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Location: Somewhere along the path to where I'd like to be.
2,180 posts, read 5,429,118 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dojilynn
That's a fun game. My friends and I used to each buy a bag of M&M's out of the vending machine at work and play for candy on our lunch break. Great fun!
It looks like fun. It really does. But you made me think about something else. If gambling was a sin, would playing for M&Ms (or toy money) still make it sinful? What would make it sinful? The risk-taking itself? Or would it only become a sin when the use of real money was involved?
Assuming that by "Christians" you mean all persons that believe in Christ...I have to think there is nothing wrong with is since last week we booked a Tour Group into our Casino Hotel made up entirely of Catholic Priests....some won....most lost....all had fun.....
No offense to any Catholics, but they clearly don't view gamblling as a vice, much less a sin. Can you say B-I-N-G-O? I can't tell you how many bus rides my mom take with her church (Catholic) to AC (Atlantic, City, duh..lol).
I actually think that they have a much healthier perspective on gambling than the fundamentalists that use the soldiers gamblling for Jesus robe argument against it. I steered clear of any type of gambling for years until I relaxed a little and became less judgemental. In my eyes, the Bible is silent on the subject. If you've paid your tithes and offerings and your bills I cannot really see anything wrong with it, aside from not being a GOOD steward with your money. I don't think God is going to Bless you and allow you to win, necessarily though.
It looks like fun. It really does. But you made me think about something else. If gambling was a sin, would playing for M&Ms (or toy money) still make it sinful? What would make it sinful? The risk-taking itself? Or would it only become a sin when the use of real money was involved?
Honestly Rob, I don't think it matters whether it's with money or M&Ms. It's when it becomes addictive and takes away from your real life that it becomes a problem.
SSSSHHHHHH...I LOVE BLACKJACK! Blackjack is MY GAME! I LOVE BLACKJACK!! However, I know the secret to gambling! You start out with $20. If you lose real quick GET OUT NOW! FIND THE NEAREST EXIT AND RUN!!!!!!!!!!! Tonight is NOT your night! Come back some other day! If you can stay and play and be entertained for a while with that $20...you're doing alright!
As for me...I try that philosophy out maybe ONCE a year at the most and I live less than 5 miles from 10 casinos!
It looks like fun. It really does. But you made me think about something else. If gambling was a sin, would playing for M&Ms (or toy money) still make it sinful? What would make it sinful? The risk-taking itself? Or would it only become a sin when the use of real money was involved?
I don't have a gambling addiction, but those m&m's ? Count me in! I will play all day for those."See your bet of five greens and I raise ya 10 blues, Rob
I don't have a gambling addiction, but those m&m's ? Count me in! I will play all day for those."See your bet of five greens and I raise ya 10 blues, Rob
We pass through Reno, Wendover and Vegas on a regular basis. Whenever we do I put one dollar, and only one dollar, into a slot. If I win anything at all, I cash out and walk away. So far, our little box of "gambling money" has grown to almost $30.
And no, I don't think its a sin...unless it took over my life and I started spending my paycheck trying to "win big".
Well, I asked my dh why he is personally agaiinst gambling. He said that to him even though there is no scriptural specific prohibition, it's wrong at so many levels it's hard to explain. Basically, he said that the addictive potential and the activities which often surround gambling bother him. It also bothered him that for example, people who buy lottery tickets are often the ones who have the least(financially) they are able to lose. (exploits the poor by dangling a carrot in front of them that most will never obtain.) But primarily, he feels it is in a sense, not trusting God for your provision, but rather throwing money away in an attempt to win some more. I asked him if he thought so even if it were just a little "recreational?" He said oh, maybe not, but that most people who gamble have the desire to "win big" at some level. Like with me, it just didn't "feel right" to him.
The biggest problem with gambling, like I said, is the confrontation with other sin. Such as: drinking (excessive), adultery (have you seen some of the cocktail waitress uniforms? ), stealing, drugs, suicide and just overall corruptness. If you're a casual gambler, I don't see these things being much of a problem. It's more of a problem when you live in the lifestyle and the lifestyle takes you over. Casino life SUCKS! I have seen some of the BEST people lose it all...including their own lives.
This is on target!! kawg
I used to "live" in AC and won most of the time, when i gave my life to Christ the was the hardest thing to quit besides smoking cigs, esp. Blackjack, Poker and the one-armed bandit....when you win, you want to do it again, and again, and that's how I got this addiction. Even when I went with a casual perspective. The sounds of money coming out of the slots the ding ding ding" jackpot sounds is what lured me, and the chips piled high on the many casino tables.. Not good... That's where my ATM card comes in and there I go there I go there I go"..( For the New Yorkers that remember this song on the radio in the 60's at 11PM as it was signing off) I feel that anything that does not glorify God should strongly be considered as leading to sinful thoughts or ways even if the Bible doesn't specifically mention it..
Oh!!
I forgot to mention the countless individuals that borrow money when they get in a bind;
knowing they're not "really" thinking about the debt (lying).. anger (when you lose)...
kawg, said it all.
There is nothing in the bible about gambling as a sin, but since when has this stopped the "true believers" from saying or making up what is right and what is wrong based on their own opinions.
Moderator cut: inflammatory remarks
Last edited by Alpha8207; 10-15-2007 at 10:34 PM..
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