Let's discuss gambling from an Anabaptist perspective.
If you do not wish to discuss gambling from a Christ-centered, Bible-affirming, Anabaptist perspective, please refrain from participating in this thread.
Gambling
Re: Gambling
gambling... grown into a massive "legal" industry...
heavily targeted at children, gambling ads are all over NFL,NHL,NBA, even college games. video games have "loot boxes" to teach youngsters how to gamble. the gambling industry is now $66 billion per year. that's $200 bet for every man woman and child in america. (and I am not including lottery tickets etc in that, just sports and casinos.)
9-10% of domestic violence is due to gambling
problem gambling disproportionately affects minorities and the poor due to a very outsized degree. what does the bible have to say about that?
what should the christian's response be? I have a few questions:
- Does accepting bets (being a book maker), with knowledge of how harmful gambling is, forfeit one's salvation?
- What should be done with a Christian brother who succumbs to gambling addiction?
- What should the Christian's response to professional sports be? Pretty much all pro sports (and college sports) are mixed up with gambling now. Celebrities endorse it. like LeBron James.
- do conservative Anabaptists, need to keep an eye on their standards and expectations for members, and be more clear that gambling is a sin and likewise being mixed up with pro sports is a sin once gambling is involved.
heavily targeted at children, gambling ads are all over NFL,NHL,NBA, even college games. video games have "loot boxes" to teach youngsters how to gamble. the gambling industry is now $66 billion per year. that's $200 bet for every man woman and child in america. (and I am not including lottery tickets etc in that, just sports and casinos.)
9-10% of domestic violence is due to gambling
problem gambling disproportionately affects minorities and the poor due to a very outsized degree. what does the bible have to say about that?
what should the christian's response be? I have a few questions:
- Does accepting bets (being a book maker), with knowledge of how harmful gambling is, forfeit one's salvation?
- What should be done with a Christian brother who succumbs to gambling addiction?
- What should the Christian's response to professional sports be? Pretty much all pro sports (and college sports) are mixed up with gambling now. Celebrities endorse it. like LeBron James.
- do conservative Anabaptists, need to keep an eye on their standards and expectations for members, and be more clear that gambling is a sin and likewise being mixed up with pro sports is a sin once gambling is involved.
1 x
Re: Gambling
1) I think the growth and popularization of gambling is a huge issue and I’m concerned about its long term social effects.
2) Scripture doesn’t address gambling directly. There are scriptures that condemn greed and others that extol trust in God. On what basis is gambling a salvation issue?
2) Scripture doesn’t address gambling directly. There are scriptures that condemn greed and others that extol trust in God. On what basis is gambling a salvation issue?
1 x
"Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless."
-- Isaiah 10:1-2
-- Isaiah 10:1-2
Re: Gambling
My feeling is that operating a gambling house, online sports book etc is profiting from the oppression of the poor, taking advantage of the poor, and profiting from an increase in all the social problems that came with that (the most striking to me is the increase in domestic violence, with 9% in america being blamed on sports betting now). I dont see how someone filled with the Holy Ghost and following Jesus could bear to do such things.
3 x
Re: Gambling
Not that anyone is suggesting differently, but I think that our attention should be of faithfulness long before it gets to the level of being a "salvation issue". That said, I do not think that any sort gambling should gain the interest of a Christ-follower.
A question: Is a 'fund-raiser that is set up as a raffle the same as gambling? If so, is it a matter of the focus of the 'giver', or is it so dangerous that we should totally avoid and such thing? (I have contributed to fund raisers like this, but without any expectation that I would 'win' anything. At the same time, my MB upbringing, which totally condemned all sorts of gambling - no matter the amount involved, has created a bit of an uneasy feeling about these deals. In a set up that some might not see as related to raffles at all, I do avoid giving in fundraisers that have promises of matched funds. I think that each person should give as they are able and as led. The person who is "matching others' giving" should just do the same in every case.)
A question: Is a 'fund-raiser that is set up as a raffle the same as gambling? If so, is it a matter of the focus of the 'giver', or is it so dangerous that we should totally avoid and such thing? (I have contributed to fund raisers like this, but without any expectation that I would 'win' anything. At the same time, my MB upbringing, which totally condemned all sorts of gambling - no matter the amount involved, has created a bit of an uneasy feeling about these deals. In a set up that some might not see as related to raffles at all, I do avoid giving in fundraisers that have promises of matched funds. I think that each person should give as they are able and as led. The person who is "matching others' giving" should just do the same in every case.)
