I Sold My Soul on eBay
Encyclopedia
I Sold My Soul on eBay is a non-fiction book by Hemant Mehta, an atheist and blogger
, who describes his visits to a variety of Christian
churches. These visits initially occurred as a result of an eBay
auction Mehta created where he offered to visit the worship services of the winning bidder's choosing. The media later branded this auction as Mehta "selling his soul."
where he explained his background in atheism and offered to go to the worship services of the winning bidder's choosing. The auction ended on February 3, 2006 with a final bid of $504 from Jim Henderson, a minister from Seattle, Washington. Mehta later donated that money to the Secular Student Alliance
, a non-profit organization in which he serves as Chair of the Board of Directors
.
Henderson asked Mehta to visit a variety of churches and write about the experiences on Henderson's website, off-the-map.org. Mehta eventually wrote about his visits at nine different churches as well as two additional pieces dealing with atheist conventions and Christian media.
, leading to a flurry of media coverage. Mehta appeared on the front pages of the Chicago Sun-Times
, the Daily Southtown
, the Seattle Times, and DNA
. He was also a guest on several radio shows and was featured in many Christian magazines.
, read Mehta's writings and asked him to visit additional churches for the purposes of a book. I Sold My Soul on eBay contains Mehta's observations and critiques of the churches along with background on how he became an atheist. It was released on April 17, 2007.
Mehta visited churches across four states: Illinois
, Michigan
, Texas
, and Colorado
. The churches profiled in the book include New Life Church (Pastor Ted Haggard
), Mars Hill Bible Church
(Pastor Rob Bell
), and Lakewood Church
(Pastor Joel Osteen
).
The foreword for the book was written by Rob Bell
.
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
, who describes his visits to a variety of Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
churches. These visits initially occurred as a result of an eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
auction Mehta created where he offered to visit the worship services of the winning bidder's choosing. The media later branded this auction as Mehta "selling his soul."
eBay auction
In January 2006, Hemant Mehta posted an auction on eBayEBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
where he explained his background in atheism and offered to go to the worship services of the winning bidder's choosing. The auction ended on February 3, 2006 with a final bid of $504 from Jim Henderson, a minister from Seattle, Washington. Mehta later donated that money to the Secular Student Alliance
Secular Student Alliance
The Secular Student Alliance , founded in May 2000, is an independent, democratically structured organization in the U.S. that aims to serve the needs of freethinking high school and college students. The Secular Student Alliance is based in Columbus, Ohio...
, a non-profit organization in which he serves as Chair of the Board of Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
.
Henderson asked Mehta to visit a variety of churches and write about the experiences on Henderson's website, off-the-map.org. Mehta eventually wrote about his visits at nine different churches as well as two additional pieces dealing with atheist conventions and Christian media.
Media coverage
Nearly a month after the auction, an article about Mehta's experiences appeared on the front page of The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, leading to a flurry of media coverage. Mehta appeared on the front pages of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, the Daily Southtown
Daily Southtown
The SouthtownStar is a newspaper of the Chicago, Illinois metropolitan area that covers the south suburbs of Chicago and the South Side neighborhoods of the city - a wide region known as the Chicago Southland. Its popular slogan is "People Up North Just Don't Get It"...
, the Seattle Times, and DNA
DNA (newspaper)
Daily News and Analysis is an Indian Broadsheet published in the English language from Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Jaipur, Bangalore and Indore in India. It was Launched in July 2005, targeted at a young readership....
. He was also a guest on several radio shows and was featured in many Christian magazines.
Book
An editor at WaterBrook Press, a Christian book publisher and an imprint of Random HouseRandom House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, read Mehta's writings and asked him to visit additional churches for the purposes of a book. I Sold My Soul on eBay contains Mehta's observations and critiques of the churches along with background on how he became an atheist. It was released on April 17, 2007.
Mehta visited churches across four states: Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. The churches profiled in the book include New Life Church (Pastor Ted Haggard
Ted Haggard
Ted Arthur Haggard is an American evangelical pastor. Known as Pastor Ted to the congregation he served, he was the founder and former pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado; a founder of the Association of Life-Giving Churches; and was leader of the National Association of...
), Mars Hill Bible Church
Mars Hill Bible Church
Mars Hill Bible Church is an American non-denominational Christian megachurch located in Grandville, Michigan. The teaching pastor is Rob Bell.-History:...
(Pastor Rob Bell
Rob Bell
Robert Holmes "Rob" Bell Jr. is an American author and pastor. He is the founder of Mars Hill Bible Church located in Grandville, Michigan and is also the featured speaker in a series of spiritual short films called NOOMA.-Education and ministry:Bell is the son of Judge Robert Holmes Bell, who was...
), and Lakewood Church
Lakewood Church
Lakewood Church is a non-denominational Christian megachurch located in Houston, Texas. It is the largest congregation in the United States, averaging more than 43,500 in attendance per week. The 16,800-seat Lakewood Church Central Campus, home to four English language services and two Spanish...
(Pastor Joel Osteen
Joel Osteen
Joel Scott Osteen is an American author, televangelist, and the senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. His ministry reaches over seven million broadcast media viewers weekly in over 100 nations around the world.-Biography:...
).
The foreword for the book was written by Rob Bell
Rob Bell
Robert Holmes "Rob" Bell Jr. is an American author and pastor. He is the founder of Mars Hill Bible Church located in Grandville, Michigan and is also the featured speaker in a series of spiritual short films called NOOMA.-Education and ministry:Bell is the son of Judge Robert Holmes Bell, who was...
.
External links
- Archive for Hemant's Church Surveys, from the website the eBay atheist (otmatheist.com)
- friendlyatheist.com, Hemant's weblog