What one thing should non-believers know about your religion?

[9-10ths_Penguin]

All of us deal with others' misconceptions in all sorts of ways. If you had to correct one misconception about your religion/faith/belief system/philosophy, what's the one thing about your beliefs that you would want other people to know?

 

[Apex]

That non-Mormons are not damned to eternal torture in fire and brimstone.

 

[Father Heathen]

I misunderstood the statement. My apologies.

 

[Secret Chief]

I would want people to know the Buddha wasn't fat.

 

[Scott C.]

All of us deal with others' misconceptions in all sorts of ways. If you had to correct one misconception about your religion/faith/belief system/philosophy, what's the one thing about your beliefs that you would want other people to know?

Mormons center their lives, hearts, and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ who is our Savior and Redeemer. I believe our Christ centered doctrine to be completely consistent with and supported by the Bible. The only traditional Christian doctrines that I reject are those that I believe vary from the Bible. I accept others as Christians who love and serve the Lord, whether or not they accept all of my beliefs as Biblical.

 

[Father Heathen]

I would want people to know the Buddha wasn't fat.

Yeah, they constantly confuse Hotei for Siddhartha which irritates me even as a non-buddhist.

 

[Katzpur]

There are so many misconceptions about Mormonism that I would hardly know where to start. Apex and Scott C. have mentioned a few of the main ones, and as this thread goes on, I'm sure others will come up. One that really bothers me is that people so often say, "Mormons believe that when they die, they'll each become God and will given their own planet to rule over." This statement clearly pertains to our doctrine of "Eternal Progression," but it is such a parody of the truth that it's almost laughable. Of course, this "heretical" belief makes us a non-Christian faith.

The noted Anglican scholar, C.S. Lewis, expressed his belief in this way:

“The command Be ye perfect is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command. He said (in the Bible) that we were “gods” and He is going to make good His words. If we let Him – for we can prevent Him, if we choose – He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what He said."

I would say that this almost perfectly expresses LDS doctrine on the subject.

 

[Renji]

That not all, not even the majority of Catholic Priests are pedophiles, abusers and stuff. And the Church does not cover things up, cuz if they do, I'm surprised that the media was able to sensationalize the issue that much. If they want to cover up, then why are there so many pastoral letters and documents tackling this issue? That's a bad way to cover things up. And yeah, still majority of the priests still remain faithful to their vows. Is there ever a so called "perfect religion" in this world?

 

[Levite]

Or, in other words, our religion is for us: you do your thing. We don't consider Judaism a universal goal, and we don't think you're going to go to hell if you're not Jewish-- actually, most of us don't believe in hell, anyway.

 

[GawdAweful]

Panentheism is not the worship of the Greek god Pan but is Greek for "all-in-God," pan-en-theos which posits a god that interpenetrates every part of nature, but is nevertheless fully distinct from nature. Actually, don't worry about it...just be a good person...really...it's that simple.

 

[oldbadger]

We don't worship a pipe playing goat-hooved satyr, and don't engage in naked orgies in dense woodland during full-moons. (which is probably why I don't meet many other pantheists)

 

[GawdAweful]

We don't worship a pipe playing goat-hooved satyr, and don't engage in naked orgies in dense woodland during full-moons. (which is probably why I don't meet many other pantheists)

No? I'm sure I saw you at Stonehenge the last winter solstice!

 

[Breathe]

Sikhs can put their swords away without drawing blood, can only draw them for protection when all else has failed, and are encouraged not to draw blood.

Confucius was not agnostic; he was a theist (probably pantheist or panentheist).

 

[Father Heathen]

Panentheism is not the worship of the Greek god Pan

There's no one out there who actually holds such a misconception, is there?

 

[Straw Dog]

Philosophical Taoism isn't just mysticism. It represents a middle way between mysticism and conceptual absolutism. Also, Zhuangzi wasn't a disciple of Laozi, despite traditional views. Recent scholarship indicates that he may have even lived, taught, and died without ever even hearing about Laozi. His disciples later incorporated philosophy from Laozi into Zhuangzi's. In a way, Zhuangzi presented a more comprehensive and complete form of Taoism than the more famous sage did, although they still compliment each other in that yin-yang sort of way.

 

[Storm]

We don't worship a pipe playing goat-hooved satyr, and don't engage in naked orgies in dense woodland during full-moons. (which is probably why I don't meet many other pantheists)

No, but it doesn't sound half bad, and there really no reason we couldn't....

There's no one out there who actually holds such a misconception, is there?

I haven't encountered so specific an error, but beyond the bounds of RF, the majority of people seem to not know the difference between poly/pan-theism.

ETA: Especially among BSG fans.

 

[savagewind]

"Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved" does not mean believe the man 'Jesus' is the Lord. It means keep believing what he is telling. John 8:31 Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, "If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free".
Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me"

Doesn't it mean to keep following his line of reason? To do that one must not settle on one's own understanding. Proverbs 3:5,6

It seems to me religion is about settling down with a particular belief.

 

[oldbadger]

Originally Posted by oldbadger
We don't worship a pipe playing goat-hooved satyr, and don't engage in naked orgies in dense woodland during full-moons. (which is probably why I don't meet many other pantheists)

No? I'm sure I saw you at Stonehenge the last winter solstice!

What?!!!! No! Never!! We only do all that in the SUMMER solstice! Oh...... Err..... Ummmmmmm. !!!

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

There's a few that really bugs me, and Magog has pointed out one of them already. I guess another one would be that, just because Buddhists believe that life is dukkha (suffering, unsatisfactory), that doesn't make us pessimistic nihilists. Another one would be, just because Buddhism is a religion, doesn't mean we worship a god or gods. We're, practically, atheists, although non-theistic would be a better term. The Buddha was not a god, a prophet of a god, or semi-divine.

 

[Satyamavejayanti]

All of us deal with others' misconceptions in all sorts of ways. If you had to correct one misconception about your religion/faith/belief system/philosophy, what's the one thing about your beliefs that you would want other people to know?

Hinduism is not what you think.