Colander-wearing Irishman denied driver's licence in Pastafarian slapdown Ireland’s anti-discrimination quango has rejected claims that Pastafarianism is a religion after an Irishman insisted on wearing a colander for his driving licence photograph. Two followers of the church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster celebrated the first officially sanctioned Pastafarian wedding in New Zealand earlier this …
No, almost all the first Christians WERE Jews.
Only Pastafarianism was set up as a parody, due to the minority of Christians with unrepresentative (in Christian terms) views and too much power in some USA schools.
Sadly that misguided minority of Christians were unaffected and now too many people are taking Pastafarianism too seriously. Along with Homoeopathy, crystals, "angels", electro-sensitivity and loads of other stuff even nuttier than some of the minority extreme Christian views. Or people that think 911 was the CIA, the moon landings faked and coca-cola is a contraceptive.
See snopes.com
And the Randi foundation.
The problem is obviously gullible people.
Not forgetting chatty Salamanders. Many religions have prospered by a little suave rewriting of the rules. Constantine, King Jim and Joe Smith spring to mind, the gospel according to pasta is in the offing. Furthermore, many accepted religions allow the cloth of conviction to be displayed When and Where the devoted followers so choose. To be true to the cause of passage along the enlightened path of "al dente" the humble but blessed colander is fitting garb.
I'm sympathetic to the FSM cause but I don't think they do it any favours by such claims quoted as "We are fond of beer" or "Every Friday is a religious holiday"
Someone should ask these authorities what their definition of a non-parody religion is. The answer would probably be "I know it when I see it"
if we force the congregation to modify their behaviour
Which is the first step on the road to recognising blasphemy and heresy, with a short hop from there to execution in the name of Dolmio.
(I've just been reading about Theodosius and his imposition of a state religion. It all happened in a remarkably short time.)
I am usually happy to make reasonable exceptions for people's beliefs when sincerely held, religious or otherwise, but that doesn't seem to be the case here. He failed to provide evidence that wearing the colander is essential to his beliefs and, on the contrary, demonstrates that it isn't.
Case closed; file under, "trying it on/taking the piss".
If people want to take FSM as a serious religion then that's fine by me, but they should be serious in doing so.
Shurely he should point out that the ultra-orthodox pastafarians believe the holy colander(*) is only to be worn at home?
In that case he does not need to wear the colander for his driving license - unless he lives in a motor-home.
Surely everyone can see that a colander is a holey item!
I wear my pastafarian headgear every day, for half an hour while I pray and I wear it in public for official photographs that I then keep in my wallet in my pocket in order to spread the good word without being a nuisance. Police people and security guards are the most in need of the good word and the good word is "AAAAaaargh!!!!"
It's like these legal types work together to come up with the same conclusion. Conspiracy!
http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/judge-scolds-pastafarian-over-permission-to-wear-pirate-hat-on-drivers-licence
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/04/14/flying_spaghetti_monster_is_not_god_rules_mortal_judge/
What is the difference between a "parody" religion and a religion founded on plagiarism ? Obviously FSM has a basis in plagiarism - sky entity, holidays, etc - just like all current religions are based on stolen concepts going back before stenciled clay chicken scratch. Who is to say that all modern religions aren't some kind of parody? Who was there when a brain made them up and stole from their predecessors? So, right, no one knows.
Watch, in a hundred years, FSM will become this serious thing that people kill others for and it started as a parody with plagiarized religious concepts. Just like every other major religion. " When the FSM comes back, and he will, soon, he is gonna be pissed because you didn't wear your colander to services on Friday. Yer heading for the scalding pot of boiling water under the earth, you are."
I applaud this guy for taking it as far as he did. It is a public service for reason that he endured the hardship of not driving for so long to make his, well, point.
"For an interesting view on the foundation of religion, [..]"
There is also Frazer's "The Golden Bough". I like the one where they appoint a religious leader who then lives a life of comparative luxury and ease ...until too many natural disasters suggest his power is waning and they get rid of him with extreme prejudice. That would give modern clerics a pause for thought.
"I applaud this guy for taking it as far as he did. It is a public service for reason that he endured the hardship of not driving for so long to make his, well, point."
