History MisaimedFandom / MythAndReligion

* The Midas Touch is a term used for someone who's extremely lucky or skilled in their endeavors, despite the fact that it was explicitly a [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor cautionary tale]] about King Midas being BlessedWithSuck. King Midas did turn everything he touched to gold, but [[ExactWords it literally meant everything]], including food, wine, and his own daughter. The tale is supposed to be a cautionary story on the nature of greed, and what Midas went through was portrayed as horrific.

** To an extent, some ace sees Athena, Artemis, and Hestia as being asexual representation due to their attribute as a virgin goddess. This ignores that the Ancient Greek did not interpreted virginity the same way as today[[note]]To them, virgnity means being not married as opposed to not have sex or hold sexual attraction[[/note]], as well as did not consider the concept of asexuality. Furthermore, real life Ancient Greek religion practice demonstrate that the goddess' virgin attribute aren't universal for most Greeks. Case in point, Artemis whose major roles is the goddess of fertility and childbirth (something that is often ignored in pop culture), particularly has a cult in the Asia Minor where she's [[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Artemis_of_Ephesus Artemis Ephesia]] depicted with hundred breasts), and has her share of obscure myths having affairs (such as Orion).

* RasputinianDeath was probably invented by Russian ultra-right deputate Purishkevich to show what a hellish being UsefulNotes/RasputinTheMadMonk was. Today, some people point on this like on miracles of a saint.

** Notably, Norse Mythology has attracted a following of white supremacists calling themselves "Odinists" and referring to it as the "true Aryan religion" (Christianity was founded by a Jew, after all). This is despite the fact that the Norse and Germanic peoples who practiced Norse Paganism never expressed these beliefs [[note]]The Norse, in particular, were perfectly willing to do business with the likes of the Abbasid Arabs, without ever commenting on their skin color [[/note]], as the very idea of color-based race as it exists today wouldn't come about until several centuries later. Not only that, but evidence shows some Norse people had children with Black and Middle Eastern people, something repugnant to racists, rather than keep themselves "pure". As class and family were much more important to the Norse than any notion of race, a Norse king would have identified more with a prince of another people than a slave of his own.

* On Jesus and Economics (given that none of the authors of the New Testament Gospels and Epistles are alive to explain their writings, obverse Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment): Many of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_left Christian Left]] have accused those of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_right Christian Right]] of having a misaimed fandom in using religion to rail against various [[HeteronormativeCrusader social issues]] (e.g. same-sex marriage) while overlooking efforts to confront poverty and other socioeconomic problems. On the other hand, Rightists have also accused Leftists of also observing a misaimed fandom in pursuing Social Justice in that Jesus, while calling people to be charitable and humble, did not call for forcibly seizing people's private property (and thus in doing so, conflicting with prohibition on theft) autocratically to impose this on people and that such actions would not be so different from the Roman Empire's despotism that Jesus was opposed to. The Book of Acts is frequently interpreted by both sides as supporting their respective arguments.
** On the other hand, many conservatives have accused liberals of wiping away any requirements of Christianity, making it a meaningless feel-good religion. If you condemn no one and there is no sin, then the forgiveness is meaningless. This is one interpretation of the song ''Sound of Silence'' and the more on-the-nose ''Scandalon''.

[[folder: Myths]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Others]]

* A lot of people in the LGBT fanbase ended up seeing the heroes and gods from Myth/ClassicalMythology as LGBT representation and role models, citing that they also engaged in same-sex relationships - despite that homosexuality wasn't necessarily acceptable to the Ancient Greeks[[note]]What was acceptable to them was pederasty, which is a relationship between an older man and a much ''younger'' boy. Essentially, Ancient Greeks would find homosexuality today as "effeminate", and they viewed the passive (aka bottom) role as shameful because it assumes one is taking the role of a woman.[[/note]], and plus, the majority of the male gods and heroes aren't... paragons of [[ReallyGetsAround morals and virtues to be]] [[DoubleStandardRapeDivineOnMortal to be used as]] [[UnfortunateImplications good representation...]]

* The Midas Touch is a term used for someone who's extremely lucky or skilled in their endeavors, despite the fact that it was explicitly a [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor cautionary tale]] about King Midas being BlessedWithSuck.

