Free Republic

A “Pastafarian” pastor on Tuesday gave an opening prayer on behalf of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster before a local government meeting in Alaska while wearing a colander on his head. Barrett Fletcher, the pastor, noted the duties performed by the members of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in his message, adding a few of them "seem to feel they can't do the work without being overseen by a higher authority.” "So, I'm called to invoke the power of the true inebriated creator of the universe, the drunken tolerator (sic) of the all lesser and more recent gods,...

MADISON -- A Madison man has won the right to wear a spaghetti strainer on his head in his driver's license photo. The Department of Transportation has instructed all DMV offices to recognize colanders as religious headwear after receiving a letter from the man's lawyer. Derek Allen says his client is a Pastafarian and was denied his religious right as a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster , first established in 2005. "If you just hear about it in passing it sounds silly - someone wants to wear a spaghetti strainer in their driver's license," Allen says....

For as long as there has been a free press, there has been some form of “news of the weird.” It may be a humorous feature during a radio or TV newscast, or a throwaway corner to fill space in a newspaper… the funny-but-true story has always had a place in journalism. With the advent of social media and internet websites, where publishers no longer have to pay for each column inch or count every second of broadcast time, the place for silly news has grown. And there’s nothing wrong with that… as long as it keeps its proper place....

A woman in Massachusetts is causing a stir on the Internet after a photograph of her wearing a colander on her head in her driver’s license photo have been circulating the web — all in the name of freedom of religion. On Friday, Nov. 13, Lindsay Miller of Lowell, Mass., told the Associated Press that she “absolutely loves the history and the story” of Pastafarians, a religious group that is otherwise known as the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. She opted to wear a strainer on her head as part of her religious observance, she added, much the same...

Even in his official license photo Newser) – A Czech Republic court has struck a blow for religious freedom—ridiculous, ridiculous religious freedom. Lukás Novy, 29, successfully argued that he should be allowed to wear a pasta strainer on his head in his official, government-issued ID photo, because he was required to do so by his "Pastafarian" faith, the Daily Mail reports. Novy belongs to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a parody religion whose followers "believe" that a giant invisible monstrosity made of spaghetti and meatballs created the universe after "drinking heavily." Novy said the faith required him...

SOUTH BRUNSWICK – Motor vehicle workers in Dayton called police on a man who insisted on wearing a pasta strainer on his head during the taking of his driver’s license photo, according to a police report. South Brunswick police officers responded to the MVC facility on Route 130 on a call that a man renewing his driver's license refused to remove the strainer on his head, according to a police report. The incident occurred about noon on Saturday, Feb. 2. The man, Aaron Williams, 25, who gave an Egg Harbor Township address, told motor vehicle workers the strainer was a...

VIENNA, - An Austrian "Pastafarian" won the right to wear a pasta strainer on his head in his driving license photo after a three-year struggle. Niko Alm, an atheist blogger who asked to have his driver's license photo taken with a colander on his head, was finally found fit to drive by a psychologist, The Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday, and was allowed to take his official picture with the strainer on his head. "Today I was able to get my new driving license, and in it you can clearly see that I'm wearing a colander on my head to demonstrate...

(103 listed in business directory that uses quotes from Bible...) Between the slogans claiming low prices, high quality and broad experience, one local business directory features verses from Scripture. The Bible quotes are one way in which the Christian Business Directory for the greater Madison area, now in its 10th year, distinguishes itself from other guides to local goods and services. The cover of the Madison directory quotes Proverbs 4:18 - "The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day." Its advertisers say the guide can put consumers...

A provocative $4-million documentary by Toronto filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici claims to have found archeological evidence verifying the story of the biblical Exodus from Egypt, 3,500 years ago. Religious Jews consider the biblical account incontrovertible — the foundation story of the creation of the nation of Israel. Indeed, they celebrated the Exodus Wednesday night and last night with the annual Passover recitation of the Haggadah. But among scholars, the question of if and when Moses led an estimated two million Israelite slaves out of pharaonic Egypt, miraculously crossed the Red Sea ahead of the pursuing Egyptian army and received the Ten...