What are some misconceptions about your religion?

[keepstherainoff]

The biggest modern religious prejudice IMO is that fundamental Christians are insane. Also, to throw this ut there, MICROevolution has been unshakingly proven(breeds of dogs, birds, etc., like Darwin originally observed), but MACROevolution is a theory that the fossil record supports only inasmuch as the belief that if two things LOOK similar they HAD to come from the same lineage. Also, continuing my slightly OT rant, there was an experiment to recreate the primordial conditions that created the first crude proteins that may have been the start of life. They did succeed in creating a protein compound. That compound was formaldehyde, a preservative toxin that KILLS microorganisms.

I guess the experiments you are talking about are the Miller-Urey experiment in the early 50s, which succeeded in creating amongst other things, amino acids, lipids and sugars. A recent, more sophisticated reanalysis of the compounds produced by Miller & Urey revealed that there were more products in there than they had realised. Repeating the experiment with better equipment produced even more organic compounds.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081016141411.htm

And formaldehyde isn't a protein compound.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formaldehyde

 

[Lunar Shadow]

That all Buddhists are vegetarians. No not all of us are, though most try to as it is believed that it reduces suffering. I mean the Buddha himself died cause he ate some bad pork.

 

[Superhyperactiveman]

Christianity-

We do not take a large chunk of the Bible literally. Unless we're fundamentalist, which most of us aren't, we accept a lot of it, especially the stuff in Genesis and Revelations, as being figurative: a metaphor. So, Creation, Noah's Ark, the Tower of Babel... most of us admit that things didn't exactly happen this way.

We do not reject evolution... Let me say that again... WE DO NOT REJECT EVOLUTION!!! Except for, again, the fundamentalists. What we reject is the idea that Humans evolved out of monkies. Because, this implies that humans are not spiritual beings created in the image of God, but that we're a random accident like all the other animals.

Okay...I don't even know how to word a response because I'm so taken aback...

This man is wrong. That's all that needs to be said.

I don't know if you're saying I'm wrong because you're Christian or not, but I assure you that the only people who believe in the Bible literally and completely reject evolution are fundamentalist: people who base their understanding of God entirely on faith, without reason. Most of us will admit that doesn't make sense when confronted with that, and we accept it.

As a polytheist druid people often hold the assumption that we are one of two people;

1) Someone who believes in sacrificing virgins on altars and partaking in ungodly rituals.
2) Someone who goes around practising magic spells with large 'cult' groups.

These are gross misconceptions. The truth is that while druid sects are around you do not have to be a member to be a druid, what it means to follow druidism differs from person to person and while some people choose to hold rituals and practise 'spells' you can choose to practise alone in meditation if you prefer. As a polytheist I have many 'gods' but not in the sense of Christian god, druidic gods can come from local landmarks and features and are more representative of the power and beauty of nature in an area that a divine being.

Okay, that is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to get out of this post. That is something really cool to know about other people's beliefs.

That has offended a lot of people. I really need to clarify that. I don't actually believe you are all confrontational assholes. I know a lot of athesits who are perfectly pleaseant people. What I meant was that they are out there and bound to find this post eventually.

I was going to make a bit deal out of that but then you also said "insane fundamentalist christians" which made it clear you were saying nothing more than the obvious, "people, in general, are stupid".

most of us admit that things didn't exactly happen this way.

good

What we reject is the idea that Humans evolved out of monkies.

That means you do reject evolution.

Because, this implies that humans are not spiritual beings created in the image of God, but that we're a random accident like all the other animals.

Your god still could have planned us out from the beginning.

We do not believe that animals do not have a soul. Animals have souls. What we believe is that animals do not have IMMORTAL souls. Your pet has a soul... it just disappears when he dies.

So, you define "soul" as to mean what gives life value? If so, why does a being need this otherworldly thing in them to have worth?

Okay, in that order, yes, pretty much anyone can be more or less stupid and confrontational, yeah, we're not all idiots, no we accept the idea of it more or less, but reject that one principle, since it kind of implies something nasty, according to our beliefs, and while God COULD'VE planned us from the beginning it just ends up too ugly. There's too many reasons why it would seem wrong. When would we stop being monkies and become humans? When did we get our immortal souls? There's nothing wrong with the idea that Humans evolved from something related to monkies, and was monkey-like, but we've always been definitely human, with the same intellectual capacity and moral system.

