A man on the bus this morning was selling miracles.

There was plenty of room toward the front of the bus, and the reason became immediately clear. This guy was offering pamphlets, promising that any "donation would be returned 2000 times over," provided the buyer read the material every day for seven days. All this was done, of course, in the guise of religion. He even went on to do the math for us, explaining that someone giving $1 could reasonably expect a return of "about $2000, for example."

Phase two, after a brief diatribe about how Jesus wants us to have direction, etc. was marketing of "anointed cloths," which, as far as I could tell, were 4-inch squares of cheap fabric. There were various colors available, each promising different benefits. With these, "you don't even have to read anything!" If I recall, correctly, owning a blue cloth improves your health, green boosts your finances, and yellow and orange (he was running low on yellow, so orange was substituted) increase your wisdom ("in school or business, perhaps").

Before he gave up or reached his stop, the guy offered several anecdotal testimonials, such as "One woman told me she found a good man," after reading the pamphlet, or "another man was blessed with a million dollars." He sold roughly three pamphlets, so I guess I won't be seeing those folks on the bus next week.

As a footnote, I guess, I am a Christian. I respect others' beliefs, but of course am all in favor of other people being Christians, too. I am deeply offended, however, at people who see fit to accost innocent passers-by with agitated diatribes, or peddling of ridiculous merchandise in an effort to scam a quick buck. Believing in something does not make one a raving lunatic; nor does acting like an obnoxious boob automatically represent a belief in anything. How well these charlatans do for themselves, I have no idea, but I'm certain they're not helping anyone else. And I resent the fact that they try to turn Faith into some loony sideshow.