History BatmanGambit / MythologyAndReligion

** One interpretation of the Fall of Man is thus: the serpent/{{Satan}} pulls one by getting Adam and Eve to disobey {{God}} by questioning whether he has the right to tell them what to do, knowing that God won't kill them immediately or else it will look like he is [[ControlFreak afraid of someone not being under his authority]], thus possibly causing the [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angels]] to question his authority. God retaliates by exploiting his VetinariJobSecurity and ceding Earth to Satan and the humans so they can [[HumansAreBastards screw themselves over trying to rule themselves.]] God then [[NotSoOmniscientAfterAll turns on his foresight]] and pulls a 4,000-year-long gambit ending in the death of [[MessianicArchetype Jesus Christ]] to {{rede|mptionEarnsLife}}em the rest of humanity who got pulled into this whole mess.

** Jacob pulled one on Esau when he "tricked" Esau into selling his birthright for a bowl of soup. Jacob's cooking was the first thing Esau saw on his way back into camp, and he was so hungry that he agreed to Jacob's price. The camp consisted of hundreds of people - Esau could have walked to the next tent over and found someone else to feed him.

* ''Music/KidsPraise'': In the ninth album of this Christian praise music for kids, Risky Rat tricks the protagonists into believing certain apparently-natural events are signs from God, such as all the pillars in some jungle ruins falling in the same direction after an earthquake. [[spoiler: In reality, this was special effects simulating an earthquake in an abandoned movie set that happened to be in the general area of Africa where Risky was hiding.]]

** One interpretation of the Fall of Man is thus: the serpent/{{Satan}} pulls one by getting Adam and Eve to disobey {{God}} by questioning whether he has the right to tell them what to do, knowing that God won't kill them immediately or else iy will look like he is afraid of someone not being under his authority, thus possibly causing the [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angels]] to question his authority. God retaliates by exploiting his VetinariJobSecurity and ceding Earth to Satan and the humans so they can [[HumansAreBastards screw themselves over trying to rule themselves.]] God then [[NotSoOmniscientAfterAll turns on his foresight]] and pulls a 4,000-year-long gambit ending in the death of [[MessianicArchetype Jesus Christ]] to {{rede|mptionEarnsLife}}em the rest of humanity who got pulled into this whole mess.

** This happened when Zeus decided to take revenge at humanity because Prometheus stole fire from him. He did this by first giving Prometheus' brother Epimetheus a woman named Pandora who was very curious. With her also came a [[SealedEvilInACan mysterious box]] in which Pandora was told never to open it. Naturally, Pandora's curiosity got the better of her and now humanity is ravaged with diseases and vices.
** ''Literature/TheOdyssey'' features how Odysseus manages to escape the cyclops Polyphemos. When he's first captured, he tells the cyclops that his name is "Nobody". Although his plan does work in the end, it rests on the assumptions that, ''if'' the Polyphemos's brothers hear Odysseus blind him and ask if there's anyone there, 1) that Polyphemos will say "It's Nobody," and 2) they'll buy it and go away.

** One interpretation of the Fall of Man is thus: the serpent/{{Satan}} pulls one by getting Adam and Eve to disobey {{God}} by questioning whether he has the right to tell them what to do, knowing that God won't kill them immediately or else look like he is afraid of someone not being under his authority, thus possibly causing the [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angels]] to question his authority. God retaliates by exploiting his VetinariJobSecurity and ceding Earth to Satan and the humans so they can [[HumansAreBastards screw themselves over trying to rule themselves]]. God then [[NotSoOmniscientAfterAll turns on his foresight]] and pulls a 4,000-year-long gambit ending in the death of [[MessianicArchetype Jesus Christ]] to {{rede|mptionEarnsLife}}em the rest of humanity who got pulled into this whole mess.

** Jacob pulled one on Esau when he "tricked" Esau into selling his birthright for a bowl of soup. Jacob's cooking was the first thing Esau saw on his was back into camp, and he was so hungry that he agreed to Jacob's price. The camp consisted of hundreds of people - Esau could have walked to the next tent over and found someone else to feed him.

** The Pandavas, Krishna's cousins, are forced to have to defeat an evil, powerful king, [[BigBad Jarasandha,]] in order for them to become the emperors of the Earth. Krishna destroys Jarasandha's army no less than 17 times, each time sparing the king himself, so that whenever he [[ILetYouWin lets the evil king beat him once,]] Jarasandha becomes [[AGodAmI conceited and vain.]] He then agrees to a duel with [[SuperStrength Bheema,]] the strongest Pandava, when he waltzes into his court, rather than just kill him on the spot. Krishna tells Bheema what [[AchillesHeel Jarasandha's weakness is,]] [[note]]Long story short, Jarasandha was born as two halves of a baby, before he was put back together. He, therefore, can be separated just as easily.[[/note]] and Bheema is able to [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe topple Jarasandha.]]

