Gambling and Religon

[hashi92]

Gambling is morally wrong according to most religons. how do religous people on this forum justify their hobby or job (playing poker).

[SammyKid11]

The same way religious people justify almost everything their religions teach them not to do...they evade, re-interpret, and ignore. The Bible also teaches that it's morally wrong to touch the skin of a dead pig (somewhere in Leviticus), yet I know of no bigger group of football fans than Southern Baptists. Re-interpret and ignore the crap you're interested in doing, take literally and condemn for the crap you don't feel like others should be doing (cause, if gay people wanna get married, the religious folk don't like that too much).

[NotReady]

Some previous threads on this:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showth...amp;sb=5&o=

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showth...amp;sb=5&o=

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showth...amp;sb=5&o=


http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showth...&sb=5&o

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Asian religions have no problem with gambling
Catholic churches run bingo halls
I've seen many Protestant churches advertise raffles

Please define "most"

[SammyKid11]

I won't comment on Asian religions or Catholicism, as I've never been personally involved with either. But I was raised as a Southern Baptist, and I can tell you they (perhaps hypocritically) do not view church raffles and poker, sports betting, blackjack, as at all the same. Their having church raffles do not affect their position on "the vice of gambling."

[txag007]

Obviously, you won't find the word "poker" in the Bible. The Bible really doesn't discuss gambling either, at least not in a literal sense. What it does do , though, is warn against certain aspects of the human character that gambling tends to bring out. For instance, it tells us that greed or covetousness is a sin. Paul writes to Timothy that "the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil". If this is why you are playing poker then perhaps you are sinning. It doesn't mean, though, that the game itself is a sin.

The Bible also talks about the value of work and warns against "get rich quick" schemes. Biblically, we are to gain wealth over a long period of time. Again, that doesn't mean the game of poker is evil. More than anything, it is God telling us not to put ourselves in -EV situations.

And of course becoming addicted to poker or any type of gambling would be a sin for a multitude of reasons. That's true in other areas of life, as well.

[hmkpoker]

Would you say that it is true that God created the world in such a way that following his instructions is, in addition to being righteous, specifically +EV in this life as well?

[miketurner]

[ QUOTE ]
Obviously, you won't find the word "poker" in the Bible. The Bible really doesn't discuss gambling either, at least not in a literal sense. What it does do , though, is warn against certain aspects of the human character that gambling tends to bring out. For instance, it tells us that greed or covetousness is a sin. Paul writes to Timothy that "the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil". If this is why you are playing poker then perhaps you are sinning. It doesn't mean, though, that the game itself is a sin.

The Bible also talks about the value of work and warns against "get rich quick" schemes. Biblically, we are to gain wealth over a long period of time. Again, that doesn't mean the game of poker is evil. More than anything, it is God telling us not to put ourselves in -EV situations.

And of course becoming addicted to poker or any type of gambling would be a sin for a multitude of reasons. That's true in other areas of life, as well.

[/ QUOTE ]

If anyone can refute this, I would like to know the verse’s location. I have heard people say that gambling is a sin... but I have never read anything myself that says that. I’m pretty sure (not 100%) that Jesus got mad when people were gambling in the “house of the lord” (church), but the gambling itself was not the problem. There is more of the Bible that I haven't read, than have... so I may be totally wrong here. I would just like evidence of me being wrong.

[KipBond]

[ QUOTE ]
If anyone can refute this, I would like to know the verse’s location.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm sure there are some verses listed in those threads that NotReady posted.

txag is right, though... but, conservative Christians would take what he said, combined with "do not cause your brother to sin", and "avoid even the appearance of evil", as enough proof that God doesn't want them to gamble.

[Peter666]

Because we take the money from stupid atheists and sinners. It is God's work.