Church Of The FSM Setback

A Federal court judge has ruled that the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is not a valid religion. In fact the judge ruled that the church is a parody, a parody, can you believe it?!? Don't worry true believers, this is just a minor setback. Keep on keeping on folks.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Apr 14, 2016 - Comments (10)
Category: Gods, Government, Religion

Follies of the Madmen #278

Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 26, 2016 - Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Business, Advertising, Products, Religion, 1960s, Cars

The Kabalarian Philosophy

Their page.

Their entry at THE SKEPTIC'S DICTIONARY lets us know: "Since the death of Mr. Parker in 1964, the Kabalarians, headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., have been led by Ivon Shearing who was sentenced to five years in prison in 1997 for sexually abusing several teenage girls over a twenty-five year period."

Posted By: Paul - Sun Mar 13, 2016 - Comments (3)
Category: Frauds, Cons and Scams, Lies, Dishonesty and Cheating, Paranormal, Religion, Myths and Fairytales, 1930s

Are priests with it?

The recurring theme of Catholic orders doing youth outreach by insisting that, despite all appearances being to the contrary, they're really "hip" and "with it." See also: Jesus, the Original Hipster.

Catholic Digest - Dec 1965

Posted By: Alex - Tue Mar 08, 2016 - Comments (10)
Category: Religion, 1960s

Inverted Preacher

September 1928: The novelty of preaching from a casket having worn off, Rev. H.W. Thomas announced he would henceforth deliver the gospel message while standing on his head.

Medford Mail Tribune - Sep 5, 1928

Update: Here's a picture of Rev. H.W. Thomas taken in 1928, when his stunt for that sermon was to unwrap the "swathings of iniquity" from a member of his congregation who posed as a live "Mummy."

Milwaukee Sentinel - May 8, 1928

Posted By: Alex - Sun Feb 07, 2016 - Comments (3)
Category: Religion, 1920s

Follies of the Madmen #272

Please spend half a minute to contemplate the subtext of this imagery. A pagan housewife (prefiguring BEWITCHED?) performs black magic to seduce and beguile a priest, with hubby nowhere in sight. Happens in 1950s suburbia every Sunday.

Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jan 17, 2016 - Comments (10)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Domestic, Food, Mass Transit, Religion, 1950s

King Louis Narcisse

A type of extravagant preaching that seems less prevalent today.

His Wikipedia page here.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 16, 2016 - Comments (2)
Category: Eccentrics, Ethnic Groupings, Religion, 1960s

The Battle of the Pulpits

Jan 1956: It was Reverend vs. Reverend. On the left, in the main pulpit, the Rev. Mr. Thomas ordered hymns and told the organist to start playing. On the right, in the raised altar, the Rev. Mr. Melish led prayers.

Church leaders had been trying to remove Rev. Melish from his position as rector of the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn, believing he was a communist sympathizer. Melish refused to go. This led to the situation where the church-appointed rector and Melish attempted to lead Sunday services simultaneously, battling to drown each other out.

Bishop James DeWolfe eventually brought an end to the feud by closing the church entirely, and it remained shuttered for 12 years.

You can read Melish's account of the feud here. And it's also described in his NY Times obit.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Jan 11, 2016 - Comments (6)
Category: Religion, 1950s

Kosher Cannabis

Vireo Health, a company in New York that supplies medical marijuana, is now having their product certified Kosher. Apparently this would not normally be necessary except that some of the cannabis will be used in baked goods. So, because some of it will be eaten it must be certified Kosher for those who keep Kosher. Pot, its becoming more mainstream everyday.

Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 06, 2016 - Comments (3)
Category: Drugs, Food, Religion

Not The Rib

A Biblical scholar claims that due to a mistranslation the original scripture actually says that Eve was made from Adam's penis not his rib. The professor states that man is the only mammal without a penis bone. Guess that's where it went.

Posted By: Alex - Tue Dec 29, 2015 - Comments (8)
Category: Authorities and Experts, Religion, Can’t Possibly Be True