It does, in reality, raise a very good point by forcing these government bodies to actually *think* about what a religion is and which ones may or may not have special dispensations. Scientology comes to mind as being recognised in some jurisdictions as a religion and as merely as a cult of nutters in most others, The arguments raised against Pastefarianism (all hail his noodly appendages!) can apply equally against most religions but most especially against new modern cults like scientology.
Bootnote
My spellchecker wants to "correct" Pastefarianism with Egalitarianism, which I find both amusing and appropriate.
If he'd said he believed that during the time of the dinosaurs, billions of people landed on Teegeeack (that's Earth to you, unbelievers), then got blown up with nukes while standing around volcanoes .... they would have let him pose for his photo in his magic underwear. No human endeavor is more deserving of parody than religion.
The one with my thetan in the pocket.
And why would someone's belief in the Linguini lord, Pasta Prophets, Holy Minestrone, Angel hair, spaghetti Sabbath, Fettuccini Friars be denied them.
It is amazing as children we are told about the tooth fairy, sandman, monsters, Santa clause, Easter bunny, and all the religions. Then, when we are "Old enough" to understand we are told that they are all make believe, except of course for the religion...that of course is less preposterous than the others, and is real...
How old must we be, and who will tell us, when we are ready, that it is all BS, designed to make us obedient...
Sure, follow gods laws, if you don't then you will go to a bad place after you die. So don't be mad if the ones at the top are evil, terrorists, fascist treasonous thugs, traitors and sick club members, yeah, god will deal with them once they are done hurting people in this realm...so no need to rise up, or protest, or seek new leaders. all is good...
This is why religion exists.
If you believe in god, which I think may be possible, but I am making no bets on it, then treat it like picking your nose:
Don't do it in public
Don't wipe it all over other people
Wash the filth off afterwards
Don't listen to anybody who knows the best way to pick, or where to wipe it
If God exists then IT is NOTHING like those who wish to control us or the parasites who leach off of us portray, as by definition the mind would be incapable of comprehending a being outside of a linear time/fixed space 4 dimensional universal experience perspective.
I am not a member or the order of meatballs and spaghetti.
But you may refer to me as Monsignor mostaccioli, Boiled off of the great Friar Fettuccini, and Baked with the Great Dal ilasagna himself while under the watchful all seeing eye of Rabi rigatoni
"
Joe was about to learn, that in the future, justice was not only blind, but had become rather retarded as well.
You think Einstein walked around thinking everyone was a bunch of dumb-shits? Now you know why he built that bomb.
personally I feel the Pastafarians have it all wrong. These European religions have misunderstood the teachings of the Chinese Flying Noodle worshipers. These mystics have extensive writings, but are badly translated.
There most well-known acts are sustained periods of naked sun worship, otherwise known as noodling. A lesser known practice is wearing clothing made from knitted noodles, used on long journeys and providing both warmth and food. Especially favourite and worn by men are reinforced dried cod-noodles, used as protection and requiring a lot of chewing when eaten
"Surely the thing that defines a religion is sincere belief, nothing else"
Well that lets out the majority of people who say they are religious. It's mostly lip service to the shibboleths of your childhood insecurity that has become your adult identity.
The only sincerely held views are the personal social prejudices that they can then claim are authorised by their dogma.
"Surely the thing that defines a religion is sincere belief, nothing else.
If you sincerely believe in something/anything then who are "they" to say it is or isn't legitimately a religion?"
And there in lies the problem - what if your sincere "belief" is that some element of society is wrong and that it's your duty to execute them. Does that grant you the freedom to follow your religion?
There needs to be a consensus of acceptable behaviour, and Pastafarianism is a political tool to show a mirror to religion and religious beliefs. If there is anyone on the planet who truly believes in the FSM then they've missed the point completely.
Laws are supposed to be objective, and the Supreme Court of the US has stated that a religion needn't be "comprehensible", but the same decision weighed the security interest of prison authorities vs. religious freedom. It said if the freedom interests didn't interfere with the security ones, then the religious freedom should prevail. It then found places where it did, such as allowing candles in the prisoner's cell.
Anyway, the FSM religion's tenant is to parody other religions. Parody is acceptable. Indeed, it's even comprehensible. Thus, it should prevail as long as it doesn't interfere with other legitimate state interests.
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