The most ANNOYING misconception about YOUR faith?

[Wannabe Yogi]

http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/deism-2/3945-deism-past-present-future.html

We are hard to pin down. We love it that way.

Thank you

 

[Rayne]

For Wicca, I can think of 2 equally annoying misconceptions.

One, that we are devil-worshipers.
Two, that Magic wand-waving abracadabra's are what the religion is all about.

 

[Madhuri]

What bugs me the most is when I tell them I am not. They argue with me telling me that all Hindu's are polytheistic.

Oh really? Nobody has ever argued with me after I correct them (thankfully!)

 

[Amill]

1. That atheists chose their path in order to have less responsibility for sinning.

2. SO YOU BELIEVE NOTHING EXPLODED INTO SOMETHING?!?!?!?!

 

[Ukonkivi]

That Paganism & NeoPaganism = Direct, conscious Devil worship, and that we believe we are worshiping demons.

The many Pagan religions, Celtic, Japanese, ect., all tend to strongly believe in the idea of holy energy as important and driving out negative energies. Demon Exorcism is even more common in Paganism than in Christianity.

The Bonfires of Paganism are a form of Ritual Purification, not conjuring demons.
Just like Christianity, most forms of Paganism tend to be about following a holy path and keeping the body as a temple.

 

[Rayne]

The most annoying misconception in my book, does not come from outsiders. The most annoying misconception that Wiccans tend to have about Wicca is that the Goddess is more important than the God, or that the God is worthless enough to completely be forgotten.

Now, I understand there are traditions of Wicca that don't even recognize the God (Dianic), but it really takes away much of the point of Wicca. Wicca puts great emphasis on the duality of the male and the female, for there to be life, both male and female are equally important. For male to exist there must be the female and for the female to exist there must be the male. For there to be a Goddess, there has to be a God. As Raymond Buckland stated in his Complete Book of Witchcraft, I've yet to meet someone without a mother and a father. Neither one is more important the other, because without both, life is not possible. To put one above the other is to take away much of the point of Wicca.

It's for this purpose that when other people say "May the Goddess bless you.", I say "May the Gods bless you.", because I feel it's a more correct term.

That isn't to say that a Wiccan who doesn't recognize the God isn't a real Wiccan, not at all, I just feel it misses the point.

The next on top of my list of misconceptions is that Wiccans are devil-worshipers. I have no idea how some Christians manage to associate the words 'Wiccan', 'Witchcraft', and 'Witch' with 'Satan'. We've spent years clarifying that we don't worship Satan, and that we don't believe in a hell, or a Satan, as that was a purely Christian creation. It's not hard to find out what Wicca is, and what it really means to be a Witch, but I've found few who are actually willing to check it out before they judge. I actually lost an old friend of mine once, because once she found out I was Wiccan, she explicitly stated she was afraid she would go to hell for associating with me. She continued to have this assumption after I offered to explain it to her, or direct her to information to clarify. She ended up never talking to me again because she was also afraid that if she found out what Wiccan really is, she would still go to hell.

There will always be people, and not just Christians, of course, who don't understand Wiccans, and aren't willing to be educated. This speaks more about the person than it does the faith, and I'm not targeting Christians alone with what I said above.

Blessed be.

EDIT: I didn't realize I had already replied to this thread. If the moderators see this, and wish to, they can delete my previous reply. Sorry. I should get more sleep.

 

[J Bryson]

That Paganism & NeoPaganism = Direct, conscious Devil worship, and that we believe we are worshiping demons.

The many Pagan religions, Celtic, Japanese, ect., all tend to strongly believe in the idea of holy energy as important and driving out negative energies. Demon Exorcism is even more common in Paganism than in Christianity.

The Bonfires of Paganism are a form of Ritual Purification, not conjuring demons.
Just like Christianity, most forms of Paganism tend to be about following a holy path and keeping the body as a temple.

I'm mildly shocked that this is still an issue, but not surprised, if that makes any sense. It's astounding that people still make this mistake. I'm not talking about those who think that if you are worshiping anything other than the Christian God, then you are worshiping the Devil by default. I refer to those who see Wicca as actual and direct worship of Satan.

 

[Fortunato]

An incomplete list of misconceptions about Atheists (it was too hard to just pick one):

1. Atheists secretly believe in god.
2. Atheists are angry at god.
3. Atheists are simply confused by the devil.
4. Atheists are selfish and only want to live a life of immorality.
5. Atheists worship science.
6. There are no atheists in foxholes.
7. Atheists are communists, queers, anarchists, or all of the above.
8. Atheists believe that everything came out of nothing.
9. Atheists think that a monkey gave birth to a human.
10. Atheists can't live happy, fulfilling lives.
11. Atheists promote secularism as a way to eliminate all religion.
12. Atheism leads to mass murder - just look at Hitler, Stalin, Mao, etc.

 

[Vile Atheist]

- We have no morals
- Must be Communists and love Stalin
- Hate religious people (only some lol...)
- We think we're gods (which makes absolutely no sense...)
- We just want to escape accountability for our actions
- We hate God (how can you hate something you believe doesn't exist?)