* The several versions of [[http://www.snopes.com/crime/clever/nowplant.asp this folktale]] where a fragile farmer (or a relative) tricks someone into digging his rough land plot after implying that something valuable is hidden under the earth and he [[ReversePsychology wants nobody to dig it]]. All of them end with the farmer happy with his new harvest.

** The serpent/{{Satan}} pulls one by getting Adam and Eve to disobey {{God}} by questioning whether he has the right to tell them what to do, knowing that God won't kill them immediately or else look like he is afraid of someone not being under his authority, thus possibly causing the [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angels]] to question his authority. God retaliates by exploiting his VetinariJobSecurity and ceding Earth to Satan and the humans so they can [[HumansAreBastards screw themselves over trying to rule themselves]]. God then [[NotSoOmniscientAfterAll turns on his foresight]] and pulls a 4,000-year-long gambit ending in the death of [[MessianicArchetype Jesus Christ]] to {{rede|mptionEarnsLife}}em the rest of humanity who got pulled into this whole mess.
*** Um, that's all [[WordOfDante not exactly canon]]...

* OlderThanFeudalism examples from GreekMythology:

* [[TheChessmaster Krishna]] is the king of this in HinduMythology.

** King Solomon pulled this off when he determined which of two women was the true mother of a child they both claimed was theirs. He proposed that the child be cut in half so that both women would have part of him, rightfully believing that the false mother would allow the "division" and that the real mother would sooner have her son be raised by someone else than have him killed.[[hottip:*:The benefit here being that even if he didn't get the literal truth of the kid's birth, he still knew who ''deserved'' it because she actually cared rather than being in it for the one-upsmanship.]]

** The Pandavas, Krishna's cousins, are forced to have to defeat an evil, powerful king, [[BigBad Jarasandha,]] in order for them to become the emperors of the Earth. Krishna destroys Jarasandha's army no less than 17 times, each time sparing the king himself, so that whenever he [[ILetYouWin lets the evil king beat him once,]] Jarasandha becomes [[AGodAmI conceited and vain.]] He then agrees to a duel with [[SuperStrength Bheema,]] the strongest Pandava, when he waltzes into his court, rather than just kill him on the spot. Krishna tells Bheema what [[AchillesHeel Jarasandha's weakness is,]] [[hottip:*: Long story short, Jarasandha was born as two halves of a baby, before he was put back together. He, therefore, can be separated just as easily.]] and Bheema is able to [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe topple Jarasandha.]]

*** Um, that's all [[WordOfDante not exactly cannon]]...

* The several versions of [[http://www.snopes.com/crime/clever/nowplant.asp this folktale]] where a fragile farmer (or a relative) tricks someone into digging his hard land plot after implying that something valuable is hidden under the earth and he [[ReversePsychology wants nobody to dig it]]. All of them end with the farmer happy with his new harvest.

** The Pandavas, Krishna's cousins, are forced to have to defeat an evil, powerful king, [[BigBad Jarasandha,]] in order for them to become the emperors of the Earth. Krishna destroys Jarasandha's army no less than 17 times, each time sparing the king himself, so that whenever he [[ILetYouWin lets the evil king beat him once,]] Jarasandha becomes [[AGodAmI conceited and vain.]] He then agrees to a duel with [[SuperStrength Bheema,]] the strongest Pandava, when he waltzes into his court, rather than just kill him on the spot. Krishna tells Bheema what [[AchillesHeel Jarasandha's weakness is,]] [[hottip:*: Long story short, Jarasandha was born as two halves of a baby, before he was put back together. He, therefore, can be separated just as easily.]] and Bheema is able to [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe topple Jarasandha.]]

* [[TheChessmaster: Krishna]] is the king of this in HinduMythology.
** The Pandavas, Krishna's cousins, are forced to have to defeat an evil, powerful king, [[BigBad Jarasandha,]] in order for them to become the emperors of the Earth. Krishna destroys Jarasandha's army no less than 17 times, each time sparing the king himself, so that whenever he [[ILetYouWin lets the evil king beat him once,]] Jarasandha becomes [[AGodAmI conceited and vain.]] He then agrees to a duel with [[SuperStrength: Bheema,]] the strongest Pandava, when he waltzes into his court, rather than just kill him on the spot. Krishna tells Bheema what [[AchillesHeel Jarasandha's weakness is,]] [[hottip:*: Long story short, Jarasandha was born as two halves of a baby, before he was put back together. He, therefore, can be separated just as easily.]] and Bheema is able to [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe topple Jarasandha.]]

* Krishna is the king of this in HinduMythology.
** The Pandavas, Krishna's cousins, are forced to have to defeat an evil, powerful king, [[BigBad Jarasandha,]] in order for them to become the emperors of the Earth. Krishna destroys Jarasandha's army no less than 17 times, each time sparing the king himself, so that whenever he [[ILetYouWin lets the evil king beat him once,]] Jarasandha becomes [[AGodAmI conceited and vain.]] He then agrees to a duel with Bheema, the strongest Pandava, when he waltzes into his court, rather than just kill him on the spot. Krishna knows [[AchillesHeel Jarasandha's weakness,]] [[hottip:*: Long story short, Jarasandha was born as two halves of a baby, before he was put back together. He, therefore, can be separated just as easily.]] and Bheema is able to [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe topple Jarasandha.]]

