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ShareMUMBAI: You can sell just about anything on eBay. And a Chicago college student, Hemant Mehta,did just that. Mehta offered his soul on eBay, and got a winning bid of $504 byJim Henderson, a former evangelical minister. Now, Mehta has to attend15 services and write about them. He explains the deal in an email interview with DNA.
Why did you see it as an opportunity to save yourself? Do atheists need to be saved?
Atheists don't need to be saved. This auction was a chance for religious people to explain their logic to me and try to get me to understand God. I'm not sure that can happen, but I'm willing to listen.
You say you do not find sermons 'relevant'. How do you make a sermon relevant?
You make it relevant by NOT just saying a passage is true just because it is in the Bible. You explain instances where we could use it in life. Instead of blind faith, reasons are given for why something is true, and we walk out of church knowing how to implement the ideas. I don't like sermons where I just hear that non-believers are going to hell.
What kind of sermon would appeal to you? Could you give an example?
Let us thank our family, friends, and loved ones for making our lives what they are. We don't have a lot of time on earth, and there is no afterlife, so we must create a "heaven" now. We must do good for others because there is no better way to live. We must do what makes us happy as long as we are not stopping anyone else from doing the same.
Can blogs position religion better by creating highly relevant, highly interactive communities?
Blogs can create a better forum for answering questions and understanding what we don't know. A blogger always tends to be an expert on some issue, and that's wonderful for those who read the postings. Anyone is welcome to ask questions they might be embarrassed to ask a priest, and that is essential for our discussion of religion.
