School Calls Me A Satan Worshiper

[Alice_ofthe_Killjoys]

I went to school one day and I wore black lipgloss, a Black Veil Brides shirt, and a witches star round my neck(Not in any way am I a witch or practicing witchcraft I just thought it looked cool).So I'm walking out of 2nd period and a 7th grader (I'm in 8th grade) walks up to me and yells at me calling me, "Satan Worshiper!", "Devil!", "You'll burn in the fiery depths of hell!!" and things like that. I get comments like that as I walk down the hall from many other seventh graders. All because of what I wore that day. Even some of the teachers questioned me about it and all this time I'm thinking, "Dont these people know that I'm a Christian. I talk about the Bible everyday in class. I even tried to start a bible study in school. How can these people think I am a "Satan Worshiper"?". What do you think I should do? I dont want to stop dressing the way I do because that's who I am and that's how I dress. Any advice?

The Logo on the Black Veil Brides shirt:

The Necklace:

Black Lipgloss: Just the regular Hot topics black lip gloss  

[Rednal]

Well, those kind of outfits can definitely stick out at your age. People will stop caring as you get older, I think.

My advice? Keep behaving like a Christian and talking about God to give them whiplash between how you look and what you're doing. rofl And trust me, you don't need to care about what they think. They'll get used to it. For the 7th Grader who said you would burn in Hell, for example, why not smile at them, explain that you believe in Jesus and have asked for his forgiveness, and say you're confident that He doesn't really worry too much about how you dress? And then invite them to study the Bible with you after school sometime.  

[Alice_ofthe_Killjoys]

Thanks for the help. I appreciate it very much. I will keep you in my prayers. smile  

[Rednal]

Oh, I'm just a terrible person who finds the idea of messing with Middle Schoolers that way to be funny. XD Rather, I think it will be good for them to learn not to judge by appearances, since they're about at that age. ~.^ And you're all so young, so don't judge anybody too harshly. They probably don't know any better.  

[Alice_ofthe_Killjoys]

Haha they should know better. We have had about 20 bullying presentations in the first semester and every single time they say not to judge by apearance so I myself think they know better.  

[rosadria]

They should know better, but they probably don't.

You should be able to wear whatever you want, but it seems that your outfit of choice wasn't doing any good for the cause of Christ. I would suggest that perhaps it would be a good idea to find other clothes until your peers have sufficient maturity to be able to handle it. They probably do remember you trying to set up the Bible study and all those good things, but they also see you as you are now, and most people can't see farther than their next meal.

If all you are asked to do for Christ is to give up how you like to dress, count yourself lucky.  

[Green_Fuu]

If you dress like a a chicken you'll be expected to lay eggs. If you dress like a hooker.....
Anyway....look at it from Jesus' perspective.
What would Jesus do?
Would Jesus ever dress like the priests/pharisees of the time, just because it looked "cool"?
No. He was a humble man from humble origins yet he was the King, but he was not sporting other pagan/religious/royal robes. I'm pretty sure no one thought of him of being fashionable.
If you want to be taken seriously as a christian look at Jesus as an example.

If you don't want to be confused for a stripper don't dress like one.
If you don't want to be dragged into surgery for an operation...don't dress like a doctor in a hospital.
And yes, the world can be very judgmental, so don't give them motive to have any recriminations against you.
You don't have to go knocking on doors and hand out thousands of pamphlets to "preach" the word of God.
Sometimes your testimony speaks mouthfuls..

And remember that there is a spiritual world out there. Demons know how to recognize "EXIT" as well as "ENTRANCE" signs. Satanists works a lot with symbol and signs that can open the door for something you do not really want in your house.


Hope this helped ^__^

 

[Aquatic_blue]

This is a bit of a gray area for me. I can see it from two angles.

Positive angle:

A Christian should be able to wear what they want. If someone is a Christian at heart and follow's the word of Christ then they'll be considered a Christian no matter what. In the eyes of God, they will be seen as a believer because they believe in Christ. As long as you follow the word of God, then it should be all okay.

