Common Misconceptions

[Rationalt]

I've heard that before-that Muslims can lie and sign false treaties etc
in order to promote Islam and to deceive the enemy. It's amazing what
people can believe about those of other faiths.

I have Authentic info from islamic sources.

Please answer one question.Is there any chance that You can love any normal muslim person even though he sticks to his Faith.This question applies to all Non-muslims including Atheists.

 

[awitch]

Back in the 70s and 80s there were all sorts of crazy stories about Neopagans, but as our population grew and were more open, people realized we more often harmless flakes and were not going to cause the end of the world as so many fundamentalists claimed.

I'm not sure we have any popular misconceptions anymore because everyone stopped caring. Our status as the enemy now belongs to homosexuals, Muslims, and atheists.

I suppose it could be said that people sometimes assume that just because one Neopagan tradition practices or believes something, then all traditions do. That is certainly incorrect.

But we also had the blood drinking/baby eating idiocy.

 

[sidhe]

"I'm a Thelemite."
"Oh, so you're a Satanist?"

Someone, literally, threw a Bible at me a couple years ago. I didn't even mention my religion, just that I'd read Crowley and agreed with some of his points.

 

[Spiritlight]

Back in the 70s and 80s there were all sorts of crazy stories about Neopagans, but as our population grew and were more open, people realized we more often harmless flakes and were not going to cause the end of the world as so many fundamentalists claimed.

I'm not sure we have any popular misconceptions anymore because everyone stopped caring. Our status as the enemy now belongs to homosexuals, Muslims, and atheists.

I suppose it could be said that people sometimes assume that just because one Neopagan tradition practices or believes something, then all traditions do. That is certainly incorrect.

But we also had the blood drinking/baby eating idiocy.

lol baby eating that must have made you laugh. Ahh the days before the internet.

The problem with it is us Christians are encouraged to have nothing to do with worldly things and non christian religions. Unfortunately a byproduct of this is no knowledge of other peoples beliefs. no knowlege of something leads to superstition and sometimes irrational fears. I have often thought this might be why the grouping of satanists and those practicing the earth religions. I think if we attempt to understand rather than hld up a crucifix in panic. i am pretty open minded but still find black withces a bit creepy.
i leaned about witches and the rule of whatever you put out will come back many times. i sorta realized then that people who practice these things are probably not that interested in hexing everyone lol contrary to popular belief.
thats my undestanding from talking to a few in an effort to understand about them...but not to join in..just understand.

 

[awitch]

i am pretty open minded but still find black withces a bit creepy.

Some just enjoy the creepy persona.
Is there anything in particular you find creepy? Perhaps I can put some light on it?

thats my undestanding from talking to a few in an effort to understand about them...but not to join in..just understand.

Can't ask for more than that.

 

[truewinner]

One misconception that I hear is that we worship Mary

 

[Gardenia]

I've seen all sorts of things around the internet... most of them contradicting others.

First, the idea that all pagans believe/practice in the same way, when of course we do not. This is one that I even see coming from other pagans (who generally think "neo"Wicca is the only pagan tradition), so that doesn't help much.

I'm pagan, so I'm a Wiccan (I must follow the Wiccan rede, I must cast circles, I must worship a God and Goddess, so on), I'm pagan so I'm into new age stuff, I'm pagan so I'm a Satanist. I'm pagan so I must literally worship the earth, sun, moon, whatever... (Guess that goes back to the first, yeah, I know a few who do... but we don't all.) I'm a pagan so I must not believe in any God, so I must hate the Christian God, so I must hate Christians.

That pagans are all hippes, vegans, pacifists...
That pagans are all sex-crazed, have monthly orgies, that we have no morals, that we do blood sacrifice (and we'll steal your cat for that reason), that we drink blood - yes, even the rumor that we sacrifice humans (usually good little Christian children/babies) is still going around in this day and age.


There are tons of misconceptions and such about every religion/group out there. This is why it's best to actually listen to the person you're talking to, to get your information right from the source, rather than assuming...

 

[Spiritlight]

Some just enjoy the creepy persona.
Is there anything in particular you find creepy? Perhaps I can put some light on it?



Can't ask for more than that.

I am not particularly fond of anyone who is into the dark energy stuff. From what i understand black witches are more inclined to use black magik to manipulate events. black magik to me seems creepy. It just has a bad feeling about it.

 

[ChavaK]

Is there any chance that You can love any normal muslim person even though he sticks to his Faith.This question applies to all Non-muslims including Atheists.

I answer that by saying, look at JJ, a Muslim who posts here. She is a loving,
kind and sweet person. She is a strict Muslim, but one of the loveliest people I have met on this forum.

 

[ChavaK]

There are tons of misconceptions and such about every religion/group out there. This is why it's best to actually listen to the person you're talking to, to get your information right from the source, rather than assuming...

 

[Rationalt]

I answer that by saying,

Let me rephrase the Question.Can you love a Non-Jew ?.

look at JJ, a Muslim who posts here. She is a loving,
kind and sweet person. She is a strict Muslim, but one of the loveliest people I have met on this forum.

I will have questions for JJ later on.

