By definition, evangelicals tend to be emotionally unstable and intellectually limited. All they want are simple stories to comfort them, ideally aimed at people with a mental age of four. This was such a fairytale and as such did the job it was supposed to do. By definition, if a person is religious they care nothing about facts, proof, or even plausibility. They are thus the perfect dupes, and pastors across the USA know this very well.