And that's not really what a soul is. A soul is very difficult to define. A soul is basically the spark of your life, but it's more than that. It's what keeps you connected to God. Even if you're an atheist and reject God completely, you're still connected to Him. That's why you go to Heaven when you die. Your body is no longer restraining you and you can completely unite with God. It's also why you go to Hell. You've sinned so much that you've tainted your soul, and you can never become one with God, because God can only be made of good things. That's just my personal theory on Heaven and Hell. Heaven is like... having your own consciousness merge with God's, and becoming a part of him. In a sense, Heaven is becoming God, but he's still God, and you're still you... Understand.

For the record, please try to keep any response to this clean. What you typed was just barely not fuel for a flame war of proportions most epic.

 

[The_ModeRazor]

Atheism is a religion?
Maybe that we have no morals. Or don't respect life.
Actually, the latter applies to me a bit.

 

[Lady Nilstria]

You know what bugs me? Those who claim to be Christian, Muslim, Jewish etc that don't even follow the rules of their own horrible god. I'm sorry but if you truly believe in god you have to hate gays. Otherwise you are against the will of your own god. There are several other examples of where we have shopping list theists. "ooo that sounds nice I'll believe that, or take that literally, ooooo but not this part no, that must be a metaphor, god couldn't really have meant that".

You know what, I am glad that you said this. I thank you.

I am a Christian. I hate homosexuality. I don't hate gay people.

Sometimes I wonder why people think that in order to hate the sin, you have to hate the person in turn. Considering that God said that people will know Christians by our love. Hating someone kind of clashes against that, I think.


Since I'm here typing:

Christianity!

1. Fundamentalist Christians such as myself are blind, stupid, some other form of asinine character trait, etc, and believe the Bible without reason.

Yeah, I get that a lot. Christianity gets a pretty bad rap, about as bad as Islam does. (Muslims, I don't hate you. Carrying on.) That's partly because Christians are so broken up amongst ourselves that no one can agree on anything. The difference between a Baptist and Methodist is a good example. They disagree on the method of baptism. Thing is, the Bible doesn't detail on how it is done, except that water is indeed involved. Therefore, I wonder why people care? It is things like that that make Christians look like idiots.
I believe what the Bible says. If I do not see a clear cut definition or method, I'm not going to make something up on my own accord just to make myself feel powerful. I'll ask God what He thinks on the subject.

On to the 'without reason', part. Yeah. There's a reason why the field of Apologetics (defending Christianity based on logic, facts, and science) came into being, because people believe that the Bible is 1. a storybook, 2. false, etc. I've heard many people say that there are no absolute truths. As to that, I ask you. Is that true?

2. The shoving down people's throats.

To be frank, I'm guilty as charged. I've done that. However, I can truthfully say that that's not what I intended. My own lack of conversation skill made it certainly seem like that though. A lot of Christians get a *bit* too enthusiastic when talking about our faith, and as thus, come off as 'shoving'. Though, there are Christians that are just plain rude and hypocritical. I won't deny that (since it's true, yeah?).

Eh, I have homework to do, so I'll go now.

 

[Mad World]

I was raised Catholic, and I've heard some nice ones. Like how Catholics are really Christians.

That if you don't believe what we believe you'll go to Hell - Wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. If you're a good person, you'll go to Heaven. Only the worst of the Fundies believe that if you're not a Christian you'll go to Hell. Eeeeeeeeeeeevery Christian I know believes that Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Taoists etc will all end up in Heaven (or their version of it, which is exactly the same place!) if they haven't been cunts to people. I personally also believe that Bhuddists get reincarnation if they aren't ready for Nirvana (which I think is how it works?), because that's what they want, but I'm unsure of the churchs official position.

So, you believe that if someone is a good person--but they only accept and worship God (not Jesus as their Lord and Savior)--they will go to Heaven? Don't Catholics and Christians believe that, in order to get to Heaven, you must accept that Jesus is God? I ask because some of the religions you've mentioned don't accept Jesus as God, and that He died on the cross to save humanity from their sins.

I'm not--in any way--trying to disrespect you. I'm merely curious.

 

[Lexodus]

As a Jew, here's some misconceptions/jokes often made:

No, I don't have a Jew hoard. I like money, yes. Money enables me to do things. That doesn't mean I stash it all over and hoard it for a rainy day... well, I do, but it's not 'cause I'm Jewish, it's because I'm paranoid and thrifty.

