Can a Christian play poker?

[DerFleisch]

I am a Christian (Methodist, FWIW). I recognize that this is an unpopular viewpoint on this board, and I am not out to try to "convert" anybody here. But I believe there is a lot of wrong information being spread about gambling by the religious establishment.

There is no biblical proof that poker, or any other gambling for that matter, is sinful. Obviously, the Bible is not going to specifically talk about poker, as the game didn't even exist until about 1700 years after the last book of the Bible was written; but other forms of gambling definitely DID exist during biblical times (the Roman soldiers casting lots for Jesus's clothing on the cross being just one example.) I have asked many biblical scholars of various denominations about the subject, and none of them have been able to provide me with anything other than doctrine created by humans.

So, I went straight to the source...I prayed and asked God Himself. This is the answer I received:

There are many things associated with poker playing that are sinful. Berating a fish over a bad beat, allowing the game to consume your life, shirking your financial responsibilities due to poker losses...all these are sinful. But the poker playing itself, whether for play money or real money, and regardless of the stakes involved, is not sinful.

So it could be said, ironically, that most of the ways to avoid sin while playing poker stem from the teachings of David Sklansky, an avowed atheist.

You want to avoid sin while playing poker? Read Sklansky's Theory of Poker, Malmuth's Poker Essays, and Schoonmaker's Psychology of Poker...therein lies most of the info a Christian poker player needs.