Atheists lol...

 

[Katzpur]

Mormons think they're the only ones who are going to Heaven. Everybody else is going to Hell.
Mormons think everybody is going to Heaven and there is no Hell.

?

 

[Renji]

What, for you, is the most annoying misconception about your faith?

I don't really know where to begin. I suppose the most annoying misconception about Islam, to me, is that it hasn't played as significant a role as it did in the development of the world. So much, in terms of architecture, music, dance, and so on - styles found universally around the globe - owe their roots to Islam. So much science and literature, so many aspects of modern civilization.

It really saddens me that students in Paris, for example, learn about European inventors while students in Bosnia learn about the Arabs and Persians who invented the same things often centuries earlier. This misconception of world history, I think, also plays a role in the rare but present misconception that all Muslims are terrorists today.

Another misconception that bothers me relates to Muslim women. I am frustrated with the Arab world's implementation of scripture in countries like Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, and frustrated with non-Muslim misconceptions about Muslim women. I notice when I'm in Norway that if I'm wearing a veil, people speak more slowly to me as though they somehow have this belief that I am stupid. It's not a mean thing, they're still extraordinarily polite, but still they speak as though they're talking to a child - and its not because I'm Bosnian, it never happens when I don't wear a veil.

Those would be it for me.

What's it for you?

As a Catholic, some people think that we worship the images in the churches and that we wear crucifixes and scapulars as "magical" stuff (like talismans or lucky charms). :nightcraw:

 

[Smoke]

I posted to this thread three years ago about Quakerism and atheism, but I have since added another religion to my ongoing collection. Most annoying misconceptions about Buddhism:

"So you worship Buddha instead of Jesus?"
"So you believe in reincarnation?"
"So you follow the Dalai Lama?"
"If you're a Buddhist, you shouldn't eat meat. Real Buddhists don't eat meat."

And I had a Hindu student who would often say something along the lines of, "Buddhists are just a kind of Hindu, and Hindus believe/do/don't believe/don't do this or that, so you should too/shouldn't either." It was an attitude that ignored the diversity of beliefs and practices among Hindus as well as the diversity among Buddhists. In all fairness, though, I have never encountered another Hindu who said things like that.

An interesting thing about being Buddhist is that most people are pretty cool with it. You do run into especially strident Christians from time to time if you live in South Carolina, as I do, but for the most part people seem to think that being Buddhist is okay. It's everybody's second-favorite religion.

 

[Madhuri]

I posted to this thread three years ago about Quakerism and atheism, but I have since added another religion to my ongoing collection. Most annoying misconceptions about Buddhism:

"So you worship Buddha instead of Jesus?"
"So you believe in reincarnation?"
"So you follow the Dalai Lama?"
"If you're a Buddhist, you shouldn't eat meat. Real Buddhists don't eat meat."

And I had a Hindu student who would often say something along the lines of, "Buddhists are just a kind of Hindu, and Hindus believe/do/don't believe/don't do this or that, so you should too/shouldn't either." It was an attitude that ignored the diversity of beliefs and practices among Hindus as well as the diversity among Buddhists. In all fairness, though, I have never encountered another Hindu who said things like that.

Haha, as a Hindu I would not tell you anything like this. I think your friend might be slightly uneducated about Buddhism.
(Although I was under the impression that Buddha recommended vegetarianism)

 

[Smoke]

Haha, as a Hindu I would not tell you anything like this. I think your friend might be slightly uneducated about Buddhism.

I think she may be slightly uneducated about Hinduism, too.

(Although I was under the impression that Buddha recommended vegetarianism)

There's a wide range of opinion on that, but the bottom line is that writings claiming he flatly prohibited the eating of meat are very late and unconvincing. Generally speaking, rules for monks and nuns are stricter than for lay people, and Mahayana Buddhists are more likely to be vegetarians (or think they should be) than Vajrayana Buddists, and Theravadans are the least likely.

 

[Elessar]

The next on top of my list of misconceptions is that Wiccans are devil-worshipers. I have no idea how some Christians manage to associate the words 'Wiccan', 'Witchcraft', and 'Witch' with 'Satan'. We've spent years clarifying that we don't worship Satan, and that we don't believe in a hell, or a Satan, as that was a purely Christian creation. It's not hard to find out what Wicca is, and what it really means to be a Witch, but I've found few who are actually willing to check it out before they judge.

Theologically, in some forms of Christianity, you are a devil-worshiper by default if you don't believe in single monotheistic Creator G-d. In other forms, monotheistic faiths post-Christianity, such as Islam, are devil-worshiping by default. Heck, in some forms, you are a devil-worshiper if you don't believe in the Trinitarian Doctrine, thus condemning Jews (Traditional AND Essene) and those Messianists and Christians with other conceptions of G-d as devil-worshipers.

However, traditional Jewish theology, at least, has acknowledged the existence of spirits outside of G-d, both good and evil. Judaism, however, believes that paying any sort of homage or worship to these spirits, even the good ones, is sinful as G-d alone is worthy of such.