We don't all have big noses, or greasy noses. Mine is both of those, unfortunately. But the Jewish girls in my history class don't have big greasy noses, and my friend Andrew doesn't have those qualities either.

While I'm all for jokes about every subject imaginable, I'm going to be internally ticked off if you make Nazi jokes, particularly ones that cast them in a favorable light. Yes, I will laugh along with everyone; no, I'm not really laughing. Unless it was extremely funny and just happened to use the Nazis as a generic vehicle.

And for the last fucking time, there is no Jewish conspiracy. That's incredibly intolerant and offensive, on par with calling all Muslims suicide bombers in my opinion. I don't go around saying that Christians and atheists are plotting to take over the world, why should it be any different from the other side?

I think that's about all.

Thank you. I don't have a Jew hoard of Jew gold either; I'm just the son of a businessman and good at saving money. THAT'S ALL.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

A common misconception about Discordians is that we have to build functional bowling alleys out of hot dog buns on Fridays. That's not true, that is just a tradition that has taken hold with some orthodox Erisians and not an obligation at all.

 

[Cakes]

Satanism-

We don't worship Satan.
Or anything for that matter.

There are Theistic Satanists. Besides, calling your religion/philosophy "Satanism" sort of seems like just setting yourself up for trouble. I can see what LaVey was getting at, but calling it "Satanism" seems like an odd choice.

 

[Lexodus]

I'm a Muslim. And God knows how many misconceptions people hold against us, seriously.

Let's start with the suicide bomber notion. I know that most of the people here aren't morons and therefore understand that most of the Muslim population believes that strapping a bomb to yourself and running into a crowd is extreme and pretty un-Muslim.

Allah tells us to protect human life and take good care of it, including our own. It's a gift from God that I'm alive today. This is why we are not permitted to drink or eat pork, because the Quran dictates that these things are bad for your body. Suicide bombers are effectively destroying this rule by killing themselves in order to 'cleanse' the world of 'heretics'.

Um. Feel free to ask questions? I don't know how these things go.

Not out of disrespect or anything other than pure curiosity, can somebody explain the whole 'Pork is evil and bad for your body' thing?
Because there are loads of people out there with that view (or any other that prevents people from eating delicious, delicious pork), including my spiritual kinsmen (although they'd probably look down on me as the most failed Jew ever), and I've never really got it. I doubt it's a medical thing, because that would be retarded (no ill effects in anyone that eats pork, including myself, except maybe obesity from overindulgence but that's from everything else too anyway, so that's kind of a null point), so what is it?

 

[Witty-Name]

To be honest I could probably fill entire volumes with my views on religion, and still fail to do them justice with my words. My views are complex, sometimes self-contradictory, and remain subject to my continued personal growth. That being said here's a rundown of the basics.

- Generally I'd rather not refer to myself as being anything. For the purpose of general conversation I'm an atheist, but only so much as it requires no further explanation. The only reason I don't simply state that I have no religion is because that implies that my beliefs are an empty hole waiting to be filled.

- My core belief is that there is no God, no meaning to the universe, no heaven and no hell. I believe in science in so far as it can demonstrate truths that exist whether or not they are proven, however not being a scientist myself and unable to fully understand scientific procedures I cannot really back this up with anything. Fundamentally I have chosen to believe that this life and this world are all I get, as such the only meaning that can be applied is that which we create for ourselves.

- Whilst I theoretically have nothing against those who believe different to me, I have strong issues with those who seek to convert others to their ways, or who will project their beliefs upon the world at large. I'll admit that this is quite an emotional one to me and therefore very difficult to rationalise. I attended a Church of England primary school, where my personal non-belief was not accepted (I basically decided I didn't want to believe in God long before I had been introduced to the concept of atheism), and to this day I seem to be plagued with Christians seeking to convert me. I would like to be respectful of others' beliefs, but this is difficult when they do not afford me the same courtesy. As a general rule of thumb I try and remain respectful until the second time somebody tries to convert me, at which point it crosses into being offensive.

 

[Mad World]

You know what bugs me? Those who claim to be Christian, Muslim, Jewish etc that don't even follow the rules of their own horrible god. I'm sorry but if you truly believe in god you have to hate gays. Otherwise you are against the will of your own god. There are several other examples of where we have shopping list theists. "ooo that sounds nice I'll believe that, or take that literally, ooooo but not this part no, that must be a metaphor, god couldn't really have meant that".

