We’ve followed the adventures of the Pastafarians with some interest because of the strange turns they take.
Originally a concept invented by new atheists to mock the growing evidence against Darwinism as their creation story, pastafarianism has seemingly morphed into ridicule of actual religions by insisting on getting one’s face on a driver’s licence while wearing a spaghetti strainer. And so now, from Masachusetts:
The Mass. Registry of Motor Vehicles is allowing a Pastafarian woman to wear a colander in her driver’s license picture.
This comes after The American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center’s attorneys were enlisted to assist with the woman’s appeal after she was denied the right to wear it in her license photo by the RMV. More.
She hopes other Pastafarians will come forward to express their religious beliefs. Based on their history: Not likely; if they are new atheists, as is most likely, they will simply campaign against freedom of religion, and increasingly, against intellectual freedom* generally.
From our files on the pastafarians:
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Spaghetti Monster apparition converts Germans
| February 24, 2015 | Posted by News under Culture, Darwinism, Intelligent Design, News |
They seek recognition of an FSM church. Or something.
Okay, where are the chocolate pretzels? You ate ‘em all, you buy next. From Public Radio International (PRI):
After the service finished, I asked Weida if he actually believed in the divine nature of the “Flying Spaghetti Monster.” “It’s a hard question for a Pastafarian,” he said. “We are all separated into two persons inside.”
“Of course, I believe. But, of course, I also know it doesn’t exist,” Weida explained.
Weida said he doesn’t see himself strictly as an atheist, but rather a humanist. “We are also not a religious group,” Weida explained. “But we adhere to a Weltanshauung,” or a complete worldview. The more I asked for details about that worldview, the more ridiculous the answers got. For example, on the question of heaven, Weida said Pastafarians believe in a heaven-like existence in the afterlife that includes large amounts of beer and great numbers of strippers.
Pastafarianism actually started about a decade ago in the United States. A 24-year-old physics graduate named Bobby Henderson introduced the deity of the Flying Spaghetti Monster in an open letter of protest to education officials in Kansas. They had proposed teaching intelligent design in biology classes. Henderson’s letter went viral. And it spawned a largely Internet-based movement.
Weida told me he believes in freedom of religion, but that he doesn’t have much respect for mainstream organized religion. He is pushing for official recognition of his church to make a political statement about what he sees as the privileged position that religious organizations have in German society. More.
The thing is, they could be getting more that they bargained for. The FSM was invented to mock design in nature and by extension the ID community. But the joke could be getting out of hand.
We don’t really care about their antics one way or the other but their posters were banned at London U and they got beat up in Moscow. It’s a high price to pay for something they don’t clearly/clearly don’t (?) believe in. Or to make some point for which a few op-eds would suffice.
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*There are a few exceptions, of course. Some new atheists have started to express “concern” about political correctness (also here), and even insist on the right to talk honestly about Islamic terror. Wonder how long that’ll last, enjoy it meanwhile.
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