An Austrian atheist has won the right to be shown on his driving-licence photo wearing a pasta strainer as "religious headgear".
Mr Alm said the sieve was a requirement of his religion, pastafarianism. A self-confessed atheist, Mr Alm says he belongs to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a light-hearted faith whose members call themselves pastafarians.
Mr Alm's pastafarian-style application for a driving licence was a response to the Austrian recognition of confessional headgear in official photographs.
His point being... what, exactly?
This user would like to thank for this useful post:
He's that kid in the back of the class, acting up, begging to get thrown out, terrified of being asked why he's doing what he's doing. Atheism is about an absence of theism. You can't "be" an Atheist. The guy's a c0ck
This user would like to thank for this useful post:
He's that kid in the back of the class, acting up, begging to get thrown out, terrified of being asked why he's doing what he's doing. Atheism is about an absence of theism. You can't "be" an Atheist. The guy's a c0ck
Well I'm an atheist.
As in I believe in no gods.
Absence of theism. Absence in belief in god.
A = no/anti/not, theos = god, ist = one who is
no god believer = a theo ist
By the way, the romans convicted most early christians and jews on the charge of atheism, because they didn't believe in the gods, including the god augustus. So actually, if you think about it, if you don't believe in any one of the gods you are technically an atheist.
He's that kid in the back of the class, acting up, begging to get thrown out, terrified of being asked why he's doing what he's doing. Atheism is about an absence of theism. You can't "be" an Atheist. The guy's a c0ck
I also agree that it's supposed to be an absence of belief and being really into it is kind of weird. But does that strip them of any right to make a statement about equality in the face of the law, as this guy is doing (albeit in a slightly snarky way)?
Atheism is accepted in Western society now, but there seems to be an attitude of "OK, you don't believe, but shut up about it". That doesn't work for me. We see Bible verses on huge advertisements and don't bat an eye, but a bus campaign with atheist notions was fair game to ban. A guy wearing a hat for "legitimate" religions is OK (the criteria for legitimacy in this thread seems to be having held a system of belief and suffered for long enough), but a pastafarist does it, and lo and behold, the usual suspects from our resident Religion Defense Force are not impressed.
There are different levels of tolerance for how noisy different systems of belief are allowed to be before they become "militant" and atheists seem to be considered as such when their volume level is above "0".
The following 6 users would like to thank Russkov for this useful post:
I also agree that it's supposed to be an absence of belief and being really into it is kind of weird. But does that strip them of any right to make a statement about equality in the face of the law, as this guy is doing (albeit in a slightly snarky way)?
What you should not forget is that the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) was "created" as a reaction to a Kansas School Board's decision that Intelligent Design (ID) should be thought in BIOLOGY CLASSES, with the argument that ID is a SCIENTIFIC theory and thus a direct SCIENTIFIC alternative to the theory of evolution.
Quote:
<H2>Open Letter To Kansas School Board
Quote:
I am writing you with much concern after having read of your hearing to decide whether the alternative theory of Intelligent Design should be taught along with the theory of Evolution. I think we can all agree that it is important for students to hear multiple viewpoints so they can choose for themselves the theory that makes the most sense to them. I am concerned, however, that students will only hear one theory of Intelligent Design.
Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was He who created all that we see and all that we feel. We feel strongly that the overwhelming scientific evidence pointing towards evolutionary processes is nothing but a coincidence, put in place by Him.
It is for this reason that I’m writing you today, to formally request that this alternative theory be taught in your schools, along with the other two theories. In fact, I will go so far as to say, if you do not agree to do this, we will be forced to proceed with legal action. I’m sure you see where we are coming from. If the Intelligent Design theory is not based on faith, but instead another scientific theory, as is claimed, then you must also allow our theory to be taught, as it is also based on science, not on faith.
Some find that hard to believe, so it may be helpful to tell you a little more about our beliefs. We have evidence that a Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe. None of us, of course, were around to see it, but we have written accounts of it. We have several lengthy volumes explaining all details of His power. Also, you may be surprised to hear that there are over 10 million of us, and growing. We tend to be very secretive, as many people claim our beliefs are not substantiated by observable evidence.
