"If your banks don't charge interest where do they get their funds to continue to grow and invest in businesses, property and various other conditions. Has the system limited the range of banks in your nation."
"That is a good question. Our bank get their funds from those that save and deposit money at the bank. Tamora does not have a public welfare system or a public pension system and people naturally save money from young age. So our banks have money but they grow at the rate the people save. "
"Has this affected our banks in terms of growth? Yes, the banking is not as large as you would expect it to be for an economy the size of Tamora's. And the limitation is not necessary just because of lack of funds to lend but it's not such a profitable business as in other countries. Don't get me wrong, our banks don't struggle, they turn a profit but it's nothing compared to foreign banks. In on other countries banks make most of their money from lending, here they make most of it from the other services they provide. "
"I would also like to add just one more thing, and this is related to my lecture. If you're religious, if you believe strongly in your faith and that some things shouldn't be done they aren't moral then you've probably noticed by now that others can get ahead in life by not respecting the same moral code. So maybe our banking system, smaller, safer and more adverse to risk taking is actually making us less rich and developed than we could be if we had one that doesn't follow our moral code but it's a result of our choice to put God and his laws first and wealth second. And emphasize second and not set aside. People want to be rich in Tamora, just not rich at any cost."
"If you say that people should fight against things that their religion sees as morally bad what happens if the laws of a nation disagree with the laws of your faith. If I may give an example, we've seen recently the Vodou faith gain publicity and they see it as part of their faith to ritually sacrifice animals to give the meat to the poor and needy. Nobody would disagree that charity was a bad thing, but what if that ritual process goes against the nations laws such as has been pronounced in Lodja? Which takes precident, the faith, espeically if your a non native minoirty or the nations laws?"
"Another good question, you have really good teachers here."
"Let's start with the easer one. For the native, majority religion, which comes first? faith or national law. And that's easy: faith, every single time. In fact, most likely there is something wrong with that law if it hinders you from practicing your faith. I mean, why do we have a government? I can't speak for other countries but for us it's to protect us from outside threats and make sure we can practice our religion in peace."
"Now if a foreign religion were to gain a wide following in our empire and they'd have some unusual practices, as long as they do not engage in violence against us I don't see why the authorities should intervene, that's something we the faithful can solve. We have very few laws in the first place and I doubt any of them would hinder their practices but if such a law would exist then it would have to go I guess."
"In your case specifically, it seems to me that Lodja has too many laws. Why would they care how the Vodou cut their animals? It's their animals to do as they see fit. The Voodo believers would be right to be upset about it."
