The most ANNOYING misconception about YOUR faith?

[Real Sorceror]

Well, i do have quite a bit...*takes deep breath* ok, we are NOT Evil sorcerers, we do NOT summon so called "demons" daemons deimons daimons etc. we do NOT drink blood and we are NOT out for "world domination" nor are we able to command legions of zombies.

Sorry, friend, but I must say I had many of those misconception about you. Its nothing you've done or said, its just the word "necromancer". As an avid D&D player and fantasy book reader, I can safely say that "necromancy" is never portrayed in a positive way. I tend to take things at face value. You should have seen how confused I was when I found out that Satanists don't believe in Satan.
So I'm curious, what does a real world necromancer actually do?

 

[Real Sorceror]

Have any of my fellow pagans ever worn a pentacle out in public and been mistaken for a Jew?
Its surprisingly common. I guess no one has the time to stop and count the points on our stars. On the flipside, have any Jews been mistaken for pagans while wearing a star of David?

 

[jewscout]

. On the flipside, have any Jews been mistaken for pagans while wearing a star of David?

no...i can't say that i have

 

[Zephyr]

I'd say the big misconception is that we're all nazis. Or maybe that we're all angry viking warriors.

Also we get mistaken for Wiccans, despite the fact that generally we haven't mixed all to well.

 

[Halcyon]

That Gnostics are/were elitist.

That Gnosticism originated as a warped version of orthodox Christianity.

 

[uu_sage]

Misconceptions? Yeah, we have plenty of them but here are just a few:
1. People think we worship the coffee
2. SInce we are non-creedal and non-dogmatic faith we must believe in nothing or anything.
3. Often UUism is mistaken for the Moonies (Unificationists), the Universal Life Church (Online ordination) and Unity Christianity.
4. Religious liberal = political liberal

 

[Djamila]

4. Religious liberal = political liberal

That's one I'd like to borrow as well.

The fundamentalist political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina are almost all astoundingly secular and democratic in their political platforms, while more secular parties that attract mostly members of one religion, but token members from the others, are often extremely religious.

 

[Green Gaia]

1. People think we worship the coffee

Speak for yourself!

 

[Real Sorceror]

I'd say the big misconception is that we're all nazis. Or maybe that we're all angry viking warriors.

Also we get mistaken for Wiccans, despite the fact that generally we haven't mixed all to well.

Nazi vikings?
Aww, you guys get mistaken for all the cool stuff.

 

[Booko]

1. The Baha'i Faith is a sect of Islam

2. It's a syncretistic religion

3. It's a cult

4. We're sometimes confused with B'nai B'rith (more funny than annoying)

That's pretty much it.

 

[indecisive cookies!!!]

you're not?! :cover:

oh, heck.

but would that not be awesome?

yes, yes it would:yes: :fork:

 

[Booko]

Hahaha, people really think that? I have seen a movie in which a character was Pentecostal and the boys wouldn't go near her because "they're crazies", but I didn't think their stereotype was that extreme.

Oh, it's that extreme alright. In my hometown, many people refered to Pentacostals by the derogatory title "holy rollers." And then they would roll their eyes.

sheesh

 

[Mike182]

don't forget jews created capitalism too
that i am...how did someone on this forum put it...

http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/showthread.php?p=340490#post340490

ah yes...."trouble maker in the world"

What about the "Good with Money" stereotype? surely you saw that episode of Family Guy in season 2

 

[Comet]

People have a hard time understanding what I believe, so they tend to get frustrated trying to understand it and think that I am crazy or there is no reason anybody should believe such things because it is such a forgein concept to many.

(Ah, western mentality at its finest)

 

[Booko]

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.

I had an old beau once who later went into the Marines, and they were going to send him to school to learn Arabic. He asked me what I should know about the area, and I gave him two books to read: the Qu'ran and a short book entitled "Islamic Contributions to Civilization."

 

[Djamila]

I had an old beau once who later went into the Marines, and they were going to send him to school to learn Arabic. He asked me what I should know about the area, and I gave him two books to read: the Qu'ran and a short book entitled "Islamic Contributions to Civilization."

Hahaha, yes. You don't come across Islamic pride here (we never contributed much of anything, except the neck tie... lol), but in the Arab and even more so in the Persian world, I've noticed they are exceptionally proud of all of their historical inventions, and so on. I think its important to least know you're dealing with the birth place of civilization when you're there - especially in Iraq.

 

[Booko]

That atheism is a religion, and all atheists are hedonists.

Oh yeah, and the only reason to be an athiest is because you really just don't like rules.

And that foxhole nonsense.

That always drove me nuts.

 

[Booko]

Have any of my fellow pagans ever worn a pentacle out in public and been mistaken for a Jew?
Its surprisingly common. I guess no one has the time to stop and count the points on our stars. On the flipside, have any Jews been mistaken for pagans while wearing a star of David?

I wear a 9-pointed star and am frequently mistaken for being Jewish. At least the 9-pointed star is comprised of 3 triangles, so it looks similar in a way.

I'm not sure how you confuse a Star of David with a pentagram.

Then again, I did get good marks in Geometry...

 

[CaptainXeroid]

We Disciples of Christ get it from both ends.

From the atheists:
You're Christian, so that means you hate gays:banghead3: and you want to turn America into a theocracy.

From the more fundamentalist types:
Disciples of Christ...isn't that non-denominational?:thud:

 

[Engyo]

That rebirth is the same thing as reincarnation.
That to meditate one has to say hummmmmm.
That Hotei (the fat monk statue you see in bars and restaurants) is actually the Buddha.

I'll post any more if I can think of them

That Buddhists worship the Buddha, and that Buddha was some sort of supernatural being.