Furthermore, the earliest renditions of “Mark” (9.29) do not include “fasting” as an exorcistic method – so the monk-scribe who made this margin-note (which includes “fasting”) – must have done so AFTER “fasting” had been added to Mark 9.29 – and normalised as such. The right-wing and far-right are perpetuating the conspiracy theory that (atheistic) liberal and Communist governments [in cohoots with “Big Pharma”] do not want you [the people] to know that Jesus gives the secret of how “to cure all illnesses” via “Matthew 17.21”. As with all forms of paranoid delusion – Jesus is doing nothing of the sort. Matthew 17.21 is Mark 9.29 – and both are referring not to “general healing” (as suggested by the far-right) – but rather to the specific activity of “exorcising unclean spirits” from those so possessed. Jesus supposedly suggests the activities of “fasting” and “praying” to achieve this objective. It is actually far more simple than this – as “fasting” is a later edition to Mark 9.29 – an addition that should be removed from the equation for clarity. This reduces the issue to just “praying” – a common activity for Christians.