* On Jesus and Economics (given that none of the authors of the New Testament Gospels and Epistles are alive to explain their writings, obverse Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment): Many of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_left Christian Left]] have accused those of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_right Christian Right]] of having a misaimed fandom in using religion to rail against various [[HeteronormativeCrusader social issues]] (e.g. same-sex marriage) while overlooking efforts to confront poverty and other socioeconomic problems. On the other hand, Rightists have also accused Leftists of also observing a misaimed fandom in pursuing Social Justice in that Jesus, while calling people to be charitable and humble, did not call for forcibly seizing people's private property (and thus in doing so, conflicting with prohibition on theft) autocratically to impose this on people and that such actions would be NotSoDifferent from the Roman Empire's despotism that Jesus was opposed to. The Book of Acts is frequently interpreted by both sides as supporting their respective arguments.

** There are other gospels than the ones the Council of Nicene chose to put in the Bible, with just as much (or little) claim to being accurate accounts. A few of them have Judas acting under direct orders from Jesus at the time.
*** The idea that the Nicene Council put the Bible together is itself an example of MisaimedFandom; the canon of the Bible was already nearly complete before the First Council of Nicaea took place [[note]] there a few writings, known as the Antilegomena, which were disputed and had not yet been placed in; some of them did later make the cut, while others did not[[/note]] and the whole claim came from a book by Creator/{{Voltaire}} that many scholars consider to be historically dubious.

** Oddly enough, ''Revelation does not contain the word "Antichrist"''. The word ''only'' comes up in the Gospel of John, and in one case, it's ''plural''. The Antichrist is either some particular guy who denies the divinity of Jesus, or it's a generic term for ''any'' person who denies the divinity of Jesus (i.e. it's a synonym for "non-Christian"). Meanwhile, Revelation features Satan, The Beasts, The Dragon, and The Whore of Babylon, but none of these are actually named "Antichrist". And they generally come across as physically (not just morally) monstrous, which sorta messes with the popular idea that "The Antichrist" will show up as a charismatic human-shaped leader, and that such an event is plainly predicted in "Revelation".

** Oddly enough, ''Revelation does not contain the word "Antichrist"''. The word ''only'' comes up in the Gospel of John, and in one case, it's ''plural''. The Antichrist is either some particular guy who denies the divinity of Jesus, or it's a generic term for ''any'' person who denies the divinity of Jesus (i.e. it's a synonym for "non-Christian"). Meanwhile, Revelation features Satan, The Beasts, The Dragon, and The Whore of Babylon, but none of these are actually named "Antichrist". And they generally come across as physically (not just morally) monstrous, which sorta messes with the popular idea that "The Antichrist" will show up as a charismatic human-shaped leader, and that such an event is plainly predicted in Revelation".

*** The idea that the Nicene Council put the Bible together is itself an example of MisaimedFandom; the canon of the Bible was already nearly complete before the First Council of Nicaea took place [[note]] there a few writings, known as the Antilegomena, which were disputed and had not yet been placed in; some of them did later make the cut, while others did not[[/note]] and the whole claim came from a book by {{Voltaire}} that many scholars consider to be historically dubious.

** Notably, Norse Mythology has attracted a following of white supremacists calling themselves "Odinists" and referring to it as the "true Aryan religion" (Christianity was founded by a Jew, after all). This is despite the fact that the Norse and Germanic peoples who practiced Norse Paganism never expressed these beliefs [[note]]The Norse, in particular, were perfectly willing to do business with the likes of the Abbasid Arabs, without ever commenting on their skin color [[/note]], as the very idea of color-based race as it exists today wouldn't come about until several centuries later. Not only that, but evidence shows some Norse people had children with Black and Middle Eastern people, something repugnant to racists, rather than keep themselves "pure".

*** Some scholars speculate that this story *is* more feminist than it seems at face value. Some view Athena's actions as protecting Medusa from Poseidon and other men by making it impossible to look upon her. This is speculated because a gorgon head was a symbol associated with the Ancient Greek version of domestic violence shelters.
*** ... Which this theory doesn't not hold water since Athena help Perseus into killing Medusa and place her head on her shield - becoming a symbol for conquest used by Greek and Roman rulers.

** Notably, Norse Mythology has attracted a following of white supremacists calling themselves "Odinists" and referring to it as the "true Aryan religion" (Christianity was founded by a Jew, after all). This is despite the fact that the Norse and Germanic peoples who practiced Norse Paganism never expressed these beliefs [[note]]The Norse, in particular, were perfectly willing to do business with the likes of the Abbasid Arabs, without ever commenting on their skin color [[/note]], as the very idea of color-based race as it exists today wouldn't come about until several centuries later.