What these people don’t understand is that He built the world to make us think the earth is older than it really is. For example, a scientist may perform a carbon-dating process on an artifact. He finds that approximately 75% of the Carbon-14 has decayed by electron emission to Nitrogen-14, and infers that this artifact is approximately 10,000 years old, as the half-life of Carbon-14 appears to be 5,730 years. But what our scientist does not realize is that every time he makes a measurement, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is there changing the results with His Noodly Appendage. We have numerous texts that describe in detail how this can be possible and the reasons why He does this. He is of course invisible and can pass through normal matter with ease.
I’m sure you now realize how important it is that your students are taught this alternate theory. It is absolutely imperative that they realize that observable evidence is at the discretion of a Flying Spaghetti Monster. Furthermore, it is disrespectful to teach our beliefs without wearing His chosen outfit, which of course is full pirate regalia. I cannot stress the importance of this enough, and unfortunately cannot describe in detail why this must be done as I fear this letter is already becoming too long. The concise explanation is that He becomes angry if we don’t.
You may be interested to know that global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the shrinking numbers of Pirates since the 1800s. For your interest, I have included a graph of the approximate number of pirates versus the average global temperature over the last 200 years. As you can see, there is a statistically significant inverse relationship between pirates and global temperature.
In conclusion, thank you for taking the time to hear our views and beliefs. I hope I was able to convey the importance of teaching this theory to your students. We will of course be able to train the teachers in this alternate theory. I am eagerly awaiting your response, and hope dearly that no legal action will need to be taken. I think we can all look forward to the time when these three theories are given equal time in our science classrooms across the country, and eventually the world; One third time for Intelligent Design, one third time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism (Pastafarianism), and one third time for logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence.
Sincerely Yours,
Bobby Henderson, concerned citizen.
P.S. I have included an artistic drawing of Him creating a mountain, trees, and a midget. Remember, we are all His creatures.
</H2>
The following 2 users would like to thank SamWeiseVielleicht for this useful post:
I also agree that it's supposed to be an absence of belief and being really into it is kind of weird. But does that strip them of any right to make a statement about equality in the face of the law, as this guy is doing (albeit in a slightly snarky way)?
Atheism is accepted in Western society now, but there seems to be an attitude of "OK, you don't believe, but shut up about it". That doesn't work for me. We see Bible verses on huge advertisements and don't bat an eye, but a bus campaign with atheist notions was fair game to ban. A guy wearing a hat for "legitimate" religions is OK (the criteria for legitimacy in this thread seems to be having held a system of belief and suffered for long enough), but a pastafarist does it, and lo and behold, the usual suspects from our resident Religion Defense Force are not impressed.
There are different levels of tolerance for how noisy different systems of belief are allowed to be before they become "militant" and atheists seem to be considered as such when their volume level is above "0".
Atheism is also a BELIEF (religion), as atheists believe that there is no God but cannot proof their faith any better than others theirs.
I also agree that it's supposed to be an absence of belief and being really into it is kind of weird. But does that strip them of any right to make a statement about equality in the face of the law, as this guy is doing (albeit in a slightly snarky way)?
Atheism is accepted in Western society now, but there seems to be an attitude of "OK, you don't believe, but shut up about it". That doesn't work for me. We see Bible verses on huge advertisements and don't bat an eye, but a bus campaign with atheist notions was fair game to ban. A guy wearing a hat for "legitimate" religions is OK (the criteria for legitimacy in this thread seems to be having held a system of belief and suffered for long enough), but a pastafarist does it, and lo and behold, the usual suspects from our resident Religion Defense Force are not impressed.
There are different levels of tolerance for how noisy different systems of belief are allowed to be before they become "militant" and atheists seem to be considered as such when their volume level is above "0".
Firstly, I definitely tolerate "Atheists" shouting about atheism. It irritates the hell out of me, but even I irritate the hell out of me occasionally so I won't hold that against them. It's just disappointing.