Negative angle:

Our appearance in society will affect what people think of us due to stereotypes. Some Christian girls still wear bikini's to the pool, and sometimes they look like some beach girl that might drink and only be there trying to impress the boys and no one else. If a girl dresses in a short skirt, high heels, and a corset top that shows cleavage they're going to assume you may be a prositute or stripper. Thing is, sometimes attitudes come along with the way we dress. Those that dress for comfort are sometimes considered more laid back and sometimes even considered slobs if we go shopping in our sweatpants and a comfy t-shirt, or assume that we just walked in from the gym. Stereotypes happen and it's a part of society. No, people shouldn't assume who we are by the way we dress, but other times it can tell us a lot about a person. When I lived with my parents, I was never allowed to wear anything that resembled any type of witchcraft like a perfect prism crystal as a necklace, a witchcraft star, wasn't allowed to even read Harry Potter, or watch cartoons with witchcraft (so watching TV around Halloween was difficult with all of these Halloween specials). So if I wore that in my house, my Mom would've thrown it away and would've probably made some of those comments to me as well. We're supposed to appear as a child of God, and sometimes wearing a witch(craft) type star as a necklace, or dressing like that doesn't necessarily give the good appearance of a Christian...or at least not a good one. If you think about it, Satan actually doesn't look how he is in pictures...you know, the red skin, goatee, horns, and a trident. No, since he is a fallen angel, he actually looks of that of the light. He appears to be good, but is really a deceiver.

So the choice to find some new clothes, I would encourage. Maybe something a bit more neutral. I mean, wearing black is okay (I love wearing black a lot of the time), but sometimes the wrong image comes off by wearing the accesories and certain logos. If you got a plain black shirt or something and some jeans and wear a cross as a necklace instead, then it'd be a huge difference, right? Dressing more neutral wouldn't be a bad idea. People could've been making those comments because they think you're turning around, don't know you, or they've met so many fakes in their life that they think you may be quite the opposite. The way we put our image out can make a huge difference in what people think.  

[d i m i r h e x]

I had similar things happen to me like this in middle school and this is what I have to say on this matter:

If you like the way you dress then dress however you want to!
Don`t be afraid to experiment with your clothing and be a little daring!
That is what youth is for.
People are always going to talk, people are always going to judge what they don`t understand.
That is where you should not be afraid to stand up for yourself and be who you want to be.

Now some people might freak out and say that is dangerous and not God like and you can ignore my advice if you`d like I won`t mind. ^_^

One year of school I wore a anime insignia around my neck along with "goth" clothes.
A few times I went to school with cat ears on my head.
Sure I got picked on for it but at least I can look back and have no regrets.
No one is going to dictate to me what I can or cannot wear, Jesus never did so neither will I!

Good luck!  

[Hathor The Mad]

First of all that is not a satanic star that is a Wiccan symbol which is a nature worship religion or white magic.Im not judging and Im not 100% sure of what your belief system is. But that symbol is different from a Christian symbol however it is NOT demonic in any way shape or form. But I would suggest doing research on the symbols you ware if your not sure what they are just to avoid these types of issues. But I will tell you my favorite color is black and I am a Christian. Its just at this age your fellow classmates don't have the ability to understand the difference. I wore black make-up in middle school too and back in my day I think it was more the norm.(Jnco jean generation)
I always recommend talking with a trusted church leader or youth group leader even. Because they may be able to help shed light on the situation. But I will tell you this it will get easier. My favorite color still is black and those kids that gave me a hard time in school are no longer around.  

[kesuke uchiha]

mind you the fact that even though it is not the usual pagan signs and such that would suggest you are a worshiper of satan....they do look somewhat like it...and to the ignorant it would be undenying proof...
however...jesus warns us to avoid even the appearance of such things...
I believe that it is not wrong....especially if its somewhat in your roots...though it is not something you should wave around to others....especially the star in the circle thing.....that one actually does have its roots to satanism.. no matter the position of the star  

[faithful quenga]

Quote:

In response to complaints by parents and others about her clothing choices and sex-symbol persona, one pop singer quickly responded that being a role model was not her responsibility. She brushed off complaints about the sexual explicitness of her photos and dismissed the complaints as "their opinion." In other words, "Your problem with what I wear is your problem"

As Christians, though, we're all accountable for our actions. The Bible warns against cuasing someone else to stumble ( see Corinthians 10:32 ). Maybe that's why the apostles Peter and Paul stressed the need for modesty. Let's face it: some clothing styles can be distracting or inappropriate for certain settings - particularly the worship setting.

Some may argue that we're not responsible for how other people think. After all, some men will lust after a woman no matter what she wears. That's true enough. but there's one thing that's within our control: our own motives. We can discern those by asking ourselves the following questions:

~Do I dress to get attention or to entice?
~Am I trying to maintain a certain image?
~Do I hope to boost my low self-esteem?
~Am I trying to push the envelope because of what I think is an unfair dress code?