* A lot of people in the LGBT fanbase ended up seeing the heroes and gods from Myth/ClassicalMythology as LGBT representation and role models, citing that they also engaged in same-sex relationships - despite that homosexuality wasn't necessarily acceptable to the Ancient Greeks[[note]]What was acceptable to them was pederasty, which is a relationship between an older man and a much ''younger'' boy. Essentially, Ancient Greeks would find homosexuality today as "effeminate", and they viewed the passive (aka bottom) role as shameful because it assumes one is taking the role of a woman.[[/note]], and plus, the majority of the male gods and heroes aren't... [[YourCheatingHeart paragons of]] [[ReallyGetsAround morals and virtues to be]] [[DoubleStandardRapeDivineOnMortal to be used as]] [[UnfortunateImplications good representation...]]

** To an extent, some ace sees Athena, Artemis, and Hestia as being asexual representation due to their attribute as a virgin goddess. This ignores that the Ancient Greek did not interpreted virginity the same way as today[[note]]To them, virgnity means being not married as opposed to not have sex or hold sexual attraction[[/note]], as well as did not consider the concept of asexuality. Furthermore, real life Ancient Greek religion practice demonstrate that the goddess' virgin attribute aren't universal for most Greeks. Case in point, Artemis whose major roles is the goddess of fertility and childbirth (something that is often ignored in pop culture), particularly has a cult in the Asia Minor where she's Artemis Ephesia with hundred breasts), and has her share of obscure myths having affairs (such as Orion).

* The tale of Pandora's box is often subjected to this due to cultural and religious shifts in attitude over the centuries. The original version of the story is meant to be a cautionary tale against idle curiosity in the face of explicit warnings against exposing things that shouldn't be messed with. When Pandora opens the box, she unleashes all of the woes of mortality into the world (sickness, blight, aging, etc). Modern spins on the myth tend to portray the final concept to come out of the box, hope, as a good thing meant to balance all of the despair that was just inflicted, yet this goes directly against what the ancient Greeks intended. To Greeks, hope was the absolute worst thing that could have been set loose, because from their point of view it is very closely tied to ''apathy''. Basically, it's the ancient Greek version of HoldingOutForAHero - which they highly discouraged, because anyone who needed a hero to come along and fix their problems was either too weak or too lazy to clean up their own mess, and were objects of pity rather than symbols of virtue.
** Moreover, the story in all its versions points out that Pandora means "all presents" or "she who received presents from all" as in all the gods, because the gods created her. Specifically, that they created her to be beautiful and very curious among other things, essentially setting her up to fail from the very start, yet everyone, even the ancient Greeks, took the story in a way similar to Adam and Eve's story, to mean how ruinous women are.

** Case in point: She sides with [[Theatre/TheOresteia Orestes]] against the Erinyes for killing his mother, Clytemnestra (who had killed his father) and concedes a belief that, in a marriage, the man is more important than the woman, citing the fact that she was born from Zeus without a mother.[[note]]Which, by the way, is entirely false. Her mother, the nymph Metis, was alive inside Zeus and forged her armor.[[/note]]

* On Jesus and Economics (given that none of the authors of the New Testament Gospels and Epistles are alive to explain their writings, obverse Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment): Many of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_left Christian Left]] have accused those of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_right Christian Right]] of having a misaimed fandom in using religion to rail against various [[HeteronormativeCrusader social issues]] (e.g. same-sex marriage) while overlooking efforts to confront poverty and other socioeconomic problems. On the other hand, Rightists have also accused Leftists of also observing a misaimed fandom in pursuing Social Justice in that Jesus, while calling people to be charitable and humble, did not call for call for forcibly seizing people's private property (and thus in doing so, conflicting with prohibition on theft) autocratically to impose this on people and that such actions would be NotSoDifferent from the Roman Empire's despotism that Jesus was opposed to. The Book of Acts is frequently interpreted by both sides as supporting their respective arguments.

** The ordination restriction actually has Biblical support; 1 Timothy 2:12-15 makes mention of not "suffering a woman to teach or usurp authority over a man" and specifically mentions Eve's deception as the reason (along with Eve being formed second). At the same time, different denominations have different interpretations of what that particular line actually means or what positions it would restrict a woman from if it does indeed restrict them. [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment To say it is a touchy subject would be a vast understatement.]]

** The ordination restriction actually has Biblical support; 1 Timothy 2:12-15 makes mention of not "suffering a woman to teach or usurp authority over a man" and specifically mentions Eve's deception as the reason (along with Eve being formed second). At the same time, different denominations have different interpretations of what that particular line actually means or what positions it would restrict a woman from if it does indeed restrict them. [[TheRuleOfCautiousEditing To say it is a touchy subject would be a vast understatement.]]

