Christians Playing Poker - Acceptable?

[NotReady]

[ QUOTE ]

The spectators give you money to be entertained by watching the game.


[/ QUOTE ]

Most gamblers, especially Christians, will say gambling entertains them. I see nothing wrong with this if they keep their losses within a reasonable entertainment budget. The preacher tried to answer that by saying the fact something is entertainment doesn't legitimize something that is inherently sinful, citing fornication. But fornication is not only mentioned specifically in the Bible as sin but is also part of a class of sinful acts. Gambling is part of a class of entertainment called games which are presumably ok in themselves. We can play poker for no money without sin. Adding money makes the game more interesting, more fun. He criticized this, as I recall on the basis of covetousness, but was unpersuasive. I don't doubt that many if not most people are sinning when they gamble. But then quite a few people are sinning sitting in church. The issue is whether the activity is sinful per se, or whether the activity can be done without sin.

[ QUOTE ]

I wonder if justifying a sin is considered a sin?


[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. So is condemning something as sin which isn't.

[purnell]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The stock market is not a zero-sum game.

[/ QUOTE ]

Value is not created by a market, it is traded for other value. That makes it zero-sum, doesn't it?.

[/ QUOTE ]

Value is created by investing in company's that are doing well. The stock market is an efficient way of valuing how well a company is doing.

[/ QUOTE ]

Value is created by the people employed by the companies, using invested (loaned) funds for leverage. No value is created by the stockholder. He is a speculator (or investor, but the distinction is arbitrary). No value is created by the stock (or any) market, since it is only, as you say, an efficient method of determining value. Thus any market is a zero-sum game. I don't have an opinion on what that means for christian stockholders or gamblers.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The stock market is not a zero-sum game.

[/ QUOTE ]

Value is not created by a market, it is traded for other value. That makes it zero-sum, doesn't it?.

[/ QUOTE ]

Value is created by investing in company's that are doing well. The stock market is an efficient way of valuing how well a company is doing.

[/ QUOTE ]

Value is created by the people employed by the companies, using invested (loaned) funds for leverage. No value is created by the stockholder. He is a speculator (or investor, but the distinction is arbitrary). No value is created by the stock (or any) market, since it is only, as you say, an efficient method of determining value. Thus any market is a zero-sum game. I don't have an opinion on what that means for christian stockholders or gamblers.

[/ QUOTE ]

Without the investors, there will be no people working at the company to create value. Therefore, investors add value by proxy. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[BigSoonerFan]

[ QUOTE ]
The person who said the stock market is no different to poker, this is clearly not true when you examine the system as a whole. The stock market has a large net positive effect on the economy. Families do not suffer as result of the stock market (long term, almost all stocks increase in value). In fact, most retirement plans depend on the wealth generated in the stock market. So participation in this system doesn't harm anyone or deprive them of wealth.

[/ QUOTE ]

Tell that to Enron, or those who invested in tech stocks before the crash. While my first post was mostly tongue in cheek, you are "gambling" if you invest in the stock market. While knowledge and ability in poker and the stock market make most people money, there is still a large element of luck in both. The luck in cards is obvious, while in the stock market it is all of the unknown factors. Someone who tries to invest and doesn't know the market can just as easily lose money like they can in poker.