# Did I ask you to save my soul? Don't you think this is just a mite tacky? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 13, 2002, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737 "2002-07-13T03:36:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2002, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737/21 "2002-07-13T09:55:03Z")
I think **betenoir** summed up the difference nicely. Buying something from J. Crew or Sears is not going to require a fundamental change in the important things in my life. Changing my beliefs will. I also find a certain amount of “our religion is the only way and if you don’t follow it you are an evil/immoral person” in handing out these tracts. I have strong, well reasoned (as far as I’m concerned) religious beliefs. Asking me to change them just because you tell me to sometimes seems a little insulting. Hmmmm. Maybe next time someone attempts to convert me on a street corner, I’ll ask them about joining the Episcopal church. Hey, the bishop’s been asking us to bring in new converts. 😉 CJ ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2002, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737/22 "2002-07-13T10:46:59Z")
I hope you mentioned it in your ebay feedback to him. I think it is tacky. Not illegal or anything, but tacky. I think that most distributing of tracts is stupid anyway, because the damn things are so lame that they usually either piss off the recipient or provide mocking amusement. I doubt they often “save” anyone. I’d send it back to him postage due, but I don’t think the post office does that anymore ☹ ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2002, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737/23 "2002-07-13T14:07:26Z")
Just to play (you should excuse the expression) devil’s advocate for a second: **Stoid** , is there any chance that the tract might have been sent to you by mistake? I’m not familiar with [half.com](http://half.com), and I can’t tell from your OP if you bought the cookbook from a bookdealer or from an individual. If the former, maybe it was supposed to be sent to someone else and got put in with your cookbook by accident. ---
**Author:** ![dublos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f08c70/32.png) [@dublos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dublos)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2002, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737/24 "2002-07-13T14:28:20Z")
**Esprix** Only one question… are you gonna be featured in the gay porn you include? If so, from the doper reaction I’m seeing, your auctions are gonna get a lot more popular. 🙂 -Doug ---
**Author:** ![Soup\_du\_jour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Soup\_du\_jour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soup_du_jour)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2002, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737/25 "2002-07-13T16:17:09Z")
**Stoid** , just what kind of book was it? For all we know, the book could be a harmless book about accepting a certain religion. It also could be a book proclaiming that everyone except the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is hellbound. For the edification of us all, I think we must know. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2002, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737/26 "2002-07-13T16:22:19Z")
\*\* Soup, \*\* that would require reading it, and I refuse. I tossed it, and I may in fact mention it his feedback. ([Half.com](http://Half.com) is individual-to-individual). And I actually don’t know if it upped the postage, but finding out is too much bother. It just struck me as pathetically tacky, is all… maybe this guy is sitting at home counting up all the souls he’s saved through this method, who knows. But just…yuck. Go away. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2002, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737/27 "2002-07-13T16:45:53Z")
Maybe the guy who sent the tract honestly believes it is his duty. Maybe he would LIKE to see someone saved by his efforts, but maybe he is content to just get his message out. Maybe he feels that if one person out of the vast throng receiving his message is saved, then it will all have been worthwhile. In any event, it doesn’t seem worth getting all excercised about. Oh, and Esprix, can I just buy the gay porn and skip the auction? ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2002, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737/28 "2002-07-14T04:44:48Z")
In my mailroom work I have opened thousands - nay, surely millions - of envelopes. These are from professional offices, not the public at large, but still a certain percentage will contain a religious message of some sort - from “Jesus Loves You” handwritten on a form, to enclosed tracts. The mailroom’s collective reaction to these? Shrug. It’s a specialized form of junk mail (and this is why I agree it’s “tacky” - it trivializes the message by reducing it to the level of credit card offers). But it doesn’t offend at all. I’ve seen way worse things in envelopes. (_Ah-choo!_ _Fucking anthrax_.) The only way such a message or tract would be offensive, is if it was on a par with some of the lower-level Jack Chick stuff. (Actually nearly all of Jack Chick is on this vast lower level.) Like the D&D tract if you’re wiccan, or anti-Catholic stuff, or pictures of fetuses, or whatnot, sure. That kind of thing is offensive. I’ve never seen anything other than very generic God-and-Jesus stuff. Somebody asserting “Jesus loves you”, or promoting a religion generally, really shouldn’t offend. Take it or leave it. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2002, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737/29 "2002-07-14T04:47:30Z")