I don't know why - certainly there doesn't need to be a connection between God and religion, but all these Atheists who profess to be so strong of function and independent of mind are busy creating the Religion of No God replete with special books, special symbols, special leaders. For me, atheism is about filling the time and mental space usually devoted to God and religion with travel and tennis and hopscotch. It isn't about writing books to convince people that there is no God. The very idea is absurd. Whole books, loads of them, written by surprisingly few people (one readily springs to mind - The Leader) chattering endlessly about "well...there's no proof but it's incredibly unlikely". Thing is - atheists will arise naturally. They'll throw off religion and get on with the rest of life. But artificial atheists - atheists "convinced" by some book or other will view it as yet another religion. A religion that, instead of rewarding them with an infinite paradisical afterlife, will reward them with a big bag of Smug to take to the pub after work. "You know mate, you believe in one god, the guy in the curry house believes in 3 gods, I believe in no god and none of us believes in Zeus - we're all Atheists for Zeus and most of the gods out there" "Wow, that's really clever. I'd love to be able to impress others and show that I'm a free thinker. I think I'll join your club. Are there any recommended books I should pick up?"
And so it is. Legion Atheists, still slave to their human impulse to belong to something, anything as long as it makes them feel good. Almost none of them have moved beyond anything, almost none of them think independently or know really what they believe at all. One day, Team Atheist will engage in a Holy/Not Holy War with Team God.
Anyway, I just wish most atheists were as I'd like them to be, people who just got on with living life, having surpassed religion and believe and faith and god.
The following 2 users would like to thank for this useful post:
That religion is a ridiculous waste of time and effort.
You'll have to fill us in on the details of how the decison of an Austrian court can prove such a thing.
Here we have the great philosophers and thinkers from all over the world debating the topic for at least 4000 years and coming up with various theories and explanations and counter-theories and counter-explanations and then a bunch of lawyers proves it just like that. Must be the most significant news item of the last four millenia.
You'll have to fill us in on the details of how the decison of an Austrian court can prove such a thing.
Here we have the great philosophers and thinkers from all over the world debating the topic for at least 4000 years and coming up with various theories and explanations and counter-theories and counter-explanations and then a bunch of lawyers proves it just like that. Must be the most significant news item of the last four millenia.
I said religion is a waste of time, not that god either exists or doesn't exist, we can all agree that the jury is still out on that one. The sort of ridiculous sh1t that the Jews the Muslims the Christians and all other variants on the same theme get up to to please their respective gods is the crazy thing, if there actually is a supreme being (or beings) do you think he is really going to care if insignificant little you eats fish on a Friday, or washes your feet or refuses to eat pork or any of the other insignificant rituals?
The following 2 users would like to thank for this useful post:
My old volvo back home had the usual fish with his noodly self inside. I refrain from straining my head through a pasta strainer, though. Awesome license/ID photo!
The following 3 users would like to thank poptart for this useful post:
"Unser Himmel ist weit besser: wir haben eine Stripperfabrik und einen Biervulkan."
translation: "Our Heaven is way better. We have a Stripper Factory and a Beer Volcano"
I convert immediately. First thing in the morning tomorrow, I go to the Gemeinde, but what should I tick re. Church Tax ?
Doc.
This user would like to thank Doctor for this useful post:
Where Pastafarianism has its sights aimed at the excesses of Christianity, I think it's a wonderful movement. The way they are protesting against the Creationist movement in the United States is, quite simply, brilliant.
This chap in Austria, though: at whom are his actions directed?
It all looks like fun and games, but it seems to me that there's something else going on here. How many Christian fundamentalists, after all, wear "confessional headgear" in their driving licence photographs?
To me, this looks like a very subtle, but nonetheless thoroughly illiberal, poke at the Muslims. Again. Because nobody else in Europe has thought to do that recently.
The following 2 users would like to thank for this useful post:
Awesome license/ID photo!
Hybrid Mode
