People will believe anything about any group...
This woman at w*rk asked me if I was a flat earther. This other woman she knows is a Pentecostal and for some reason believes the Earth is flat, so she made the assumption that all Pentecostals believe in flat Earth theory.
I spent the rest of the day asking her if she believed different things like humans had three stomachs, our health is controlled by four different body fluids in balance, all these theories humans used to have. Hopefully I drove the message home that you can't assume things about what people believe.
It is also true that you shouldn't be quick to assume [various] things about someone just because they believe a certain thing - "they are weird" - "they are crazy" - "they are a conspiracy theory nut" - you know - stuff like that. You should
learn to separate the person from the belief. You will find that many flat earth folks are just as down-to-earth-good-honest-folks as many others who believe the earth is a spinning ball flying through space. Contrary to popular opinion (heavily driven by the MSM), people who believe that "9/11 was an inside job" or that "we did not actually go to the moon" are just as much "common folk" as others who believe differently.
People will believe anything about any group...
Yep.
You are correct - people do it all the time - yet, the important question is...
Are you able to see it when it is you who is doing it?
Are you sure that you are willing to give each group a "fair hearing" before you make vast sweeping assumptions about everyone in that group?
At its base level - how you treat Pentecostal
individuals should not be any different than how you treat Flat Earth
individuals.
How you treat an
individual should not be a mere reflection of how you treat the [central common idea/theme] of the group.
In other words, don't let yourself "superimpose"
what you think about the [central common idea/theme] of the group onto any
individual of the group arbitrarily.
"I think that idea is crazy - so, they must be crazy."
Remember the illustration in this passage of scripture:
James 2:
1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a individualgold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? 5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? 6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? 7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
If the man in [perceived] goodly apparel is the Ball Earth man and the man in [perceived] vile raiment is the Flat Earth man -
will you treat them differently?
In
my illustration given here (and, as seen by any who "judge"):
~ the 'goodly apparel' and the 'vile raiment' are the two different beliefs
~ the 'rich' are those who are "judged" to have the popular belief (Ball Earth)
~ the 'poor' are those who are "judged" to have the unpopular belief (Flat Earth)
(I know this is not a perfect illustration; however, you don't realize just how much it actually applies (verses 6-7) to those who 'control' the "modern science" views of the world that everyone is taught.)
Are you willing you judge and assume everything about that person based on his 'clothing'?
Don't conflate or confuse the individual with the group.
All kinds of folks believe all kinds of different things.