Clarification: **Stoid** I know you didn’t say you were offended. I’m in complete agreement with you that it’s tacky. ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2002, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737/30 "2002-07-14T06:20:45Z")
OK, now you’ve all got me wanting to put something up just for you Dopers to bid on - for the gay porn, of course. But I can’t actually _sell_ gay porn. But I _can_ sell [this](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1749894699)! Happy bidding! 😃 Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2002, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737/31 "2002-07-14T06:32:22Z")
The thing that would piss me off the most about this is that they’re brazenly violating the [half.com](http://half.com) terms of service. Report them, Stoid. > [@](#): > > Your package will consist of the following: > The packing slip (use the bottom portion of the email notification). > The securely packaged product. > The Buyer name and address information is provided for the sole purpose of shipping the specific purchased product(s) and may not be used for any other purpose, either in connection with such shipment(s) or separately from such shipment(s). ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2002, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737/32 "2002-07-14T07:39:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Esprix \* > \*\*That’s it - next time I ship something I sold on eBay I’m including gay porn. > > Esprix \*\* [http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1749894699](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1749894699) HA. This works out perfect for me. I can chew the bubble gum and then spit it out on the gay porn when I’m done. You are genius! ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2002, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737/33 "2002-07-14T07:41:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Beeblebrox \* > \*\*Tell me, Dragonblink, would you be equally offended if the tract was Wiccan? Think honestly. \*\* Honestly – yes. Intrusive proselytizing (it’s late and I can’t spell) bothers me no matter who does it. I would not approve of unasked for Pagan propaganda any more than unasked for Christian propaganda. Religious intolerance does indeed go both ways – I have been offended by Pagans denouncing the Christian faith too. The idea of Christianity does not offend me. Constantly having to defend my religious beliefs, which I feel are private, between me and the Gods, and being pressured to change them, does. Especially in connection with a totally non-religious purchase. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737/34 "2002-07-15T03:12:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Seven \* > \*\* > “Gee. If I was god I don’t think I’d was mayo and breadcrumbs on my words” \*\* Oh, **Seven** -can I PLEASE use this as my new sig? PLEASE!!! ---
**Author:** ![More\_Cowbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@More\_Cowbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/More_Cowbell)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737/35 "2002-07-15T15:22:47Z")
Maybe it was an addtional cookbook. My “Headshrinkers Weekly” magazine tells me that Christian Missionaries are all the rage in the trendy cannibal restaraunts, served with unleavend bread and a nice red wine. They just have to work on the title of that book. “Darkness before Dawn: Finding Hope for the Future” isn’t as nearly as eye catching and profound as “To Serve Man”. ---
**Author:** ![Ed\_Zotti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/fbc32d/32.png) [@Ed\_Zotti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ed_Zotti)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737/36 "2002-07-16T03:39:28Z")
Esprix wrote: > [@](#): > > OK, now you’ve all got me wanting to put something up just for you Dopers to bid on - for the gay porn, of course. But I can’t actually sell gay porn. > > But I can sell this! [link to Ebay omitted] > > Happy bidding! What is this, Think Up New Ways to Drive the Mods Nuts Week? I’m sure you think this is a cute stunt. To somebody off the street it’s going to look like the SDMB is mixed up in some kind of porn-by-mail racket. I’m closing this thread. If you don’t pull that goofy offer off Ebay, I’m bouncing your butt out of here. ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737/37 "2002-07-16T04:30:51Z")
Um, I’m an idiot. Truly. I apologize. Won’t happen again. The auction’s been cancelled. Now someone please throw dirt on my coffin while I curl up and die. ☹ Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737/38 "2002-07-16T04:33:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Esprix \* > \*\*Um, I’m an idiot. Truly. I apologize. Won’t happen again. The auction’s been cancelled. > > Now someone please throw dirt on my coffin while I curl up and die. ☹ > > Esprix \*\* Awww. Lay your head down on my fully clothed lap and relax, babe. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737/39 "2002-07-16T05:47:52Z")
Oh man, I was bidding furiously on that puppy! (And Ed is so no fun I can’t even stand it) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-ask-you-to-save-my-soul-dont-you-think-this-is-just-a-mite-tacky/118737.md?page=1)