What do you think of paying to hear a religious speaker?

[Sunstone]

It's interesting how many people will respect a message they must pay for more than they will respect a message they get for free.

 

[FlyingTeaPot]

Would you name some specific fairy tales the Dali Lama inflicts on his audiences? Just curious what you had in mind.

The thread title, in question form was this: What do you think of paying to hear a religious speaker?
I answered that question. I do not think Dalai Lama has any fairy tales to tell.
And geez louise! I was being funny, as evidenced by the at the end. It didn't go across very well.

 

[England my lionheart]

The Dali Lama was here today. There was a charge of €25 to go and hear him. Tickets were sold in a flash.
What do you think about paying to hear a religious speaker?

I'd probably pay him not to speak only joking,i would be happy to pay to see the Dali Lama,i think like anyone famous he's got to pay for security transport and the venue.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

It's interesting how many people will respect a message they must pay for more than they will respect a message they get for free.

People tend to value things in proportion to the effort needed to get them.

Also, if you're sitting at a free event, look around, and think to yourself "why aren't more people here?" one of the possible reasons is "maybe everyone else realizes it's not worth their time." If you had to pay, that suggests other reasons for the attendance level.

 

[sandandfoam]

People tend to value things in proportion to the effort needed to get them.

I think that's a line that's trotted out often but I don't think I hold to it.
My #1 prize posession is my motorbike. It came to me very easily.
My #2 prize posession is my bicycle. It came to me very easily.
I have other things lying about the place that I had to work my butt off to get and I have no interest in them.

 

[doppelganger]

Providing religious talks is a business and a guy's gotta eat, so it doesn't bother me. If he's charging admission instead of asking for voluntary donations, it may need to be reported as taxable income, of course.

As for myself, I personally wouldn't pay to listen to anyone try to perform group therapy using outmoded methods from the ancient world.

 

[sojourner]

Are you talking about the POSSIBILITIES Civic Summit?

That is not the Dalai Lama charging 25 quid a ticket, that is the three non-Profits that organized the summit charging for it. The proceeds go to Children in Crossfire, SpunOut.ie, and Action From Ireland (Afri).

If I were in Ireland and able to get tickets, then yes, I would go and have no problem having my money go to these organizations.

It is when religious speakers charge money that goes directly into their own bank accounts that I have a problem.

Not picking on you specifically, but you put the sentiment others are expressing rather succinctly.

Why not? Why shouldn't religious speakers get paid and the money go into their own pockets? Doctors get paid for their professional services. Lawyers get paid for their professional services. Garbage men get paid for their services, too. Why not religious speakers? Tony Robbins gets paid for speaking. I bet Richard Dawkins gets paid for speaking, too.

That being said, I don't think religious leaders should charge for services that are specifically ministerial in nature -- but I don't think that's the case here. It's a conference, not a religious worship event. When we have nationally-known clergy come in to speak at assemblies and conferences, we pay them for their time.

 

[tumbleweed41]

Not picking on you specifically, but you put the sentiment others are expressing rather succinctly.

Why not? Why shouldn't religious speakers get paid and the money go into their own pockets? Doctors get paid for their professional services. Lawyers get paid for their professional services. Garbage men get paid for their services, too. Why not religious speakers? Tony Robbins gets paid for speaking. I bet Richard Dawkins gets paid for speaking, too.

That being said, I don't think religious leaders should charge for services that are specifically ministerial in nature -- but I don't think that's the case here. It's a conference, not a religious worship event. When we have nationally-known clergy come in to speak at assemblies and conferences, we pay them for their time.

Granted, however, I feel the same about anyone (motivational speakers, 'get rich quick' speakers, televangelists, etc...) whose sole purpose seems to be playing on peoples emotions and greed to pad their own bank accounts.

 

[sandandfoam]

Why shouldn't religious speakers get paid and the money go into their own pockets?

From my pov-
Because controlling access to religious information/knowledge/speaking through ability to pay clashes with my concept of what it is to be religious.
God's message should be available to the poorest of the poor as well as to the wealthy.
I have no problem with them taking and asking for donations. But that's a lot different than €25/skull

 

[sojourner]

Granted, however, I feel the same about anyone (motivational speakers, 'get rich quick' speakers, televangelists, etc...) whose sole purpose seems to be playing on peoples emotions and greed to pad their own bank accounts.