So in my book you're a sinner, but not because you worship the devil.

I actually lost an old friend of mine once, because once she found out I was Wiccan, she explicitly stated she was afraid she would go to hell for associating with me. She continued to have this assumption after I offered to explain it to her, or direct her to information to clarify. She ended up never talking to me again because she was also afraid that if she found out what Wiccan really is, she would still go to hell.

And that is directly contradictory to anything I've come upon in Christian or Messianist theology. A fundamentalist would say to kill you for your beliefs. Granted, not any better than what this old friend says, but definitely different. Most Christians and Messianists, though, are (or, at least, should be) bound to befriend you despite your sin, whatever it is (an inccorrect faith, homosexuality, etc.) and act as a light in your life.



P.S. Before people attack me, let me state that I am articulating theological formations and not attempting to state that my religion is necessarily correct and you should convert to it. Whatever my beliefs, such is not the point of this post, and I bear no feelings of ill will nor intent to convert with this post. Just for the record.

P.P.S. Blame my Jewish Mother/Lawyer for the first postscript.

 

[SERVANTOFSET]

Where do I begin?

That we sacrifice animals and want to vandialise churches.
That we're evil
That orgies are a necesary part of our religion

 

[Mr Cheese]

Where do I begin?

That we sacrifice animals and want to vandialise churches.
That we're evil
That orgies are a necesary part of our religion

you dress at hot topic?

 

[Rayne]

Theologically, in some forms of Christianity, you are a devil-worshiper by default if you don't believe in single monotheistic Creator G-d. In other forms, monotheistic faiths post-Christianity, such as Islam, are devil-worshiping by default. Heck, in some forms, you are a devil-worshiper if you don't believe in the Trinitarian Doctrine, thus condemning Jews (Traditional AND Essene) and those Messianists and Christians with other conceptions of G-d as devil-worshipers.

However, traditional Jewish theology, at least, has acknowledged the existence of spirits outside of G-d, both good and evil. Judaism, however, believes that paying any sort of homage or worship to these spirits, even the good ones, is sinful as G-d alone is worthy of such.

So in my book you're a sinner, but not because you worship the devil.

And that is directly contradictory to anything I've come upon in Christian or Messianist theology. A fundamentalist would say to kill you for your beliefs. Granted, not any better than what this old friend says, but definitely different. Most Christians and Messianists, though, are (or, at least, should be) bound to befriend you despite your sin, whatever it is (an inccorrect faith, homosexuality, etc.) and act as a light in your life.



P.S. Before people attack me, let me state that I am articulating theological formations and not attempting to state that my religion is necessarily correct and you should convert to it. Whatever my beliefs, such is not the point of this post, and I bear no feelings of ill will nor intent to convert with this post. Just for the record.

P.P.S. Blame my Jewish Mother/Lawyer for the first postscript.

It doesn't change the fact that Wiccans do not believe in any entity called 'Satan', the devil, or any all evil deity, regardless of yours, or anyone's beliefs. One thing I always find the need to mention, is that Atheists and Wiccans, and other non-Christian religions don't have a concept of Sin. We have our own ways of managing morals, such as the Wiccan Rede. Sin is nothing but a word to me.

The example Christian friend of mine didn't knew anything about her own faith, more less mine. She had false fears, and was a silly person that I should have never been friends with in the first place. If any Christian figured that they needed to be my friend for the sole purpose of converting me to their religion, and teaching me the right way to live, I'd be forced to remove them from my life. They wouldn't be a light in my life, they would be a limiting factor keeping me from living my life.

I don't intend to attack anyone for anything they say as it pertains to my beliefs. Each to our own.

 

[Caladan]

A misconception (or not) that some people on the net propose is that atheists are lacking in morals. well, they are right in a way, perhaps its simply that I have very different set of morals from them, and that seems to be unbearable as if I have threatened their eternal soul personally. i'm undecided if i'm annoyed by it or amused for the most part, as it makes it more interesting and juicy.

As I have naturalistic and pantheistic leanings, another misconception is that people who adhere to these philosophies are trying to hijack God into atheism by labeling themselves with so called religious systems, for me the misconception is that i'm trying to incorporate any kind of deity into this to begin with. it is quite possible to hold philosophical views, or personal ideas in general without a supposed infallible authority.

as a person of Jewish heritage, another misconception, which again is more hilarious than annoying is all the Jewish, Masonic etc. conspiracies out there. I mean this quote from the Young Turks is simply sensational:

"The Oriental Jew is an adept at manipulating occult forces, and political Freemasonry of the continental type has been chosen as the most effective bond and cloak to conceal the inner workings of the movement."

LOL I have to repeat the opening line again: "The Oriental Jew is an adept at manipulating occult forces"
Apparently I am adapt at manipulating occult forces, hold on a sec while I make like a ninja and do my oriental Jewish disappearing act! :nightcraw:

 

[arimoff]

That someone came from outside took our scriptures and believes not having any idea what they are created a son of G-D and to this day still blame with hatred for not accepting him.