Post by livinganewlife on Mar 10, 2006 12:47:22 GMT -5
Jim Williams
(CBS) CHICAGO You can sell just about anything on eBay. But what about your soul?
As CBS 2’s Jim Williams reports, one local student’s offer has sent him on a unique spiritual journey.
Hemant Mehta is a thoughtful young man. The graduate student at DePaul has one firm belief.
"I would say I’m an atheist,” he said.
Mehta has not believed in God since he was 14. But a few weeks ago, he had an idea. He’d go to church for a price, and he posted the offer on eBay.
"I was offering to go to the church of the highest bidder's choice for however much they bid for,” he said.
The winning bid – $504 – was paid for by Jim Henderson, a former Christian minister who lives in Seattle.
"I had a couple of hours to kill at an airport, so I got on online and began to bid. I had never bid on eBay,” Henderson said.
Before you toss this story in the “how ridiculous” category, there’s something you should know.
Henderson simply wanted Mehta to critique several church services in an effort to find out what would make Christianity more appealing.
Metha keeps a blog, and one entry prompted this response: “Hey, I saw your posting ... I was guy who spoke at church today... I will do my best to make it more interesting.”
Both Henderson and Mehta say this has been an important experience.
“Over the last month, we've been having a pretty friendly dialogue between the atheists and the Christians, and I'd say, formed something of a community," Henderson said.
“It's a win-win situation for me,” Mehta said. “If they convert me, I've just been saved!"
While Mehta has found much the preaching and religious music to be uplifting, he does not expect to change his beliefs.
Mehta says he donated all the money he got from eBay to a students' group at DePaul.
What do yall think about that?
Would you pay for a Soul being auctioned on Ebay under the same circumstances as this auction?
