The most ANNOYING misconception about YOUR faith?

[J Bryson]

That due to our lack of a specific creed, we somehow don't qualify as a "real" religion.

Oh, and I've found a couple of self-proclaimed "Christian" sites online that refer to us as a cult. Of course, their definition of the word didn't match up with any definition I'd previously heard or read.

 

[lockyfan]

Well, I had a fellow employee who was a JW tell me that Mormonism was a cult. Now if that's not the pot calling the kettle black, I don't know what is.

In those exact owrds?

No religion is a cult.

 

[A Truth]

That which "annoys" me most is that people cannot come to terms with the fact that while I devote my life to Lucifer entirely, I can still be a good person. I am not evil, just on a different side to most of you. I still respect you as individuals.

 

[BucephalusBB]

It's a bit annoying some people see me as communist when I tell them I am an atheist. Not only have those 2 nothing to do with eachother, I am also very pro capitalism and anti communism..

 

[Rakhel]

What annoys me the most is the misconception that religion in general: that because I believe in G-d I cannot accept science as relevant. That religion is a crutch. That if I would just understand that science answers all my questions then I won't need G-d.

 

[BucephalusBB]

What annoys me the most is the misconception that religion in general: that because I believe in G-d I cannot accept science as relevant. That religion is a crutch. That if I would just understand that science answers all my questions then I won't need G-d.

O wow, you actually need to work to not need God? I always hear that all I need to do is grow up to know God is real :angel2:

I wonder how much more I need to grow though :sad:

 

[Rakhel]

apparently work was required. I never said people needed to grow up to believe in G-d. I've met a lot of grown-ups who did believe in G-d that happened to be immature as hell. I always said they just needed to remove the blinders. Nothing is ever straight forward.

 

[Katzpur]

In those exact owrds?

No religion is a cult.

Yes, in those exact words. I hate the word "cult" myself, simply because it's so subjective. It basically refers to any church that the person using the term doesn't like.

 

[Elessar]

"Cult" is just another word for a religion that just happens to have negative connotations in modern English. The Catholic Church still refers to itself as a cult in certain legal formulations within that faith going back centuries. For example, when an interfaith couple, one of them Catholic, wishes to get married in a Catholic Church in a Catholic-recognized marriage, they must apply for Dispensation for Difference of Cult.

 

[tumbleweed41]

1) The misconception that Deists do not believe in a "Supreme Being"
2) The misconception that Deists are another branch of Christians.

 

[Evee]

All of rakhel's complaints, plus the accusation that Judaism is sexist. I do not feel oppressed as a Jewish woman. In fact, I feel more empowered as a Jewish woman than I was as a non-religious woman!

 

[Rakhel]

All of rakhel's complaints, plus the accusation that Judaism is sexist. I do not feel oppressed as a Jewish woman. In fact, I feel more empowered as a Jewish woman than I was as a non-religious woman!

Agreed.

 

[Draka]

That Wicca is just a "fluffy bunny" religion that has no real merit and people need to "outgrow". I've even seen on this forum where people have mentioned looking into Wicca and "outgrowing" it as if it is some childish lame stepping stone of belief. Irks the hell out of me. One can follow Wicca maturely and whole-heartedly and be rich in spirituality IF they really take the time to learn and open themselves up. I hate that it is regarded as a "fluff" religion. It isn't. And one is not immature if they truly follow it. They are immature if they just throw it to the wayside and treat it as if it is something "lower" than what they converted to from it.

 

[Rakhel]

Oh no. I agree with you Draka. Wicca is anything but "fluff." I have great respect for it. Quite possibly, as much as my own.

 

[Mind_Zenith]

Hmmm, Misconceptions...
Let's see-

About Buddhism
-That we don't eat meat or drink alcohol
I do, but that has to do with my "denomination".
-That we worship the Buddha, usually through the Budai (Laughing Buddha)
Never have, never will.
-That we're all atheists
Not quite. We believe in a life after death at least.
-That we all follow the Dalai Lama
He's not really my cup of tea
-That all Caucasoid Buddhists coverted in college/university
My Dad was half buddhist, and I picked up buddhism from my primary school teacher.
-That we're all hippies
Ok, I am admittedly, as my parents. But I'm the only hippie buddhist I know
-That we have to become monks to gain Nirvana
Definitely not true.

