Jihads, fatwas and the (wrong) number of the beast: 8 myths from the world of religion

1. Nowhere in the Bible does it say Jesus was born on the 25^th of December. There are various theories for why we have this date, the most popular being it was chosen to coincide with either the Roman winter solstice or ancient winter festivals.
2. Nor does the bible talk about an exact number of magi who came to visit Jesus. Or that they were kings. Or rode on camels. Three magi seems reasonable as three gifts are described, but they are not mentioned by name. Furthermore they saw Jesus when he was a child, as old as two years, as described in Matthew 2:11. A final crushing blow to fans of the manger scene: the first tableau was created by St francis of Assisi over a thousand years after Jesus was born, so those cute farmyard animals gathered in the background may not have been present.
3. A fatwa does not mean a death sentence. It is a legal opinion issued by an Islamic scholar, but is not legally binding. The idea that it spells doom for a recipient probably stems from the 1989 fatwa against Salman Rushdie, who was accused of blasphemy after publishing his book The Satanic Verses.
4. A jihad is not necessarily a 'holy war'. While there exists 'jihad bil saif' or jihad 'by the sword', the word by itself literally means 'struggle' and most scholars interpret it as an inner struggle or a battle of spirituality.
5. The Quran does not promise 72 virgins to martyrs. There is a promise of virgin companions – to all, not just martyrs – but there is no number mentioned. Also, the source is a hadith, not the Quran - hadiths are the words of Mohammed as reported by others, and Muslims are not obliged to believe them.
6. The number of the beast is not 666. I know, heavy metal, devil-worshippers, that dodgy tattoo your friend got while drunk. All are based on the book of Revelation; but in 2005 a team of researchers from the university of Birmingham translated the earliest known copy of Revelation and found the devil's favourite to be 616. Many people, including the lead author of the Birmingham university team believe the 'devil' to be either Caligula or Nero, the hated leaders who oppressed early Christians, so a more figurative sort of Beelzebub. In case it ever comes up in Trivial Pursuit, the fear of the number 616 is called Hexakosioidekahexaphobia.
7. Voodoo has nothing to do with sticking dolls in people. Nothing. The closest you get is a healing ritual that involves a small wooden figure with holes in; twigs are then inserted into the holes to stimulate healing energy. Like most peaceful religious ideas it has been seized, twisted and spat out in a completely different form, though in this case it was early slave owners who stoked the fires of suspicion with tales of black magic, cannibalism and human sacrifice. And then Hollywood got hold of the idea...
8. There are (many) more than 10 Commandments in the Bible. Exodus lists 13; it then goes on to list 6 more in the 'thou shalt not covet' line (asses, maidservants etc). The list continues. It is in Leviticus that the Commandments really gather steam, though at this stage they are also rather cryptic in some cases; camels, swans and tortoises are forbidden as foodstuffs, the multiplying of horses is likewise outlawed and 'neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard'. Orthodox Judaism lists 613 Commandments in the Bible.