical argument for a first cause. Further, the incredible fine-tuning of the universe for human life and the confirmation of specified complexity point to an intelligent source behind it all.

Historically, the life of Jesus of Nazareth affirms the existence of God. The best explanation of what occurred is that the New Testament account of God being the cause is reasonable to believe.

So, there is evidence of the biblical God's existence; there is no evidence of the Flying Spaghetti Monster's existence. Even those who put forward the Flying Spaghetti Monster theory do not believe its existence. While the Flying Spaghetti Monster may, on the surface, seem to challenge the existence of God, it suffers from too many intellectual and rational flaws to be considered credible.