The Oddest Religious Fatwas of History

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Hi everyone. I just thought of a fun thread idea.

Throughout history, religious leaders have waged war on countless different people and things. If we talked about all the weird religious fatwas of history, we would be here all day. I'll start with five of them.

Forks: At one point, the Catholic Church was against the use of dinner forks.
http://www.themiddleages.net/life/fork.html
"We also see the fork was used to eat dishes that included a sticky sauce or that might stain the fingers. At one time, this practice was primarily that of courtesans, prompting the Church to ban the fork as an immoral influence."

Pokémon: Some Saudi Muslims think that Pokémon promotes gambling and the theory of evolution … even though Pokémon evolution is nothing like real evolution. These Saudi clerics also think that Pokémon contains symbols from Judaism, Christianity, Shinto and Freemasonry. All of those things are banned in Saudi Arabia because they hate freedom.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36848175

Lightning Rods: "Because thunder and lightning were considered tokens of God's displeasure, it was
considered impious to prevent them from doing their full work, despite the fact that in
Germany, within a space of thirty-three years, nearly four hundred towers had been
damaged and one hundred and twenty bell-ringers killed."
http://miltontimmons.com/ChruchesVsLightningRod.html

Working on the Sabbath: People who worked on the sabbath on Ancient Israel were put to death. (Exodus 31:14)

Left-handedness: " Left-handers were routinely accused of consorting with the devil and, during the excesses of the Inquisition and the witch hunts of the 15th and 16th Century, left-handedness was sometimes considered sufficient to identify a woman as a witch, and to contribute to her subsequent condemnation and execution."
http://rightleftrightwrong.com/history_recent.html

Provide some more. Provide sources if possible.

Blood transfusions, birthdays, Mother’s Day (Jehovah’s Witnesses)

Harry Potter

I’m sure I’ll add more as I think of them. I’m feeling too lazy to add sources right now.

Birth control! I’d lose my mind if I had 10+ children.

In 1998 the wrath of Jerry Falwell was directed against...Tinky Winky (one of the Teletubies)

I'm left-handed, and both of my parents are lefties, so I'm very glad to be living in an era where left-handed people aren't demonized. In most developed countries, anyway.

According to Alex Jones, anyone who is successful as a musician has sold their soul to the devil, and all atheists are eeeevil and secretly worship Satan. But atheists don't believe in Satan any more than they believe in God, and Satan worshipers are not atheists.

There's this one website that claims that green is Satan's favorite color, which is why there are so many green things in Harry Potter - Harry's eyes are green, the frosting on his birthday cake is green, the ink on the letters from Hogwarts' is green, one of his teachers wears a green cloak, and so on. I guess that means trees and plants and many animals in real life were created by Satan.

Dancing because if you dance you’ll want to fornicate.

That you should always obey your parents and adults in general. But what if they told you to steal or murder or do something else illegal, immoral or dangerous?

"Hey kid! Come over and sniff this rag and tell me if it smells like chloroform, okay?"

Premarital sex and masturbation.

Kids in these churches tend to marry really young. Not ideal for future happiness (especially if the church is against separation and divorce).

Belonging to the Boy Scouts. And I don't mean the gay controversy of today. My own Lutheran Church Missouri Synod spoke against their boys joining the scouts, as it was perceived to be something of a Lodge, teaching a universalist doctrine. Today, my own congregation sponsors a scout troop.

I know christians that can't play cards or drink coffee.