From more well-read people
-That we do not allow homosexuals to become Buddhists
This is purely a cultural thing. Buddhists in Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Tibet, Cambodia, and China will more likely than not have distain towards homosexuals. Buddhists in Japan, western countries, Russia, and other European places will, and always have, accepted homosexuals. More likely than not, a Buddhist will accept homosexuals.

About (Independent) Nichiren Buddhism
-That we worship Nichiren Daishonin
Nope, not true
-That we're just a Hollywood self-help craze
The religion is thousands of years old
-That priests are viewed similarly to the catholic priest
Priests in Nichiren Shoshu, Nichiren Shu, etc are more like community leaders, wbk control the distribution of Gohonzon (holy Mandalas) and other administrations. They have no real holy office, as they teach what Nichiren taught
-That Soka Gakkai is a cult
I have the utmost respect for Soka Gakkai, even though I am independent, and I do not believe them to be a cult. Some people within Soka Gakkai are cult-like, but that is the fault of the individual
-That the independent Movement is a small, inactive internet occurrence
Around 15% of all Nichiren Buddhists are Independent, and will usually go to the worship centres of other Nichiren Buddhist Groups, or start a cross-traditional group on their own. I personally go to a non-denominational Mahayana Buddhist temple

woww, thats a lot I've encountered lol

 

[Rakhel]

1. They would be deceivers
2. They would be liars
3. They would be traitors to any country they say they love
4. They would make others poor while making themselves rich
5. They would take over the media
6. They would take over Christian Churches for their own evil purposes ( "For there
are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this
condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness,
and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.". Jude 1:4 )
7. They would take over political parties so that their own candidates can be elected
8. The would take over the government
9. They would rob governments and tax the people to pay themselves (sound familiar)
10. They would get countries into wars, not for the countries sake, but for their own
sakes.
11. They would teach evil continually
12. They would call good evil, and evil good
14. Many of them would mask their "true" identity as "Jews" by calling themselves
other religions, like: Catholics, Baptist, Evangelicals, etc.
15. Those running for office might call themselves Christians, or Evangelicals so they
could get elected, figuring that voters might not vote for a "Jew".
16. They will gather the nations of the world together for war, not war against
each other, but against Christ when he comes.
17. They will try to replace all that is of God with all that is Satan
18. The will take over the Holy Land, claiming it is theirs, when it is not
19. They will be there, in the Holy Land, when the Battle of Armageddon takes place,
so that they might fight against the Saints!
20. We might think, that when Christ appears in the heavens, these pseudo Jews will
deny that it is Christ, but aliens come to invade Earth, and they will probably say:
"What better way to conquer a planet than to come in the name of their God.

He forgot our big noses but this should cover it.

 

[Deist David]

As a Deist, the most common misconception about my belief (as Deist's it's important to us that it's not a 'faith'!), is that it is:-

- the same as Theism. (which traditionally involves dogma and faith).
- similar to Christianity or other revealed religions.
- some also misconceive that Deism is cold, scientific and unspiritual, which it's not !

 

[BucephalusBB]

as Deist's it's important to us that it's not a 'faith'

Excuse me, but isn't deism the thought that "God" created all and left it alone after that?

 

[J Bryson]

He forgot our big noses but this should cover it.

I was also sad to see a total lack of blood libel in there. Whatever happened to the good old traditional anti-Semitic viciousness?

 

[Storm]

That Wicca is just a "fluffy bunny" religion that has no real merit and people need to "outgrow". I've even seen on this forum where people have mentioned looking into Wicca and "outgrowing" it as if it is some childish lame stepping stone of belief. Irks the hell out of me. One can follow Wicca maturely and whole-heartedly and be rich in spirituality IF they really take the time to learn and open themselves up. I hate that it is regarded as a "fluff" religion. It isn't. And one is not immature if they truly follow it. They are immature if they just throw it to the wayside and treat it as if it is something "lower" than what they converted to from it.

As someone who's said that, I hope you know that that's not how I meant it.