emw said:
...But then selling it to make a buck? Some "holy" article of faith. 🙄
Well, I suppose for the true believers this is the case - doesn't the Bible have something in it about moneychangers?
But I've gotta say as a complete non-Christian, there's real money in this - it would be just like a story out of those Chick Tracts:
http://www.chick.com/catalog/tractlist.asp - which are also an amazing moneymaking enterprise.
Imagine, me, a poor Witch from Oakland doing nonprofit management work for a lefty (and therefore Godless) organization. One innocent day I'm munching on some Cheerios and soymilk, when suddenly BOOM! I gaze into my half-empty bowl and see a perfect outline of the Virgin Mary. She "Speaks To Me" and I change my heathen ways to become a "True Believer". Immediately, I quit my job, dump my girlfriend and run to the nearest church with my discovery. Suddenly, people want to see my Virgin Mary Cheerios and believe for themselves (for which I charge a small "maintenance fee" in order to keep them perfectly preserved in a sealed, temperature controlled, humidity controlled container). I go on the college speaking circuit and talk to all the chapters of Campus Crusade for Christ (for which I charge a small speaking fee, of course, to help me support my new life). I sell relics from the Cheerios bowl, I form an organization (with me as its Director) that does something Virgin Mary-related and has a small "membership fee", and so forth.
Of course, I'd rather chew off two or three of my own fingers. But hey, gotta give the girl credit for striking while the iron is hot.