Oh, I agree! But the example given doesn't fit that criterion.

 

[sojourner]

From my pov-
Because controlling access to religious information/knowledge/speaking through ability to pay clashes with my concept of what it is to be religious.
God's message should be available to the poorest of the poor as well as to the wealthy.
I have no problem with them taking and asking for donations. But that's a lot different than €25/skull

So...
Books ought to be free?
College instruction ought to be free?
I think we need to be careful not to confuse simple dissemination of information with ministry.

 

[tumbleweed41]

Oh, I agree! But the example given doesn't fit that criterion.

I agree wholeheartedly, which is why I pointed out....

"That is not the Dalai Lama charging 25 quid a ticket, that is the three non-Profits that organized the summit charging for it. The proceeds go to Children in Crossfire, SpunOut.ie, and Action From Ireland (Afri).

If I were in Ireland and able to get tickets, then yes, I would go and have no problem having my money go to these organizations."

 

[sandandfoam]

So...
Books ought to be free?
College instruction ought to be free?

Yes they should. Libraries and free education are no-brainers as far as I'm concerned.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Why not? Why shouldn't religious speakers get paid and the money go into their own pockets? Doctors get paid for their professional services. Lawyers get paid for their professional services. Garbage men get paid for their services, too. Why not religious speakers? Tony Robbins gets paid for speaking. I bet Richard Dawkins gets paid for speaking, too.

Maybe it's a question of ownership of the work? If it's a matter of "God working through" the speaker rather than the speaker doing the work himself, then it would make sense that the reward should go to God rather than the speaker. I mean, when I participate in a webinar, I pay the webinar provider (if it's one that charges a fee), not my computer.

However, if you view all professions as "callings" and as serving God in some form, then I agree it does get trickier to justify why one "calling" should be paid but another should not.

Another possibility for where the idea comes from: if ministry is "godly" and money is "worldly" (and therefore not "godly"), then interaction between ministers and money could be seen as "tainting" that which is supposed to be godly: in the Christian context, "no man can serve two masters... etc."; in the Buddhist context, maybe money could be seen as a symbol of attachment.

Anyhow, I'm just hypothesizing. None of these are my positions; I'm just trying to imagine what the source of the attitude might be.

 

[BruceDLimber]

What do you think about paying to hear a religious speaker?

Fortunately, the Baha'i Faith refuses to accept contributions except from formally-declared members; and ALL our public activities are either completely free or benefit some non-Baha'i charity (e.g., the Kidney Foundation)!

Best!

Bruce

 

[sirat]

The Dali Lama was here today. There was a charge of €25 to go and hear him. Tickets were sold in a flash.
What do you think about paying to hear a religious speaker?

salaam friend,

One cannot charge for what God has given freely. It simply is not possible. To charge turns it into something else.

At the same time, there are those, because of their state or position who have the need to be charged. In this case, to charge is indicated. Notice, this is about the attendee and not about the speaker's needs.

To understand why a true teacher chose to ask for a charge takes great insight. It also takes understanding if the teacher wishes the student to pay or the student to refuse.

An interesting commentary on this point is in the Qur'an when Moses asks Khdir why they do not charge for rebuilding a wall.

wa salaam
sirat

 

[YmirGF]

The Dali Lama was here today. There was a charge of €25 to go and hear him. Tickets were sold in a flash.
What do you think about paying to hear a religious speaker?

I might pay to spend an hour in the presence of Stephen Hawking. At least that would be worth something.

The Dali Lama? Um... no. I would not pay to see him. He is welcome to pay to see me however.

 

[Autodidact]

The Dali Lama was here today. There was a charge of €25 to go and hear him. Tickets were sold in a flash.
What do you think about paying to hear a religious speaker?

I think it depends on what he has to say, whether it is of value to me, and how good a speaker he is.

 

[Sunstone]

The thread title, in question form was this: What do you think of paying to hear a religious speaker?
I answered that question. I do not think Dalai Lama has any fairy tales to tell.
And geez louise! I was being funny, as evidenced by the at the end. It didn't go across very well.

I was just curious if you had any fairy tales in mind. I wasn't particularly interested in challenging you even if you did.

 

[Skwim]

The Dali Lama was here today. There was a charge of €25 to go and hear him. Tickets were sold in a flash.
What do you think about paying to hear a religious speaker?

A fool and his money . . . .