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Following religions/cultures without research (nitpicking on Norse mythology)
I was kind of in doubt as to where to put this, as it's equal amounts of Religion, Culture, people being lazy/idiotic and probably a good dose of me being nitpicky and quite possibly lecturing, all in one. So I'm throwing it in here, as it's something I hate very very much.
I'd probably have to start off by saying that I'm not hating on someone for wanting to follow a religion. Far from it. Just because I'm an atheist by choice, doesn't mean that I believe that everyone following a religion are all wrong.
The problem I have is with people deciding to follow a culture or religion, but getting it all wrong. It's a very general peeve, but for me in particular, it's when people decide they want to get on the Norse Mythology bandwagon, which for some reason seems to be very popular with a lot of New Agers, from what I've seen.
No, I'm not getting pissed because someone is taking something I'm proud of from my country's ancient past, I personally think that's awesome. I love the Norse mythos, and getting more people to share that same thoughts would be great. What I get really pissed off about is when people decide they want to follow it, but don't bother doing any research.
I read up on the stuff in my free time, and as such, I've run across many different kinds of mistakes, some more unforgiving than others to commit, but there are a few that really struck me, mainly because any kind of research would have given the correct answers, but also because the same mistake showed up several times.
For instance:
1. No, Frigg is not the same goddess as Freya. Yes, I know Frigg isn't as well known, and that there are speculations that Freya's husband, Od, might really have been Odin, but really, they're goddesses for two different things.
2. Don't claim that you're a "true believer" in the Norse Mythology, and then start talking about Heaven and Hell in the classical Biblical associations. In Norse mythology, if you died, there where two choices: You could die on the battlefield and be brought to Valhalla by the Valkyries, where you'd eat, drink and fight until Ragnarok, or you could die in any other way, and go straight to Hel. Yes, that's Hel, with one L. No, that doesn't mean fire and brimstone, that means searing cold and darkness.
Speaking of the Valkyries:
3. Alright, so you want to claim to be a Valkyrie. Fair enough. Just keep in mind that Valkyries were strong warrior women, used to seeing battlefields, not dainty, tiny, overly feminine princesses that needed men to get them out of any, tiny bit of trouble.
A bit further in the afterlife note:
4. See the whole "battling until Ragnarok" thing? That means no reincarnation. As much as a lot of women would probably love to be the reincarnation of Freya, sorry, that's just not something the old Norse believed in. If you died, you were dead until Ragnarok.
5. Loki is awesome, yes, I know. I have a thing for trickster gods myself, and I can fully understand why some people love the idea of that guy, too. But you can't just make him god of whatever you want. No, he's not the god of love, no matter how much you want him to be. He's not a god of families, either, even though he had plenty of children himself. Trickery, chaos and sometimes fire, depending on what translation you read, sure. But Loki was a bastard in the Norse myths, and that's part of what makes him great.
Claim to be a "true believer" (and I can't stress how much the whole "true believer" thing bothers me, for any religion or culture) all you want, but get it right.
There are plenty more, but those were the ones that I happened across the most.(Wow, this turned into quite a rant
)
Anyone else have experiences of people following something but not bothering with the research?
I'd probably have to start off by saying that I'm not hating on someone for wanting to follow a religion. Far from it. Just because I'm an atheist by choice, doesn't mean that I believe that everyone following a religion are all wrong.
The problem I have is with people deciding to follow a culture or religion, but getting it all wrong. It's a very general peeve, but for me in particular, it's when people decide they want to get on the Norse Mythology bandwagon, which for some reason seems to be very popular with a lot of New Agers, from what I've seen.
No, I'm not getting pissed because someone is taking something I'm proud of from my country's ancient past, I personally think that's awesome. I love the Norse mythos, and getting more people to share that same thoughts would be great. What I get really pissed off about is when people decide they want to follow it, but don't bother doing any research.
I read up on the stuff in my free time, and as such, I've run across many different kinds of mistakes, some more unforgiving than others to commit, but there are a few that really struck me, mainly because any kind of research would have given the correct answers, but also because the same mistake showed up several times.
For instance:
1. No, Frigg is not the same goddess as Freya. Yes, I know Frigg isn't as well known, and that there are speculations that Freya's husband, Od, might really have been Odin, but really, they're goddesses for two different things.
2. Don't claim that you're a "true believer" in the Norse Mythology, and then start talking about Heaven and Hell in the classical Biblical associations. In Norse mythology, if you died, there where two choices: You could die on the battlefield and be brought to Valhalla by the Valkyries, where you'd eat, drink and fight until Ragnarok, or you could die in any other way, and go straight to Hel. Yes, that's Hel, with one L. No, that doesn't mean fire and brimstone, that means searing cold and darkness.
Speaking of the Valkyries:
3. Alright, so you want to claim to be a Valkyrie. Fair enough. Just keep in mind that Valkyries were strong warrior women, used to seeing battlefields, not dainty, tiny, overly feminine princesses that needed men to get them out of any, tiny bit of trouble.
A bit further in the afterlife note:
4. See the whole "battling until Ragnarok" thing? That means no reincarnation. As much as a lot of women would probably love to be the reincarnation of Freya, sorry, that's just not something the old Norse believed in. If you died, you were dead until Ragnarok.
5. Loki is awesome, yes, I know. I have a thing for trickster gods myself, and I can fully understand why some people love the idea of that guy, too. But you can't just make him god of whatever you want. No, he's not the god of love, no matter how much you want him to be. He's not a god of families, either, even though he had plenty of children himself. Trickery, chaos and sometimes fire, depending on what translation you read, sure. But Loki was a bastard in the Norse myths, and that's part of what makes him great.
Claim to be a "true believer" (and I can't stress how much the whole "true believer" thing bothers me, for any religion or culture) all you want, but get it right.
There are plenty more, but those were the ones that I happened across the most.(Wow, this turned into quite a rant
)Anyone else have experiences of people following something but not bothering with the research?
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