‘Junk keeps arriving in the mail, from that worldwide garage sale.

Hey! A Dukes of Hazzard ash tray! Yeah! I bought it on eBay!

Wanna buy that Farrah Fawcett poster, Pez dispensers and a toaster;

Don’t know why! The kind of stuff you’d throw away, I buy on eBay!”

Weird Al, eBay

Past cultures are studied from their garbage. I mean, when Indian sites are excavated they look for the trash heap to see what kind of tools they used, what kind of food they grew, what animals they killed. Jamestown, Virginia, was big in the news last year because someone discovered a well that had been filled in with junk from America’s oldest permanent settlement. Guns, dinnerware, all sorts of bits of this and that fell into that well or were tossed in and told a lot about the settlers that folks only had oral history for until then.

eBay is a dumping grounds, of sorts. All kinds of strange things can be found there. I wonder how bad it could be so I search now and then for “B-17” – you know as in WWII bomber. Yes, you can buy wheels, gauges, panels, windows, seats, all sorts of actual parts of the beast on eBay. It changes every day. Why? Well, why not?

So what does eBay have to do with religion? For us perhaps very little. Or is that true? The computer up front that Mike uses has parts from the wacky web site. Some of the cables we use came from there. The “golf pencils” we use in the pews I got on eBay. (you know, the ones the kids break and the parents do little to stop them <smile!>) And so on.

There’s a catholic who spends a lot of time on there looking for pieces of “saints” Yes, folks sell the hairs, personal articles, letters, and such. In an article I was reading not long ago he mentioned acquiring body parts such as fingers and bones. These are the real thing, often from church officials who have handed down these trinkets for generations and come with certified letters of authenticity. Parts of the cross (of course) and other less “personal” but still “holy” stuff as well, that the Catholics wig out over.

Myself, in November I bought an electronic bible. I paid about 8 bucks for it, including shipping. Now, when it came it was broken. When I complained, I got silence. No answer to any of my emails, and I sent a lot. Indignant, I posted negative feedback. Now for those of you who don’t know what that means, it shows up on your “permanent record” forever. Unlike high school stuff, this actually means something. Get a lot of negative feedback and folks are leery of buying from you. In any case, about a week ago I got negative feedback – from the guy who sold me the bible! Even though I did nothing wrong. Now I have been on eBay since 1996. I have bought hundreds of things but until now my feedback was 100% positive. I will never have it at 100% again.

I’m not sure why some people get addicted to eBay. I guess they like being “winners” or simply like spending money. I just notice these things:

1. You can have the “high bid” on something for a whole week but then lose it with seconds to go with someone else swooping in and taking it away. Yes, I’ve talked about this before – and our lives can be the same. Will we keep our bid on heaven high in our lives only to let something else swoop in and outbid it at the end? How badly do we want it?

2. How important is ANY artifact in this life? I mean if the finger of John was given to me maybe I’d appreciate it, but would Dave? What about his son little Randy? Eventually someone won’t care and on to eBay it goes – showing you need to invest in heaven!

3. If garbage says a lot about a society, what does ours say about us? When we hold so few things reverent, when we casually throw things away (or sell them to some sucker on eBay) that were made to be used/tossed right from the start. If our possessions are disposable, what does that say about us?

4. People don’t like religions that say they are not perfect and need to change. They like to be “winners” even if what they are buying is worthless junk. Grasp the comparison?

5. Sadly, folks have tried selling kidneys and body parts on eBay. I believe, without a doubt, that if some could sell their souls they would. For many, it’s already long gone.

Randy