Comments on: Using St. Joseph to sell a house

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 19:06:42 +0000

I have heard that sacrificing a chicken in your back yard will also help sell your house ;-)

Sounds ridiculous, but then again, so does this statue nonsense.

It’s amazing the human race has survived this long.

By: Loi P

Loi P — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 03:42:59 +0000

I was reading a part of that article “Does God want you to be rich?” It sorta reminds me of my half-brother, David. He’s a hard-core Christian. My Dad was telling David that he should go out and make more money. David said he didn’t want to be “tempted” or something along those lines.
I love my half-brother David (he’s my fave half-brother) but I still find that creepy.

By: Mike Hickcox

Mike Hickcox — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 04:17:25 +0000

Whoa – Admin — is life so serious that you don’t smile? Is it so tough that you can’t have fun along the way? Is is so complex that you must shield yourself from some of it?
As you said, “Tonight they deviated from their normal format and aired a commentary by Mike Hickcox, who works for United Methodist Communications in Nashville, Tennessee.”
That’s right; it was a deviation — from the straight numbers to a look at the “quirkiness” of life. Websites and stores sell 2-million St. Joe statues every year for subterranean real estate work. That’s a phenomenon. And that’s what the commentary was all about. The “Underground Real Estate Agent” is part of the culture of America. St. Joe didn’t sell my house; but (Lo, and behold) participating in the craze was great fun, and I had an experience shared by millions.
As it turns out, Marketplace isn’t just numbers; it’s also look at the people and the habits that are part of making the world go round, and of making the numbers add up.
People are made up of more than rational facts — beliefs and feelings and habits and hopes and superstitions and phobias and all matter of emotions are also a real part of the human experience. To ignore them is to be unaware of a significant piece of what drives humans to act.
You can also look at it this way: if you sold 2-million of these little statues per year at $7 each, you would recognize how a phenomenon like this has consequences that show up in ways anyone can see. You could take that to the bank.

By: Erick

Erick — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 04:12:12 +0000

I will say it again: people believe in God because God gives them hope.

Hope never produces truth. However, I can hope for something to happen without appealing to religion. Once you actually BELIEVE the desired supersticious outcome will come true, however, can even strike you back even worse. Belief doesn’t just lead to supersticion but also to false expectation. Don’t take my word for it, just look at the people that audition for American Idol who ‘believe in themselves.’ Sure it sounds positive in the short run, but its actually worse than teaching people about abandoning such absurdities. Not knowing the mysteries of life only seems scary to those theists who can’t seem to picture themselves any other way.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 04:55:42 +0000

“Does GOD want you to be RICH?”
What a ridiculous title.

By: Jimson

Jimson — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 04:44:28 +0000

I will say it again: people believe in God because God gives them hope.