Placebo

In the summer of 1098, the First Crusade army which had taken the city of Antioch except for the resisting defenders in the citadel, were nearly starved to death and under siege by the relieving Muslim force sent from Damascus under the leadership of Kerbogha.  Without options and little hope, the miraculous happened.  A pilgrim from Provence, Peter Bartholomew, believed he had received a vision from St. Andrew that would lead him to the Holy Lance, the very spear used to pierced the side of Christ.  Despite the fact that two other Holy Lance claiming the same prestige were kept in Rome and Constantinople respectively, a piece of metal was found and believed by the crusaders to be the very spear.  Using it as a moral booster, the crusaders broke through the enemy lines and routed the enemy.  Some among the host including the chronicler Raymond of Aguilers, believed they saw a host from heaven fighting with them in that final battle for the city.  Antioch's defenders in the citadel gave up, and the city remained in the hands of the crusaders for nearly one hundred years after.

The power to persuade, and the placebo effect of items that may or may not have any power to assist in of themselves, is great over the minds of people. Popular commercials and media personalities promoting anything from toasters to two week cruises, attempt to do the same thing in a supposedly modern world devoid of faith.  Sometimes we want to believe something will change so much, that in effect we make it happen through sheer will. There is great power in this, and something that many a politician has used to sway the minds of people.  This is something that is not likely to change any time soon, but a point to take into consideration when next you see something on the television, on the computer, or simply read in a passing periodical