1 x
Re: Gambling
What do we teach our children when they see mom, and dad, placing $2 or $5 on a raffle?
and then what do they learn when they see us win one of those raffles?
and then what do they learn when they see us win one of those raffles?
1 x
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QuietlyListening
- Posts: 981
- Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2020 8:48 am
- Affiliation: Anabaptist @ baptist
Re: Gambling
Years ago my mom who never bought raffle tickets- to support our son's little league team- bought a few raffle tickets. She happened to win. It was a plate of brownies and she was so very very embarrassed and upset.
If we are going to help out an organization we give money and have chosen to not buy raffle tickets- just because it is an early form of gambling. I realize most do this to support the organization and never expect to win- have seen some give back money- if that is what they won- to the organization.
But we are opposed to any form of gambling.
If we are going to help out an organization we give money and have chosen to not buy raffle tickets- just because it is an early form of gambling. I realize most do this to support the organization and never expect to win- have seen some give back money- if that is what they won- to the organization.
But we are opposed to any form of gambling.
0 x
Re: Gambling
I don’t disagree, but in that case, I’m not sure how anyone participating in the capitalist system could be filled with the Holy Ghost and following Jesus. There are lots of ways that people are exploited but some are more socially acceptable than others.JohnH wrote: ↑Sun Dec 22, 2024 5:39 pmMy feeling is that operating a gambling house, online sports book etc is profiting from the oppression of the poor, taking advantage of the poor, and profiting from an increase in all the social problems that came with that (the most striking to me is the increase in domestic violence, with 9% in america being blamed on sports betting now). I dont see how someone filled with the Holy Ghost and following Jesus could bear to do such things.
1 x
"Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless."
-- Isaiah 10:1-2
-- Isaiah 10:1-2
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Ken
- Posts: 21863
- Joined: Thu Jun 13, 2019 12:02 am
- Location: Washington State
- Affiliation: former MCUSA
Re: Gambling
Personally I think the new tidal wave in online sports betting is going to be the ruin of many families and lives.
When one had to travel to Vegas, a horse racing track, or Indian casino then gambling was pretty isolated from one’s daily lives. You had to actually devote a day or so to go do some gambling and that is a commitment. These days with the ability to endlessly wager from your phone 24/7 it is a completely different story. And once you dip your toe in that water you can’t escape because the online tracking means you will be fed a continuous diet of sports betting promotions, free trials, etc. through every online ad you see on every web site you visit. All you have to do is click through any popup add straight to more sports betting. And the more you do it the more you won’t be able to escape it every time you look at any screen.
Most egregious (to my eye) is all the universities that are now going into marketing partnerships with sports books and so now you are seeing things like ads for Caesars Sports books inside college stadium and on the tickets and programs for college games. Get those kids as soon as they turn 18 I guess. It is mostly a male thing (I think) and I have 3 girls so I’m not particularly worried about them. But if I had boys who were sports fans I’d be worried about them getting sucked into sports betting.
When one had to travel to Vegas, a horse racing track, or Indian casino then gambling was pretty isolated from one’s daily lives. You had to actually devote a day or so to go do some gambling and that is a commitment. These days with the ability to endlessly wager from your phone 24/7 it is a completely different story. And once you dip your toe in that water you can’t escape because the online tracking means you will be fed a continuous diet of sports betting promotions, free trials, etc. through every online ad you see on every web site you visit. All you have to do is click through any popup add straight to more sports betting. And the more you do it the more you won’t be able to escape it every time you look at any screen.
Most egregious (to my eye) is all the universities that are now going into marketing partnerships with sports books and so now you are seeing things like ads for Caesars Sports books inside college stadium and on the tickets and programs for college games. Get those kids as soon as they turn 18 I guess. It is mostly a male thing (I think) and I have 3 girls so I’m not particularly worried about them. But if I had boys who were sports fans I’d be worried about them getting sucked into sports betting.
0 x
A fool can throw out more questions than a wise man can answer. -RZehr