 

[PHenry42]

For muslims, it would be that islam:

• is a peaceful religion
• does not condone death to all christians and others
• has the same god as that of the Jews

I thought the idea of this thread was to let everyone speak for their own religion. Did someone die and make you caliph?

 

[SithDoughnut]

There's lots of them, so I'll do it all in one go.

What some people falsely think atheism means:

• Acceptance of Evolution
• Liberalism/Socialism/Communism/insert left-wing political ideology here
• Anarchism
• Anything political
• Supporting abortion
• Supporting homosexuality
• Supporting anything at all
• Subjective morality
• Having no moral base
• Anything to do with morality
• Outright claiming that God does not exist
• Eating babies
• Liking Richard Dawkins/Sam Harris/etc.
• Knowingly running away from the judgement of God
• Liking sin
• Hating other belief systems
• "Militant atheism"
• Always taking the biggest slice of cake
• Being a religion
• Not believing in God while still believing what the Bible says
• A lack of knowledge about religions
• Nothing, because atheists do not exist
• Absolutely anything other than a non-belief in any deity (i.e., the opposite of theism, which is solely a belief in a deity, and nothing more)

 

[sidhe]

i leaned about witches and the rule of whatever you put out will come back many times. i sorta realized then that people who practice these things are probably not that interested in hexing everyone lol contrary to popular belief.
thats my undestanding from talking to a few in an effort to understand about them...but not to join in..just understand.

Actually, that's one of the misconceptions that bugs me. Pagan or witch does not automatically equate to Wicca, nor does it necessitate subscribing to the "Rule of Three," the Wiccan Rede, or any of the other trappings of Gerald Gardner.

I, for example, am definitely not Wiccan and do not subscribe to any notion of black/white magick as a good/evil dichotomy. To quote Victor Anderson, "White magic is poetry, black magic is anything that works." I also think the Wiccan Rede is generally just diluted versions of Thelemic texts, and that the "Rule of Three" is primarily a means of control appealing to an idea of punishment/reward rather than actions-as-ends-in-themselves.

 

[Spiritlight]

Actually, that's one of the misconceptions that bugs me. Pagan or witch does not automatically equate to Wicca, nor does it necessitate subscribing to the "Rule of Three," the Wiccan Rede, or any of the other trappings of Gerald Gardner.

I, for example, am definitely not Wiccan and do not subscribe to any notion of black/white magick as a good/evil dichotomy. To quote Victor Anderson, "White magic is poetry, black magic is anything that works." I also think the Wiccan Rede is generally just diluted versions of Thelemic texts, and that the "Rule of Three" is primarily a means of control appealing to an idea of punishment/reward rather than actions-as-ends-in-themselves.

I have seen a few people into that stuff talk about karma too as a reason to avoid the rule of threes. I know not a great deal about this stuff just enough to get the idea what you guys are up to. Christianity is my thing. Am i scared of witches etc.. no! many are nice people just like lots of other people.

wicca lol, conjuring faeries is not my bag either.

 

[b&wpac7]

Please answer one question.Is there any chance that You can love any normal muslim person even though he sticks to his Faith.This question applies to all Non-muslims including Atheists.

Yes I can.

 

[Tinker Grey]

There's lots of them, so I'll do it all in one go.

What some people falsely think atheism means:

• Acceptance of Evolution
• Liberalism/Socialism/Communism/insert left-wing political ideology here
• Anarchism
• Anything political
• Supporting abortion
• Supporting homosexuality
• Supporting anything at all
• Subjective morality
• Having no moral base
• Anything to do with morality
• Outright claiming that God does not exist
• Eating babies
• Liking Richard Dawkins/Sam Harris/etc.
• Knowingly running away from the judgement of God
• Liking sin
• Hating other belief systems
• "Militant atheism"
• Always taking the biggest slice of cake
• Being a religion
• Not believing in God while still believing what the Bible says
• A lack of knowledge about religions
• Nothing, because atheists do not exist
• Absolutely anything other than a non-belief in any deity (i.e., the opposite of theism, which is solely a belief in a deity, and nothing more)

Good list. But ... have you met anyone who seriously believes we eat babies. I always assumed that originated as a joke.

 

[awitch]

I am not particularly fond of anyone who is into the dark energy stuff. From what i understand black witches are more inclined to use black magik to manipulate events. black magik to me seems creepy. It just has a bad feeling about it.

I was never one to colorize the practice, but the point is usually to manipulate events.

 

[Tinker Grey]

Please answer one question.Is there any chance that You can love any normal muslim person even though he sticks to his Faith.This question applies to all Non-muslims including Atheists.

While I was in graduate school I shared an office with a Muslim. He was smart, polite, patient with me (I was a Christian at the time). We spent time together away from work. I miss him. A very gentle soul.

However, he is in Tehran and I work for a defense contractor ... which means I'd risk my clearance, I think, to attempt to contact him. Hmm...maybe I should check with security office and see what they'd recommend.

 

[SithDoughnut]

Good list. But ... have you met anyone who seriously believes we eat babies. I always assumed that originated as a joke.

That was a joke, but I have met people who believe that I wouldn't have an issue with it if someone else did.