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I always read/hear Christians (not all of them, obviously) rail against gambling because it's a sin. So there's nothing in the Bible about it at all? This is all just made up?
I have never understood why people think betting money on a card game (or for some, even simply PLAYING a card game) is immoral. If there was something in the Bible about it, I could at least understand fundamentalists having an problem with it.
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Yes, they made it up. Fundamentalist Christians have a long history of basing morality not on the Bible, but on their ideas of what seems right and wrong. For example, some Baptists believe drinking one beer is sinful, yet Jesus himself made wine (a big miracle of His). And, He didn't make it for a sacrament. Rather, He made it for a PARTY!!! <font color="blue"> QFT, but it does say "not to be drunk", some people can't stop at just a few drinks, hence the bad reputation of alcohol. I myself like a glass of wine from time to time, but I have full control over myself in this issue and it isn't a problem for me. Some try to impose limitations for the whole of society because of their need for everyone to abide by the same "rules" as they do, this isn't correct. Everyone has their own stuggles with temptation. A full reading of the writings of Paul will clarify this issue for anyone interesting in taking the time to read it, but it is much too indepth to explore on this thread. </font> Seems inconsistent with the beliefs of people who claim to be his followers. As for gambling, there isn't a word about it. <font color="blue"> QFT, I looked </font> Here's an interesting article that provides about as much justification as is possible from the Bible:
http://www.prca.org/pamphlets/pamphlet_93.htm#whySin . It's rather convoluted in terms of logic, but it essentially claims that the issue is that gambling is greed-driven. Supposedly, the "greed" is in wanting something for nothing.
One objection I have to this is that I think it contradicts the Biblical story "Parable of the Talents", where making money not from sweat and labor, but from interest and profit, is praised. See Matthew 25:14-30 or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Talents . Other verses in the Bible instruct us to use our gifts to the maximum. <font color="blue"> You're so off on your interpretation of this parable that I can't even agree with you. Interest was the minimum that God requires from us, which the metaphor translates as sitting on our hands and not telling anyone about Christ and keeping God's love bottled up inside. This parable has plenty of meaning in the physical, but it should be read for the spiritual. </font>
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I am a Christian and my church supports and is based on a lot of the same beliefs of FOF, I don't agree with them on this issue because it is trying to put limitations on the whole of society because some can't handle their gambling. I think what Dr Dobson does is awesome, and he is right in thinking that as the family deteriorates, so does the morality of the society. But morality doesn't create disciples of Christ, Christ wants a relationship with us, and that relationship creates morality and cures us of our addictions and gives us true life.
Playing poker allows me to win some "monies" and have the occassional opportunity to minister to someone about Christ. I'm not a you have to quit sinning now before you can be saved Christian, I'm one who encourages you to get saved then let Christ pull out what he needs to pull out from you Christian. I don't judge, nor will I. Christ takes us as we are then makes us better.
I guess what I want to say is, Dr Dobson has done more for our country than many of you will ever think about doing, and just because he has stepped on our toes with this one issue doesn't make him a villain. His beliefs are Biblical and his intentions are good, so we don't need to attack him, we just need to defend what is important to us, while keeping things in their proper perspective.
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HEY I HAVE ALWAYS SUPPORTED DR DOBSON AND OTHERS LIKE HIM, EXCEPT ON THIS ONE ISSUE. (GAMBLING) I LOVE THE WORK HE DOES AGAINST ONLINE PORNOGRAPHY AND AGAINST ABORTION, AND I ALWAYS VOTE CONSERVATIVE RIGHT WING REPUBLICANS. BUT SINCE IM DISABLED, AND WINNING ABOUT $500 A MONTH AT ONLINE POKER, AND CANNOT DRIVE TO A CASINO, IM A LITTLE UPSET ABOUT THIS ISSUE. YES I KNOW LOTS OF KIDS GET ONLINE WHO SHOULDNT AND I KNOW SOME PEOPLE BLOW ALL THEIR MONEY AT SLOTS WHO SHOULDNT AND I COULD CARE LESS IF ALL ONLINE SLOTS WERE banned. HOWEVER POKER AND BLACKJACK SHOUDL BE TREATED DIFFERENTLY AS GAMES OF SKILL THATS WHY I SUPPORT WEXLERS BILL IN FL SO MUCH, A LOT MORE THAN I DO BARNEY FRANKS. HE ADMITS POKER IS A GAME OF SKILL. I THINK IF DOBSON TRULY UNDERSTOOD POKER AS A GAME OF SKILL AND NOT ALL LUCK HE WOULDNT BE SO OPPOSED TO IT. EVIDENTLY HES ONE OF THE CROWD LIKE MY MOM WHO BELIEVES ALL GAMBLERS LOSE IN THE END. AND REFUSES TO BELIEVE SOME OF US ARE ACTUALLY BEATING THE GAME IN THE LONG RUN. WE HAVE GOT TO START CONVINCING PEOPLE POKER IS A GAME OF SKILL, AND NOT LUCK, THAT IS THE ONLY SHOT WE HAVE TO MAKE ONLINE POKER SAFE AND LEGAL.
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You know of course, you sound like the perfect person for the PPA to highlight and use. You're disabled and need online poker to be able to play poker. Also, and this is really big, you otherwise agree with the, ugh, people at FOF, so your bias is normally with them not with us, which skyrockets your creditability and attractivenes.
Have you thought about this?