You know what, I am glad that you said this. I thank you.

I am a Christian. I hate homosexuality. I don't hate gay people.

Sometimes I wonder why people think that in order to hate the sin, you have to hate the person in turn. Considering that God said that people will know Christians by our love. Hating someone kind of clashes against that, I think.

Exactly. I completely agree with you.

spinFX, people who believe in God most certainly are not required to hate homosexuals. That is a common misconception. Like God, we should hate the sin--not the sinner.

 

[Lady Nilstria]

So, you believe that if someone is a good person--but they only accept and worship God (not Jesus as their Lord and Savior)--they will go to Heaven? Don't Catholics and Christians believe that, in order to get to Heaven, you must accept that Jesus is God? I ask because some of the religions you've mentioned don't accept Jesus as God, and that He died on the cross to save humanity from their sins.

I'm not--in any way--trying to disrespect you. I'm merely curious.

Well, believing in God isn't good enough, to be truthful. Demons believe in God too, as evidenced by Matthew 8:28-34. Acts 16:31 says that you must believe in Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. (Also see John 14:6-Galatians 2:20) That's a whole different ball game. Example, Jews believe in God, but only Messianic Jews believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the Messiah they were waiting for (as opposed to a prophet of God similar to Moses/Elijah etc).

(I'm just carrying on the topic. ^__^ )

Believing that works will get you to heaven is one of the big things Christians must contend with. Works don't save you. You work because you are saved and want to work, because those works will make God happy, and because you love God (hopefully?), you want to make God happy.

This is the reason why works won't save you. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.

 

[ColonelDiscussion]

Being raised agnostic, it leads people to think that I'm actually an atheist. And, some idiot keeps on telling his friends every he walks by me, "Hey, she's a Wiccan!"
I've actually been thinking about converting to Buddhism, but I'd have to learn more about it before even trying to convert.

 

[CrysisMcGee]

I'm a Lutheran, Atheist, and Agnostic all in one.

What that means is I don't believe there is a god, or an afterlife, or fate. But I do believe in peace and understanding, which is what being a Lutheran taught me, and I will always be one.

As for Lutherans, I don't think there is a lot of misconceptions.
The only one I can think of is the fact that we take the bible literally.

 

[Pimppeter2]

That we're trying to convert you

(We're not)

 

[Robyrt]

I'm an evangelical Christian, a fundamentalist, a modern-day Puritan, whatever you want to call it. However:

• Not everyone who disagrees with me is going to Hell. Jesus isn't that petty.
  
  I'm not a far-right activist. I don't even like Fox News.
  
  I have done lots of critical thinking about Christianity and the Bible, something which my church actively encourages. I read the whole thing through every year.
  
  I don't think the Bible was handed down from God to King James in 1611. I am often the first to point out its translation errors.
  
  I am not a closet racist, sexist or homophobe. I am much more worried about high divorce rates than gay marriage.
  
  I do not attempt to convert everyone I meet.
  
  I do not exclusively consume Christian-themed media and products. I am in fact actively repulsed by most of them.

 

[Rorschach II]

We do not believe that animals do not have a soul. Animals have souls. What we believe is that animals do not have IMMORTAL souls. Your pet has a soul... it just disappears when he dies. Any priest, teacher, or other religious figure that told you animals don't have souls was only saying that because, for whatever reason, they didn't think it wise to make the distinction.

But this goes against the belief that all entities (Animals and humans)come back as eachother in lives to come and lives that have past. What I mean is that all our souls live on in different stages of different lives. Sometimes your a God or close to Godly (i.e Buddha would probably have been in a godly form after he died as Siddartha) or you could be an animal or a human (which are two different realms of living apparently). Basically, saying that Animals souls die with their bodies contradicts your own religion.

I would just like to say Im Buddhist too and am glad to see someone who understands how Buddhism works as more of a philosophy than a religion. Do you also agree that Buddha was not fat as he is portrayed in many images? Because when I learnt about him I was told that he wasnt fat as he was a prince.

 

[Rorschach II]

Being raised agnostic, it leads people to think that I'm actually an atheist. And, some idiot keeps on telling his friends every he walks by me, "Hey, she's a Wiccan!"
I've actually been thinking about converting to Buddhism, but I'd have to learn more about it before even trying to convert.

Its easy to learn you can get books about it in most good book stores/libraries. Look in the religion section (obviously).