Aye. My bad. It is called the Shrine of the Gods in the article. Was looking at the post above mine that had referred it to the Temple of the Gods.
But yeah, I played thru the game once when it came out a long time ago. When it was released again through GoG, I ran into the "cheat" and decided to try it to see what it was. I was happy to do it, though, as the first few character levels are pretty difficult and not much fun (IMO at least) so it helped me get through that and into the fun parts.
But I will disagree with Phanboy as I don't think this hint "nerfs" the rest of the game. It simply helps you start out. The one thing I really hated about this game was the beginning as it was almost constant hitting swarms of enemies (namely Goblins and mages), taking a swing, run away, take another swing, run away, then go to the temple and spend 50 - 100g just to heal and ressurect your party. And you only maybe killed 3 guys out of 12. To me, that isn't a game nor is it fun.
Even with the help from the Shrine of the Gods, there are still plenty of challenges and the game is a ton of fun. Also, the cheat doesn't make you invincible, giving you all the end game stuff. It really didn't help with any gear upgrades. The best part was 10k gold but that was spent in a hurry, buying skills and the such.
I guess to each his own! It was simply a suggestion as you were a bit "scared" to play and to make a decision as to what's best to choose as far as classes and stats. I absolutely hate taking shortcuts in any game but this "cheat" was just enough to actually make the game bearable at first but not too much to make it boring or feel like I was playing on God Mode.
Have fun, no matter how you decide to play!!! It's your game :)

been to busy to fire it up on my lappy. :(

The bow skill is great! Absolutely. Unfortunately, you can't get it until you go to Free Haven or Mist (I forget but I think it's Mist) and if you are a new player, chances are you don't know that. Not to mention, that even if you did know that, the money you need to get it is a bit steep at first.
Yes, the strategy does work, but IMO (and it's just an opinion) that strategy isn't fun. Nor is it easy or productive (I DO realize that some people think that this is part of the game and is the fun part, I just don't share that opinion :P). It was just my gripe about the beginning of the game. The cleric is also very weak at the beginning of the game and the heals don't do a lot.
Again, it's simply my observation and opinion of the beginning of the game. Not that the game or the strategy is bad. I did that strategy as well my first run through the game, as well as my second. The difficulty of the beginning is really a small gripe on my end (as the game is one of my all time top three games), but to a new player, the way the beginning is set up it can be a bit daunting so I was trying to help out :)

It was just a suggestion. As I have never tried NWC dungeon, just the shrine. So no money bonus, just stats.
But anyway the beginning is more fun without the shrine as later it becomes serach for do-able quests. In New Sorpigal every quest can be done at the beginning.

Not really. Just pick up the "deliver this letter to the king" quest at the New Sorpigal Inn, take a ride from the stable to Castle Ironfist and receive 5000 gold and instant lvl3 for delivering it - enough for equiping all chars with bows.
As for that specific temple and the secret dungeon... this video shows you how to get there and what to expect.
As for if it's spoiling the fun out of the game I'd say no. Especially on your first run with the game, still having to find out about the do's and don'ts, it's a great help. Once you're so far in the game that you could reach it on your own, it's just don't worth the trouble or even needed. But each as they please.

Actually, you cal learn the Bow skill in Castle Ironfist, in the Berserkers' Fury guild.

you can also watch Let's Play on youtube :-). And to die is not so tragic :-). Store gold in bank...