Proliferation of gambling.

Tarheel Baptist

Tarheel Baptist

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Gambling is now mainstream and will produce, in my opinion, a huge societal problem in the future.

What say you?
Is gambling a sin?

www.usatoday.com

List of people arrested in NBA gambling, rigged poker scandals

More than 30 people were indicted Thursday in a pair of FBI investigations on charges of fraud, money laundering, extortion and more. Here's the list.
www.usatoday.com
 
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Tarheel Baptist said:
What say you?
Is gambling a sin?
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I don't see where gambling is called out by the scriptures as sin as are many other activities.

I personally think it's really stupid. Think about it... If a casino is open for business the vast majority of gamblers are going to lose. They have to. How else would a casino stay open?
 
I know we all love to believe that athletic events are as pure as the driven snow, but in reality, I believe many of the events have long been manipulated by gambling, the mafia, corrupt players and referees, etc. It’s been well documented dating back to at least the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, too many Olympics events to mention, etc. I know it’s always in the back of my mind, but I still enjoy pretending it’s legit competition.
 
I don't think the act in and of itself can be said to be sin, but the behavior is certainly prone to enticing weak people to become enslaved, and that is a sin. The company that it keeps is often notoriously seedy in many ways, from organized crime, to a licentious lifestyle. So in that respect, as abcaines' said, it's generally not wise.
 
DrHuk&Duck said:
I know we all love to believe that athletic events are as pure as the driven snow, but in reality, I believe many of the events have long been manipulated by gambling, the mafia, corrupt players and referees, etc. It’s been well documented dating back to at least the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, too many Olympics events to mention, etc. I know it’s always in the back of my mind, but I still enjoy pretending it’s legit competition.
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Say it ain't so Joe!
 
Tarheel Baptist said:
What say you?
Is gambling a sin?
Click to expand...

I wrote an essay on the topic for a philosophy course in ethics c. 1994-95. Can't say I've changed my mind much on the issue since (summary, minus the first bullet since it wasn't a theology paper, though the course was taken at a Catholic university).
 
Gambling for the sake of enjoyment isn't a sin, but engaging in it recklessly certainly is.
 
abcaines said:
I don't see where gambling is called out by the scriptures as sin as are many other activities.
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Which is rather like saying that although the Bible forbids getting drunk on wine, it's silent on beer or vodka.

While the Bible has nothing to say about gambling per se, we can infer from what it says about money (which is abundant) that gambling is, at best, unwise stewardship.
 
DrHuk&Duck said:
I know we all love to believe that athletic events are as pure as the driven snow, but in reality, I believe many of the events have long been manipulated by gambling, the mafia, corrupt players and referees, etc.
Click to expand...

This you? ;)

Dr. Huk-N-Duck said:
I’m not a Reds fan or even a Rose fan, but he’s one of the best players in the history of the game, and the dude belongs in the HoF. He’s not being voted on for his manager days, just playing days. It’s absolutely hypocritical for that guy to be excluded.
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Rose was betting on the Reds while he was managing the team, meaning he was in a position to influence the outcome. Speaking of "gambling" and "corrupt players."
 
Ransom said:
Rose was betting on the Reds while he was managing the team, meaning he was in a position to influence the outcome. Speaking of "gambling" and "corrupt players."
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Yes, but as a player, he’s considered one of the best ever. I’d accept an asterisk by his name in the HOF.
 
Ransom said:
This you? ;)



Rose was betting on the Reds while he was managing the team, meaning he was in a position to influence the outcome. Speaking of "gambling" and "corrupt players."
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My son is currently enrolled in a class at college called the Social History of Baseball. I did not vet his source for this claim, but, he showed me an article that said that not only did he bet on the games where the Reds were playing, but there were some very questionable decisions made in some games. I've always said, as much as I wanted to like Rose, I eventually grew to accept the fact that he made his bed and had to lie in it, but ultimately I didn't think he should be banned for the lifetime, as long as he didn't bet against the Reds. I'll try to dig up that article that my kid sent me.
 
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DrHuk&Duck said:
Why didn’t they have classes like this back when I was in college? Dang it!
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Ironically, he only has an extremely minimum number of electives (2) that he's afforded in his major. This is one of those two electives, and I admit that I'm jealous too. As part of the curriculum, the professor is using Ken Burns documentary, Baseball. I remember watching that when it first came out, and though it was long and tedious, it was a lot of good sports and culture information.
 
ALAYMAN said:
Ironically, he only has an extremely minimum number of electives (2) that he's afforded in his major. This is one of those two electives, and I admit that I'm jealous too. As part of the curriculum, the professor is using Ken Burns documentary, Baseball. I remember watching that when it first came out, and though it was long and tedious, it was a lot of good sports and culture information.
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In my experience, sometimes these obscure elective classes teach students more than non-elective classes. I think I’ve mentioned before on the forum that I learned more US history from an elective Mormon History class than I ever did from my actual required U.S. history classes in college. I recall the professor being a bit of a nut, but I sure did learn.
 
ALAYMAN said:
I don't think the act in and of itself can be said to be sin, but the behavior is certainly prone to enticing weak people to become enslaved, and that is a sin. The company that it keeps is often notoriously seedy in many ways, from organized crime, to a licentious lifestyle. So in that respect, as abcaines' said, it's generally not wise.
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Totally agree. Just an unwise taking of chances with God's money. Wait I'm a Calvinist, I don't believe in chance.
 
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