*** The idea that the Nicene Council put the Bible together is itself an example of MisaimedFandom; the canon of the Bible was already nearly complete before the First Council of Nicaea took place [note] there a few writings, known as the Antilegomena, which were disputed and had not yet been placed in; some of them did later make the cut, while others did not[/note] and the whole claim came from a book by Creator/Voltaire that many scholars consider to be historically dubious.

** The ordination restriction actually has Biblical support; 1 Timothy 2:12-15 makes mention of not "suffering a woman to teach or usurp authority over a man" and specifically mentions Eve's deception as the reason (along with Eve being formed second). At the same time, different denominations have different interpretations of what that particular line actually means or what positions it would restrict a woman from if it does indeed restrict them. [[RuleOfCautiousEditing To say it is a touchy subject would be a vast understatement.]]

[[folder:In General]]
* Basically any religions or mythologies are frequently subjected to this due their morals and social commentary became irreverent or looked over in hundreds and thousands years, which many today will interpret it differently without looking into the historical contexts and explanations as seen the majority of examples on this page.
* Many mythologies and religions preach for universal brother- and sisterhood and that people should be kind and forgiving to each other. [[HumansAreBastards Yet humans have killed, tortured, fought, bickered, doublecrossed, betrayed, stolen, vandalized, raped, lied to, hurt and slaughtered each other throughout the centuries in name of their god(s) or ideology]].
** Most religions try to give exceptions as to exactly who you need to love and forgive, but the point certainly stands that plenty of the tortured and killed apparently didn't quite qualify.
* A lot of people who claim that their religious text is a book of wisdom have in truth not read it at all, or only parts of it. Various people [[BeamMeUpScotty quote lines that aren't in the books]] or were [[ExactWords taken out of context]], or take things literally that were never ''meant'' to be taken literally. Most of the time people shoehorn and twist everything so that it favors what they themselves believe.
* Sometimes you wonder if the original teachings are still in line with what the religions have become? Many people are called ''good or morally decent'', simply because they ''call'' themselves Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus or whatever. But some of them just visit their religious building once a week, attend the service, pray from time to time and do absolutely nothing else of any value for the needy. Take those religious zealots who spent more time and energy dismissing others for not being ''of the same faith'' or ''not being as religious as them''. How can they still assume that they are making this world a better place for others if they misuse their faith just as an excuse to bully or dismiss others? Or any person at all who just seem confident that they will have a great afterlife just because they merely ''profess'' a belief in something higher.
** Continuing from this, some people seem to think that the only reason they should be a good person is so they'll get rewarded in the end. This twists the original teachings from "Do good for the sake of improving the world" into "I want to get into a perfect world after I die and leave this WretchedHive behind".
* Another strange phenomenon are people who lead a debaucherous life, yet still claim to believe in God. Take any rockstar, pop singer, rapper, A-list media star, businessman, royal, politician, religious leader,... who leads a life of decadent luxury, smoking, drinking, taking drugs, driving in unnecessarily large limousines, living in unnecessarily spacious mansions/palaces, acting like a self important divo or diva, spending a fortune on stuff that they could give away to the less fortunate, using their fame for easy access to women, preaching about "the sanctity of marriage" while being on their [[SerialSpouse umpteenth short-lived marriage]] ... all far removed from the things their church teaches about modesty, sincerity, sharing with others and leading a simple, healthy life without being lead into temptation. How hypocritical can they be?
** Granted, some of these people are actually sincere in their beliefs, and they feel guilty about their transgressions, but they find it's difficult to break old habits. A hypocrite is not merely someone who doesn't meet his own standards; it's someone who doesn't even ''try''.
[[/folder]]

* Rastafari is a highly conservative religion, both for better and for worse. Followers maintain strict dietary restrictions, swear off alcohol and most other mind-altering substances, cut themselves off from the corrupt world around them to varying degrees, treat women as second-class citizens, and despise gay people, especially gay men. They also smoke ganja, [[DreadlockRasta grow dreadlocks]], and are associated with reggae music. Guess which of these aspects are embraced by middle-class Americans.

* While not characters per say, the suicide bombers and similar in RealLife are the result of MisaimedFandom of their own religious texts.

* A lot of people in the LGBT fanbase ended up seeing the heroes and gods from Myth/ClassicalMythology as LGBT representation and role models, citing that they also engaged in same-sex relationships - despite that homosexuality wasn't necessarily acceptable to the Ancient Greeks[[note]]What was acceptable to them was pederasty, which is a relationship between an older and a much ''younger'' boy. Essentially Ancient Greeks would find homosexuality today as "effeminate", and they viewed the passive (aka bottom) role as shameful because it assumes one is taking a role of a woman.[[/note]], and plus the majority of the male gods and heroes aren't... [[YourCheatingHeart paragon of]] [[ReallyGetsAround morals and virtues to be]] [[DoubleStandardRapeDivineOnMortal to be used as]] [[UnfortunateImplications good representation...]]

