Rehab Center's Weekly Prompt (2/6/10)

[TeaDidikai]

This thread serves as a forum for exploring and generating thoughts about your tradition, as well as understanding other's practices.

The question of the week is located at the top of the second post.

An archive of older questions can be seen below.  

[TeaDidikai]

This Week's Question:

Outside of your primary tradition, which is your favorite?

Archive of Questions:

November 14th, 2009
Is it ethical to accept money in exchange for spiritual services?

November 21st, 2009
Do seasonal shifts directly influence your religious practices?

November 30th, 2009
Does your practice include the use of sacramentals?

December 5th
Do you separate or integrate popular culture within your religious practices?

December 12th
What role do candles play in your spiritual practices?

December 18th
Do you acknowledge or celebrate the Winter Solstice?

December 26th
Do you hold any spiritual traditions regarding the New Year?

January 4th, 2010
Does your tradition hold elements as sacred, and if so- which elements?

January 10th, 2010
What kinds of compensation do you feel is appropriate for services rendered by clergy?

January 18th, 2010
Does your tradition hold any dietary restrictions?

January 23rd, 2010
A challenge: In one word- describe the essence of any initiatory/dedication/sanctification ritual you have experienced. Feel free to expand upon it if you wish.

January 31st, 2010
Do heavenly bodies have a role within your tradition?

February 6th, 2010
Outside of your primary tradition, which is your favorite?  

[Collowrath]

TeaDidikai

Is it ethical to accept money in exchange for spiritual services?

For the most part, I'd have to say yes. I don't see an issue with taking payment for services, unless the tradition has a substitute, vow of poverty, etc, especially for a service that might be draining or require some amount of funds on the part of the person you're employing - the least you could do is break even for them, maybe buy them dinner.

Priests (or other, relevant terms!) have to eat too!  

[[Your Worst Nitemare]]

Collowrath

TeaDidikai

Is it ethical to accept money in exchange for spiritual services?

For the most part, I'd have to say yes. I don't see an issue with taking payment for services, unless the tradition has a substitute, vow of poverty, etc, especially for a service that might be draining or require some amount of funds on the part of the person you're employing - the least you could do is break even for them, maybe buy them dinner.

Priests (or other, relevant terms!) have to eat too!

Such a statement has never been more true.

My teacher/coach is well known around the area where we live. He makes a living by giving special classes and doing intensive tarot readings at various outlets outside of the free classes that he and his wife give to soon-to-be members and members of their coven. I still technically owe him ten dollars from a class that I took from him Saturday. He has a website and regularly offers different classes.

Like Collowrath said, he's got to make a living somehow.  

[TeaDidikai]

I'm in agreement with one stipulation: that the services are proper for the person. When people replace spiritual services for needed practical services they endanger the individuals they are there to help.  

[whiporwill-o]

TeaDidikai

I'm in agreement with one stipulation: that the services are proper for the person. When people replace spiritual services for needed practical services they endanger the individuals they are there to help.

can you give an example? sorry, my brain is a bit fuzzy right now, the weather right now hates me.  

[TeaDidikai]

whiporwill-o

TeaDidikai

I'm in agreement with one stipulation: that the services are proper for the person. When people replace spiritual services for needed practical services they endanger the individuals they are there to help.

can you give an example? sorry, my brain is a bit fuzzy right now, the weather right now hates me.

Some individuals who offer spiritual healing do so in place of pragmatic medicine, rather than in addition to it.  

[Bastemhet]

TeaDidikai

whiporwill-o

TeaDidikai

I'm in agreement with one stipulation: that the services are proper for the person. When people replace spiritual services for needed practical services they endanger the individuals they are there to help.

can you give an example? sorry, my brain is a bit fuzzy right now, the weather right now hates me.

Some individuals who offer spiritual healing do so in place of pragmatic medicine, rather than in addition to it.

Another example: Reiki to mend broken bones before they've been set. sweatdrop

As for the topic, I'd agree with Collowrath. I'd also like to note that it would only be ethical if the person giving the spiritual service were to inform their customers of their practice and why it works. That should be part of any responsible rendering of a service.  

[whiporwill-o]

TeaDidikai

whiporwill-o

TeaDidikai

I'm in agreement with one stipulation: that the services are proper for the person. When people replace spiritual services for needed practical services they endanger the individuals they are there to help.

can you give an example? sorry, my brain is a bit fuzzy right now, the weather right now hates me.