** The Pandavas, Krishna's cousins, are forced to have to defeat an evil, powerful king, [[BigBad Jarasandha,]] in order for them to become the emperors of the Earth. Krishna destroys Jarasandha's army no less than 17 times, each time sparing the king himself, so that whenever he [[ILetYouWin lets the evil king beat him once,]] Jarasandha becomes [[AGodAmI conceited and vain.]] He then agrees to a duel with Bheema, the eldest Pandava, when he waltzes into his court, rather than just kill him on the spot. Krishna knows [[AchillesHeel Jarasandha's weakness,]] [[hottip:*: Long story short, Jarasandha was born as two halves of a baby, before he was put back together. He, therefore, can be separated just as easily.]] and Bheema is able to [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe topple Jarasandha.]]

** The Pandavas, Krishna's cousins, are forced to have to defeat an evil, powerful king, [[BigBad Jarasandha,]] in order for them to become the emperors of the Earth. Krishna destroys Jarasandha's army no less than 17 times, each time sparing the king himself, so that whenever he [[ILetYouWin lets the evil king beat him once,]] Jarasandha becomes [[AGodAmI conceited and vain.]] He then agrees to a duel with Bheema, the eldest Pandava, when he waltzes into his court, rather than just kill him on the spot. Krishna knows [[AchillesHeel Jarasandha's weakness,]] [[hottip:* Long story short, Jarasandha was born as two halves of a baby, before he was put back together. He, therefore, can be separated just as easily.]] and Bheema is able to [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe topple Jarasandha.]]

** The Pandavas, Krishna's cousins, are forced to have to defeat an evil, powerful king, [[BigBad Jarasandha,]] in order for them to become the emperors of the Earth. Krishna destroys Jarasandha's army no less than 17 times, each time sparing the king himself, so that whenever he [[ILetYouWin lets the evil king beat him once,]] Jarasandha becomes [[AGodAmI conceited and vain.]] He then agrees to a duel with Bheema, the eldest Pandava, when he waltzes into his court, rather than just kill him on the spot. Krishna knows [[AchillesHeel Jarasandha's weakness,]] [[hottip: Long story short, Jarasandha was born as two halves of a baby, before he was put back together. He, therefore, can be separated just as easily.]] and Bheema is able to [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe topple Jarasandha.]]

** The Pandavas, Krishna's cousins, are forced to have to defeat an evil, powerful king, [[BigBad Jarasandha,]] in order for them to become the emperors of the Earth. Krishna destroys Jarasandha's army no less than 17 times, each time sparing the king himself, so that whenever he [[ILetYouWin lets the evil king beat him once,]] Jarasandha becomes [[AGodAmI conceited and vain.]] He then agrees to a duel with Bheema, the eldest Pandava, when he waltzes into his court, rather than just kill him on the spot. Krishna knows [[AchillesHeel Jarasandha's weakness, [[hottip: Long story short, Jarasandha was born as two halves of a baby, before he was put back together. He, therefore, can be separated just as easily.]]]] and Bheema is able to [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe topple Jarasandha.]]

** The Pandavas, Krishna's cousins, are forced to have to defeat an evil, powerful king, [[BigBad Jarasandha,]] in order for them to become the emperors of the Earth. Krishna destroys Jarasandha's army no less than 17 times, each time sparing the king himself, so that whenever he [[ILetYouWin lets the evil king beat him once,]] Jarasandha becomes [[AGodAmI conceited and vain.]] He then agrees to a duel with Bheema, the eldest Pandava, when he waltzes into his court, rather than just kill him on the spot. Krishna knows [[AchillesHeel Jarasandha's weakness,]] and Bheema is able to topple Jarasandha.

** The Pandavas, Krishna's cousins, are forced to have to defeat an evil, powerful king, [[BigBad Jarasandha,]] in order for them to become the emperors of the Earth. Krishna destroys Jarasandha's army no less than 17 times, each time sparing the king himself, so that whenever he lets the evil king beat him once, Jarasandha becomes [[AGodAmI conceited and vain.]] He then agrees to a duel with Bheema, the eldest Pandava, when he waltzes into his court, rather than just kill him on the spot. Krishna knows [[AchillesHeel Jarasandha's weakness,]] and Bheema is able to topple Jarasandha.

* Krishna is the king of this in HinduMythology.

** King Solomon pulled this off when he determined which of two women was the true mother of a child they both claimed was theirs. He proposed that the child be cut in half so that both women would have part of him, rightfully believing that the false mother would allow the "division" and that the real mother would sooner have her son be raised by someone else than have him killed.[[hottip:*:The benefit here being that even if he didn't get the literal truth of the kid's birth, he still knew who ''deserved'' it because she actually cared rather than being in it for the one-upsmanship.]]