Inspiration for this topic goes to my newest acquaintance Calilasseia, dare I say friend, who used the term Mythology Fanboy in an earlier post.
As an atheist from a relatively young age I showed little or no curiosity about any other religion. I figured fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. I therefore have to limit my choice for most notorious mythology fanboy to the mormon church. Although the choices are many why not start at the beginning with its founder Joseph Smith.
In search of the one true religion Joseph read and re-read the bible. He prayed and prayed again. He eventually decided that the Bible wasn’t too bad a story, leaving aside the obvious errors in translation. However he was sure that with a bit of help he could do better. Being a humble man and perhaps a bit lazy he called on his angel friend moroni to co-author what became known as the Book of Mormon. One of the things that Joseph didn’t like about the bible was the setting so the book of mormon was set in the americas. This made sense because moroni was an ancient south american warrior who died centuries before. The book of mormon became one of the most given away free books ever written and in fact missionaries around the world will freely hand them out if you will only let them in your house. One of the things that Joseph liked about the bible was plural marriage. Joseph was killed by an angry mob upset by his success with their wives and daughters oh and for his penchant for fraud. The mob then drove the survivors from town which pretty much happened everywhere they tried to settle until they reached the Salt Lake Valley. By then they were led by Brigham Young who is reported to have inducted 26 women into his harem. The women, grateful to one another for sharing the load took to referring to each other as sister but what really turned the fellas on was when they referred to their husbands as father. As you can imagine the population grew and grew quickly which gave rise for a need to track whose genes were where. Mormons are well known for their expertise at genealogy. Its up to you to decide whether my man Joe deserves the title of most notorious mythology fanboy.
One further point: It has been postulated by unverified source that this song was inspired by the westward trek and the settlement of Salt Lake. Note the use of brother love and salvation. Who else deserves the title more than ole Joe.
Ain’t that the truth.
Joseph Smith is a particularly fine example though. A known fraudster who gathered himself power and a harem by claiming to have divine knowledge. To this day the mormon religion seems to spawn more than its fair share of complete lunatics and scandals.
L. Ron Hubbard is a favorite of mine as a good example of how people are willing to believe anything and how religions get started.
But, damn, he has a couple of pretty good sci-fi books out there. “Battlefield Earth” is my favorite. Nevertheless, a Super Fanboy he most certainly is. (Althooooough… 
… Now that I think about it, I suspect many here are probably just jealous of all the money and influence he has. Shame on you ALL. Jealousy is a sin!)
What??? No one’s jealous of Brigham Young’s 26 wives? What could go wrong there?
Especially if he thought of them as sisters and they thought of him as father. Another well known characteristic of the mormons is their love of family.
My vote has to go to Joe Nicolosi.
He wrote a lot of books like A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Homosexuality and Repairative Therapy of the Male Homosexual which were the basis of conversion therapy . . . which has horribly scarred (and killed through suicide) thousands and thousands of adolescents.
Beatings, isolation, electricity, confinement, and nausea-inducing drugs were all a part of conversion therapy, and a lot of this can be attributed to his books.
It’s too bad that I don’t believe in hell, because Nicolosi belongs there for a while.
I have to name (jointly) Pope Sixtus IV, and Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. The sheer misery and suffering caused by the inquisition is hard to challenge for notoriety among the religious, and this trio’s notoriety doesn’t even stop there.
It truly amazing how far people in power will go to make others conform. Sadly we can expect that those atrocities will resurface
Were they also responsible for sending the conquistadors to the Americas to reap souls for their god and gold for their treasury?
[quote=“Canuk, post:9, topic:4962”]
It truly amazing how far people in power will go to make others conform. Sadly we can expect that those atrocities will resurface
I agree.
It gets even better.
There is the idea in Christian circles that taking a dangerous drug called dexamethasone while pregnant will prevent a daughter from being born a lesbian.
This drug can cause birth defects if used inapprpriately, but the risk is worth it if it prevents a daughter from being a lesbian.
Shit like this is because of Nicolosi and people like him.
I get angry even thinking about it.
Yes, and the genocide of native Americans is on a scale both numerically and in terms of cruelty and barbarity that truly stuns the mind…though the British Empire was equally as indifferent and cruel of course, and aways religious tropes used to justify it or be indifferent to it all…
I am surprised that no one has mentioned Mohammed yet? His followers have, and are committing crimes against humanity as egregious as any “Christian” sect leader.
Trouble is, John Travolta though it would be a good idea to turn that book into a film.
The shitstorm that resulted provided comedy gold that was mined for a long time afterwards.
Joe Nicolosi wasn’t the only player of that sordid game, there’s also Paul Cameron to take note of.
Then of course, there’s the hilarity that is George Alan Rekers. This specimen built an entire career on peddling ever more noxious homophobia to the Rabid Right, only to come unstuck when it was revealed that he embarked on a European holiday with a “travelling companion” that, wait for it, he hired online … from the website “rent boy dot com” …
Osama bin Laden
Jim Jones
Joseph Kony
Fred Phelps
Martin Luther
Phyllis Shlafly
It occurs to me that I could go on, and on, and on, and on, and……
Wow.
Why is it that some of the most rabid homophobes turn out to be gay?
Is the social incompetence of my autism that keeps me from understanding this dynamic?
Never trust the religious. Nothing to do with autism. The religious are proven to be untrustworthy.
It’s akin to holding a flashing neon arrow with the words, “don’t look here look over there”. Honestly rent a boy is that a thing? Was it charged to his credit card.