* One verse which is often misinterpreted due to cultural changes is Matthew 5:39 "turning the other cheek". People overlook that the verse specifies the right cheek. In society at that time to strike someone with the back of one's fist was considered an insult and as most people are right handed, a backhand to the face lands on the right cheek. With this in mind, it reads as "Don't feed the trolls" and not "let people walk all over you".

* Depictions of Judas as a despicable villain, cowardly betrayer and an agent of Satan are pretty mainstream. Judas was meant to betray Jesus, so he can die for humanity's sins. Also remember that Satan actually wanted to prevent Jesus from dying, so why would he send a guy to sell him out to people who want him dead?
** At least one of the gospels has Judas possessed by Satan when he betrays Jesus. When Satan leaves him, he desperately MustMakeAmends, and is so wracked with guilt he hangs himself. Yet, his name is shorthand for evil and a lot of people think he's one of the Bible's greatest villains.
** We have WordOfDante to blame for that one, of course. The Church (for quite some time, [[ChristianityIsCatholic Christianity really was Catholic]]) demonized Judas for various reasons, a portrayal cemented in our culture by...well...Dante, whose ''[[Literature/TheDivineComedy Inferno]]'' has Judas be one of the three great historical traitors (with [[UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar Caesar's]] traitors Brutus and Cassius) deemed bad enough to be chewed upon by Satan for all eternity.
** Judas wasn't entirely innocent, though, as he makes the deal with the Pharisees ''before'' Satan enters him at the last supper. John also records that Judas was greedy and would often help himself to the contents of the disciples' moneybag, and at one point called out Christ for wasting perfume that could have been "sold to the poor" when he really only intended to get more money for himself.

** Though there is always the implication that, Jesus was pointing out that whoever would've committed the betrayal would forever be remembered in history as a villain and "woe be to them."

** Oddly enough, ''Revelation does not contain the word "Antichrist"''. The word ''only'' comes up in the Gospel of John, and in one case it's ''plural''. The antichrist is either some particular guy who denies the divinity of Jesus, or it's a generic term for ''any'' person who denies the divinity of Jesus (i.e. it's a synonym for "non-Christian"). Meanwhile, Revelation features Satan, The Beasts, The Dragon, and The Whore of Babylon, but none of these are actually named "antichrist". And they generally come across as physically (not just morally) monstrous, which sorta messes with the popular idea that "The Antichrist" will show up as a charismatic human-shaped leader, and that such an event is plainly predicted in Revelation.
* The story of Adam and Eve has been misused for centuries to provide an aesop that women are seductresses who lure men to their downfall. Since Eve was the first one to bite the apple, it also has the implied message that women are weak, stupid, evil, and so on, and should therefore be punished for all eternity by being reduced to second class citizens or kept out of high profile religious professions. Even to this day you'll find people who use this story as a reason why women cannot be ordained as priests or popes. [[FemaleMisogynist Some of them are even women!]]
* As far as religious figures go, UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} has the worst case of MisaimedFandom ever. Here's a poor son of a Jewish carpenter who, for the most part, [[NewAgeRetroHippie was practically]] a [[HippieJesus Proto-Hippie]]. A man who spoke on behalf of the poor and marginalized, respected women as human beings and equals, eschewed material wealth and earthly power, chewed out the "Fat Cats" and stuffy [[TheFundamentalist religious authorities]] of the day, [[BadassPacifist a man]] who taught [[NiceGuy kindness]], [[GoodFeelsGood altruism]], [[GoodSamaritan generosity]], [[AllLovingHero unconditional love]], [[TurnTheOtherCheek forgiveness]] and peace... If anything, he was practically a "Liberal Peacenik Hippie Socialist" or whatever... Yet institutions professing to follow him [[ActivistFundamentalistAntics have used his brand]] of a kinder, gentler, humanitarian Reformed Judaism to commit horrific acts of violence and bigotry! Yeshua Bar Yosef (a.k.a 'Jesus') would look at [[UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar the Crusades]], [[WitchHunt pogroms, Witch Hunts]], hate crimes, [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans totalitarianism]], [[EvilColonialist imperialism]], [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain bigotry]], [[HeManWomanHater sexism]] and [[DespotismJustifiesTheMeans lust for power committed]] through the ages with utter horror!