Some individuals who offer spiritual healing do so in place of pragmatic medicine, rather than in addition to it.

oh, yes, i see. sweatdrop

thank you.

i agree with Collowrath as well as your stipulation; however, i believe that the one offering services for payment should legit. i'm sure that goes without saying, but not everyone will be honest about their abilities and they'll take advantage of believers who are not as well educated.  

[Collowrath]

TeaDidikai

I'm in agreement with one stipulation: that the services are proper for the person. When people replace spiritual services for needed practical services they endanger the individuals they are there to help.

I agree - you should always obtain the practical treatment for a medical issue especially. I would question anyone who claimed to be curing some disease or sickness through spiritual means alone.

whiporwill-o

however, i believe that the one offering services for payment should legit. i'm sure that goes without saying, but not everyone will be honest about their abilities and they'll take advantage of believers who are not as well educated.

It would be important to keep in mind, that if you're shopping for something, even spiritual services, it falls on you to be a responsible, informed consumer.  

[Recursive Paradox]

Provided ethics are followed and the fix it standard before you fix it magic rule is applied (e.g. setting the bone before healing) I don't see why not.

Skilled labor is paid, isn't it? Food's kinda important too.  

[Fiddlers Green]

This is a sticky widget for me.
The answer, Depends doesn't help much.

So, here we go as a starter. If the investment of authority to provide those spiritual services allows it, then it might be okay, if it does not, then it isn't. If the spiritual service is a requirement of membership in a community or a people it may or may not be, depending upon cultural standards. Either way, it can lead to a well provided for Priest.
I personally find the formalized exchange of lucre for spiritual services distasteful, but generally take little, if any, offense at donation by those provided for.

To me, Priesthood seems a calling apart from professions. While we all aught eat, and most of us are not getting a stipend from our divinities... I don't like equating spiritual services with the more mundane financial exchanges. Also, I worry that greed might afflict the spiritualist. That the calling loses it's significance and becomes just a job... or worse yet, leads to abandonment of the less profitable parts of the duties... especially if the investing authority is permissive or not always watching.

The final concern is the one from the customer perspective... what is the recourse against false spiritualists? Who has mal-priesthood insurance? This makes the whole exchange questionable. If I pay a person for a service, I expect results. If results don't manifest and they tell me their gods didn't feel like it, that's too bad. What can I do? What if they didn't even ask and they just rooked me? Dealing in (largely) non-falsifiables is dangerous like that. So long as the caveat of "this is supposed to net this result" is added, I am less offended, but it can still be phrased in a misleading manner. Which sullies the service in the same way any double-speak or implication sullies an exchange. Read the fine print is vile tactic in my book.

So, summation, so long as all concerned parties are aware, the charter of the spiritualist allows it, and the spiritual service is not being used to net an otherwise unethical result, I tend to find it mildly distasteful, however perfectly acceptable.  

[Recursive Paradox]

Well I dunno about that. Some "jobs" are just as much of a calling. Writing is a passion for me. Getting paid for it just means that my passion has some extra frosting. But I would do it anyways because writing is a deep part of me (hell I already do with blogging)

So I think that if something is a calling, it may never truly just become a job because that passion and need and connection remains, despite money.  

[Collowrath]

TeaDidikai

Do seasonal shifts directly influence your religious practices?

Yes - very much so. Much of Slavic practice is directly tied to changing seasons, attributed to the death and rebirth of certain Gods.

There are Hellenic festivals tied to the changing seasons, but these are iffy in that the Greek climate is very different from the one here and thus the seasons are a bit different.  

[Bastemhet]

TeaDidikai

Do seasonal shifts directly influence your religious practices?

Yes and no. Being Reformed Kemetic makes it iffy. The Kemetic part means there are celebrations in a seasonal calendar that matches an area that has only three seasons. The Reformed part is me trying to ameliorate that with the fact that my home has technically 4 seasons. Basically I try to celebrate the days that aren't tied to seasons like the Epagomenal days (birthdays of some deities) and leave out the seasonal holidays. I haven't figured out whether I want to calculate it to match with my area's seasons or not. My plate is full as it is studying other parts of religion to have to figure out their crazy calendar system. sweatdrop