Hand of God Put on EBay, God's New Vehicle

An Idaho man has decided to share what he believes is a work of the divine with the highest bidder. He has placed a strangely hand-like rock formation, the "Hand of God," on eBay and is willing to sell the "exclusive rights," both literary and movie, but not the physical rights. As of Sunday, the highest bid was $250.

According to CNN, Paul Grayhek, 52, had lost his job and was facing hard times when, during Lent, a rockfall in his back yard revealed a 9 feet tall and four feet wide that resembled a giant hand. He dubbed it the "Hand of God Rock Wall" and believes it was a sign from god. "I prayed between licking my wounds and looking for a job," Grayhek told CNN. "We rarely get rockfalls and this formation is 20 feet from my house. It's definitely a symbol of the hand of God in my life."

Paul Grayhek plans to use the money he makes from the eBay sale to assist with an unpaid counseling internship when he completes his master's degree in social work.

"People think I'm some holier-than-thou person trying to get rich. I'm not," he said. "The purpose is to spread the story of God and eBay is just a vehicle."

But getting a good deal of money for his divine sign may be a bit difficult when one considers that the Hand of God has what looks like six fingers. But why quibble over an extra digit when one can't even take proprietary ownership of the physical formation itself? And what kind of literary and movie rights could one possibly expect to exercise when there isn't even a story?

Of course, one could embellish. But, then, that would be lying, committing false witness, a commandment breaker. Where's the divine in that?

But perhaps that is a bit pessimistic. There might exist enough for a children's book.

Still, Paul Grayhek might end up with an enormous bid before the online auction is over. There are still three more days for bidding. And it will help Grayhek toward realizing his goals in social work, so there's a bit of altruism involved.

But one can't help thinking about the Florida woman who kept a holy grilled cheese sandwich on her nightstand. She placed it on eBay and received $28,000 for it. According to the Associated Press, she had defaced the holy grilled cheese sandwich a decade earlier by taking a bite out of it before noting the image of the Virgin Mary emblazoned upon its once immaculate surface. Then she bagged it and boxed it. Not once had it ever sprouted mold, she said.

So we are finding eBay as a vehicle for god's word. Sort of like a Popemobile, but getting far better mileage.

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Some may find it interesting that the CNN reporter who filed the "Hand of God Rock Wall" story's name is Faith Karimi.

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Source:

CNN.com

Associated Press