Flying Spaghetti Monster is not God, rules mortal judge

Nor was he impressed by Cavanaugh, who had a rather poor grasp on Pastafarianism's key texts, which the judge took the trouble to read.

Well good for that judge, but it's hardly surprising that Cavanaugh has a poor grasp on the key texts, when he's being denied access to study those texts!

Under secular governments and constitutional freedom of religion, there is no such thing as a parody religion. Even a religion abused by some non believers must still be counted as religion by others based upon nothing more than their claiming it.

Take for example atheist Christian ministers who look upon their religion as nothing more than an opportunity to meet the children of the believers of that religion in order to sexual molest those children.

Regardless of the ministers patent lack of belief as demonstrated by their behaviour or the children's lack of understanding of the religion and the ministers junk not being religious objects, the parents of those abused children still have a right to express themselves via that religion.

The judge, should face judgement for the immoral decision to decide what religion others should worship based upon the judges own prejudices.

Ha.

> Implying any religion is anything other than works of fiction or satire.

The judge will soon be in hot water ...

to which tomatoes, spices, herbs and all manner of tasty things are added as he is slowly cooked to become a pasta sauce.

That will teach him!

"To read it as religious doctrine would be little different from grounding a 'religious exercise' on any other work of fiction."

Leaves Scientology in a very precarious position.

Apologies in advance to all Christians......

Right..... the religious texts of Pastafarianism is classed as a parody and worse - a work of fiction, but a book about a woman who becomes pregnant even though she hasn't had sex, a man who can magically turn water into wine (and why wine? why not grapefruit juice?), a book that claims Jesus was born in December - even though it was clearly closer to Spring - even the Christmas Carol While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night to anyone with any common sense tells you it wasn't December, As for the idea that in the time period that people were frightened of Thunder and Lightning because God was mad - people would see a bright star in the sky and go towards it rather than run screaming in the opposite direction, a book where someone dies and then comes back to life..... that is obviously not a work of fiction and is a real documentation of things that actually happened - written down thousands of years after they allegedly happened. The Bible to people who have a clear head actually reads like a book where someone started writing down stories making each one more and more fantastical to see how far people would get through it before going - hang on a minute, this is made up!

Seriously - talking snakes? Adam and Eve and Kane and Able being the only people in the whole world - and yet somehow they were able to find wives outside of the Garden of Eden - where did the people outside of the Garden of Eden come from? Did they just magically appear? And don't even get me started on the way people go "yup, an ark, every single animal in the entire world, 2 of them in fact, even though there is the thing called the food chain which means the vast majority of them are dinner for another animal higher up the food chain, yup - it seems entirely plausible that - that really happened" I mean has anyone ever worked out what the dimensions of this Ark would have had to have been? and How long it would have taken for it to be built? Bearing in mind that not only did the Ark have to be built, but trees needed to be chopped down and made into planks of similar in order to do this? Yup what a totally believable book.........

A prisoner could just as easily read the works of Vonnegut or Heinlein and claim it as his holy book

It's certainly true that Heinlein's 'The Door into Summer' has raised me to a state of ecstatic joy far more often* than any religion has achieved.

* Trivially true, in that |x| + 1 > 0.

"Nor was he impressed by Cavanaugh, who had a rather poor grasp on Pastafarianism's key texts, which the judge took the trouble to read."

Is it too much to hope that those who wish indulgence to behave in an otherwise unacceptable way or illegal way must similarly prove a strong grasp on the central texts that allegedly inform and justify their actions?

That's be great - if you want to discriminate against gay people, you must take a bible quiz.

I'd watch that train-wreck.

Can't We All Just Get A Long?

End of the day, only blinkered people who don't accept the opinions of others will be bothered by this. And unluckily for everyone these people are Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jews, Atheist.

Most religions - Judaism being the exception - all believe that there is a better place to go to after living on Earth. All religions believe that there is some greater body that will exact punishment or praise on to everyone on Earth. So where exactly is it your place to judge?

If you don't believe in Religion then that's fine. You know the score, you live you die, and thats it. There's nothing else beyond the here and now. So why take the piss out of someone who believes in a God and believes in an afterlife? Your spending your short time on Earth by being a dick.

If you believe in God and a Religion (which ever food based one it is) then that's fine. You know the score. You live, you die, you're judged on your actions by the body you believe in. So why are you making life difficult for people who don't believe in what you believe in? Your spending your short time on Earth, where you're being watched, by being a complete dick to someone. You aren't treating them with the respect they deserve.

The common thread with religion is that it's pretty much all the same. The people involved may be different, seen differently, but it's ultimately the same. You live, die, go to heaven or to hell. But above all you shouldn't be a dick. Be nice. It costs nothing.

And the common thread with humans, everyone wants to be liked. Everyone wants to be treated with respect. We're only here for 70ish years? Why spend that time getting annoyed at people and institutions that you don't recognise? You're not going to bring down the Vatican tomorrow, you're not going to force the closure of Mecca next week. Just suck it up, people don't have to agree with you. But it doesn't mean you should be nasty to them.

Life is too bloody short to argue the toss of events that happened thousands of years ago where no body here was around to see it. Be nice.