Yeah. I think this is a good example, because it's similar to the juju in the article in that the belief often seems more aspirational or preferential than nece

Yeah. I think this is a good example, because it's similar to the juju in the article in that the belief often seems more aspirational or preferential than necessarily defensible or provable in some sense. My impression from people I've known who were into, say, astrology, isn't that they would put it up against gravity in a facts-or-not evaluation, but rather that they like the idea of a world organized thusly, or that they find it benefits them to frame things thusly, and therefor 'believe' in it. The shopkeeper wasn't prepared to demonstrate the good things his pouch of talismans were doing for him, but he certainly preferred to believe that his day would go better with them in hand. Who wouldn't? What an easy way to ward off misfortune. It's like a belief in Myers-Briggs personality types, too, in that it's easily bolstered by a confirmation bias and, arguably, can serve a broader function in metaphor. The same of course can be said for much religious dogma and many faith-oriented parables. I think most people would agree that the world would be a better place if more people behaved as Christians believe Jesus did.