Modesty doesn't have to mean wearing sack-cloth or foregoing make-up and jewelry. As with all other decisions, wisdom is key.

"As long as we've been human we've needed modesty, because as humans we don't just have sex; we also have emotions and vulnerability" - Wendy Shalit

"Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks, or the Church of God." - 1 Corinthians 10:32

see also:
Proverbs 31:25,30
Matthew 18:6-9
1 Timothy 2:9-10
1 Peter 3:3-6

This is taken from a bible study I do from a women's bible. I hope this helps, it certainly has me.  

[N o r m a R o s e]

I think you should stop dressing the way you do. Believe me when I say that this is coming from a place of love.

If you dress like the devil, you're having a part with the devil. The bible says give no part to the devil. If you give a little something from the devil, he will take what he deems as his and the next thing you know, you'll be caught in a sin that you could never imagine finding yourself in.

If I were you, I'd get rid of all that stuff and pray for some forgiveness. And then ask God about how you can repair your damaged reputation at school.

Good luck!

 

[Aporeia]

N o r m a R o s e

I think you should stop dressing the way you do. Believe me when I say that this is coming from a place of love.

If you dress like the devil, you're having a part with the devil. The bible says give no part to the devil. If you give a little something from the devil, he will take what he deems as his and the next thing you know, you'll be caught in a sin that you could never imagine finding yourself in.

If I were you, I'd get rid of all that stuff and pray for some forgiveness. And then ask God about how you can repair your damaged reputation at school.

Good luck!

Just because someone wears black lipgloss and band symbol doesn't mean anything. Personally, I like the look, but am kinda turned off by the typical people strutting around with it.

Alternate styles of dress are one of those things that amount to nothing but superfluous bullcrap, so who should really care what you wear? Who made blue jeans and a frilly blouse the default christian girl's uniform?

Wear what you want, your actions are what matter. If anything, being really down to earth like that makes you a more approachable person.  

[Blaise-Ingram]

False Dichotomy

N o r m a R o s e

I think you should stop dressing the way you do. Believe me when I say that this is coming from a place of love.

If you dress like the devil, you're having a part with the devil. The bible says give no part to the devil. If you give a little something from the devil, he will take what he deems as his and the next thing you know, you'll be caught in a sin that you could never imagine finding yourself in.

If I were you, I'd get rid of all that stuff and pray for some forgiveness. And then ask God about how you can repair your damaged reputation at school.

Good luck!

Just because someone wears black lipgloss and band symbol doesn't mean anything. Personally, I like the look, but am kinda turned off by the typical people strutting around with it.

Alternate styles of dress are one of those things that amount to nothing but superfluous bullcrap, so who should really care what you wear? Who made blue jeans and a frilly blouse the default christian girl's uniform?

Wear what you want, your actions are what matter. If anything, being really down to earth like that makes you a more approachable person.

Yeah I second that. Cultural norms like wearing blue jeans and a cute top are only temporary, but God is forever.

I dress kind of like a tomboy, I guess because I don't really care about wearing typical Christian girl things, and I've had people think I'm lesbian (which I am not, I'm straight), both Christian and otherwise, and I've gotten a bit of crap from it, but I don't feel like it affects my relationship with God. I don't do it for attention, I just do it because I like what I like. I like baggy jackets, videogame T-shirts, beanies, and military boots, and not wearing makeup.

Listen, OP, I like wearing black too. I honestly wish I knew where/when people started associating black accessories/clothing/hair/makeup/etc. with Satan-worship. Did that start in the 1970's when metal music was starting to come around? Because

Anywho, fashion comes and goes. In Europe, Just 120 years ago it was considered extremely scandalous and indecent for women to show any part of their bodies in public other than their faces and hands, and about 500 years before that in the same area, it was common to wear billowing and loose clothing with short sleeves, and about 1500 years before THAT it was chunks of animal furs and poorly woven cloth that women wore, complete with veils and other accessories.
So back to my original point; women's fashion may change, but God abides forever. The fact that you choose to not wear clothing that the rest of our culture wears is just fine.

Just because someone wears something different doesn't mean they are bad, mislead, or Satan-worshipping. But humans have a very bad habit of demonizing anything they see as different, before they actually take the time to learn about it. Why? Because humans are lazy, and it's easier to hate and fear something than it is to put effort into learning about it before calling other people names. It's MUCH easier to tell someone they're going to hell, instead of sitting and thinking about things.

Also, tell those little pukes at school that they shouldn't be casting the first stone.