TagraNar
A More Vain Sex God
I'll be as simple as possible: If advance is not required then it is of one's own will to advance.
The payments are not required if one does not want to pay them. As long as you can maintain the status of Scientologist without paying a dime it is all donation.*
And yet you will never learn anything more. Take the Christian and the Scientologist. Both wish to advance their knowledge of their faith through legitimate means. The Christian can learn without paying a dime, by attending church and other services the church provides. He can advance freely. The Scientologist cannot. He must pay to advance each level. He cannot learn freely.
Even Wicca, a mystery religion, does not force it's adherents to pay to advance. They must simply go through the processes.
We're arguing legalistics; how you feel about not being able to advance in one way or another is not my problem, and with your wicca event you admit that there are indeed various payment, sacriments, and rites one must go through to achieve 'greater levels of recognition' or whatever you want to call it. I'm sorry, but payment is payment; not all payment is monatery; a rite is a rite and a price is a price.
You're actually digging the hole.
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Not legally pronounced, if I remember correctly. But you can get married and completely bypass any religious ceremony.
Cite. Even court-based marriages are considered religious ceremonies. Thus the Justice of Peace. He's an actual priest.
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I am almost sure one of out however many priests in scientology
might perform a service for free even if they are encouraged not to because that's general human nature; someone's always going to be a softee.
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The point is, he can. The Scientologist cannot. Not without some major s**t going down afterwards.
In other words you're feeding off of possibility and consequence as an argument? That's terrible. "I can give you my keys and my lease without major s**t down down, someone else could, but major s**t would go down, therefore the other cannot now." Wait, what?
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No, the flaw is that they have to pay out the nose to do so. I've got no problem with mystery religions; Wicca is one and the Greeks had quite a few. But the knowledge, sacred knowledge which extends beyond this existence, shouldn't cost exorbitant fees to learn. And people object to Scientology on this point because it very much looks like a scam to get money out of people.
Apparently you've this idea that 'payment' can only be done via Visa. People have to dedicate their entire lives, time and energy, to certain causes in order to be an initiate. I suppose Capitalist countries would lose their temper over petty paper; if anything my reasoning would hardly rest upon them paying money.
Furthermore, we're talking legally what is, and is not, a donation; keep your feelings out of it. I don't care.