poker and christianity

spaminator101 · #1 09-09-2005, 04:06 PM

So most of my Christian friends say that poker is a sin and all that. Is there anyway to convince them that it isn't. any help would be appreciated.

chezlaw · #2 09-09-2005, 04:08 PM

[ QUOTE ]
So most of my Christian friends say that poker is a sin and all that. Is there anyway to convince them that it isn't. any help would be appreciated.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just persuade them they are mistaken to be christians [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

chez

#3 09-09-2005, 04:10 PM

Are you completely sure it isn't a sin according to christian faith, or is it just too enjoyable to give up in case it is?

krimson · #4 09-09-2005, 04:13 PM

Does your Mom play bingo?

#5 09-09-2005, 04:31 PM

If it isn't a sin it shouldn't be too hard to convince them.

If it is, why are you still playing?

Jacob_Gilliam · #6 09-09-2005, 04:33 PM

Most activities that we participate in everyday is one form or another of gambling. When I get up and go to work in the morning I do so because I expect the outcome to be +EV, although I am not assured of this (such as if I die on the way there). Mostly poker is considered bad because A) there is a high short term volatility, and B) most people lose in the long run. But then again picking stocks can have high volatilty (in some cases) and most people don't call that a sin. Also, many other activities that people participate in are negative long term, such as eating and drinking habits, watching too much T.V., sleeping too much,
etc., yet people don't consider them to be sins (at least not on the level of poker) because a much greater percentage of the population commit these acts, and it's harder to call everyone a sinner than just a few select groups who participate in activities that we don't participate in.

txag007 · #7 09-09-2005, 04:43 PM

"So most of my Christian friends say that poker is a sin and all that. Is there anyway to convince them that it isn't. any help would be appreciated."

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. (Ha, and you all thought that the Bible is a bunch of nonsense!)

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.

I hope this helps.

hmkpoker · #8 09-09-2005, 04:46 PM

What scriptural basis do they have to support that notion?

Georgia Avenue · #9 09-09-2005, 05:03 PM

How can anyone who believes in pre-destination think that gambling is wrong? In a way, it's a kind of sacrifice to God, right? [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Seriously, though I have spent a long time contemplating this and in fact it is what drew me to this board (my first post was re: Christianity and Gambling

Recently I had the good fortune to play NL with a full-fledged Rabbi, who told me he found nothing in the Torah to decry poker as a Game with an element of luck, rather than pure gambling which could easily LEAD to sinful behavior. I'm not Jewish, but hey, he's a Rabbi for crying out loud! Good enough for me. (He was quite a good player too actually...though I took a big pot from him when my quads smacked his FH on the river. Take that Judaism![img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img])

#10 09-09-2005, 05:06 PM

Question: Is there any way to convince a Christian that playing poker is not a sin?
Answer: NO
The reason most Christians that I have encountered believe that gambling in general is a sin is because the Roman soldiers at the foot of the cross cast lots (shot dice maybe) for the cloak and the coat of the Christ as he was being crucified. That is if they even know why their Church has condemned gambling. They seem to forget that the casting of lots was directed by God in order to divine His will on several occasions. (prov 16:32, lev. 16:8-10, joshua 14-21, Num 26:55 33:54 34:13 36:2, I cor24:5 31,25:8-9 26:13-14, and Jon 1:7) and in the New Testiment The casting of lots was used by the Apostles to selest Matthias to fill the spot vacated by Judas in the apostleship. (Acts 1:26) They also think that we are too stupid to controll our bankroll. (That we will go broke and our families will go hungry.) Oh and some of them think that any extra money you have to play poker (gamble) should be given to the Church. This statement is not indicitive of all Christians, just the type you are referring to. Also this statement is only a conjecture from my personal expierience.