An idea's chances of survival are based on its ability to propagate, and not how truthful it is. Everyone has likely contracted at least a couple of viral ideas. Perhaps a fun fact.... that just happens to be fictitious! Something like "men think about sex every 8 seconds", or "If you manage to sneeze with your eyes open, they pop out". Science and education have squashed most old wives tales and urban legends, but some have evolved extreme resistance, and others thrive in poorer less educated countries.
One of the most disturbing modern viral ideas is the virgin cure for AIDS. Throw a life threatening STD amongst an uneducated population, and its no surprise people are willing to believe something appealing is the cure. Stemming from virgin purity ideas, it may have been an offshoot from Africa's most common viral idea - the deadly and highly evolved idea of Christianity.
Even in its simplest form, Christianity can be very persuasive. Love god and go to paradise, disobey and rot in hell for eternity. However, you'd have to be a child to fall for that alone, so Christianity comes equipped with all sorts of mechanisms to convince people of its truth, keep them believing, and compel them to pass it on. Read nearly any popular bible verse and it will likely contain information to aid one of those three things.
Sunday
Cure Faith
The most common viral idea, religion, is in decline. Good health and science are more prevalent than ever before, effectively working to inoculate against religion. Eventually, even the most praised gods of today will join Zeus and smallpox in the past. That isn't to say we should sit back and let this play out. The religiously inflicted are still the majority, and the results aren't pretty. So for our family, neighbors, and friends whose very freedom of thought has been compromised, and for everyone whose safety is threatened, a question must be posed.
How do you cure faith?
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