auditor
EOG Senior Member
Thou Shalt Not... gamble?
BY J.TODD OF THE APCW
I must admit that I approach this topic with a great deal of trepidation. I know that no matter how much research I do... No matter how many facts I present... No matter how lightly I tread... No matter how delicately I word things... There are going to be people out there whom I offend.
That said, I have decided to simply do the best job I can and let those metaphoric chips fall where they may. This doesn?t mean that I don?t care if I upset people, I do. It just means that I?ve been around for a while and have a fairly decent grasp of human nature. And if there?s one thing that?s an absolute certainty in this world, it?s that you will never be able to make everyone happy no matter how hard you try... So be it.
Some of you out there may be wondering why the APCW would even approach such a volatile topic in the first place. Good question. And we have three very good answers:
1) For years, there has been vigorous religious rhetoric about gambling with precious little response. The void of dialogue has created a total misconception in peoples minds, and that has lead to ignorant ideas about our industry.
2) This is going to be an election issue whether you like it or not. And even if you?re not a religious person, you better start educating yourself on this topic if you care about personal freedoms in America.
3) Who else is going to write this? I was raised in church and still attend regularly, and having the combined knowledge of the Bible and the industry that I?ve worked in for six years, I believe that I am uniquely qualified to tackle this sticky and complex issue.
Also, due to the fact that Christianity is the predominant religion in America, and therefore makes up the largest religious groups sought after by politicians, I will be addressing this issue as it relates strictly to the Christian Bible.
Is gambling a ?sin??
First and foremost, Christians must be open minded enough to accept the fact that gambling is not a sin. It doesn?t matter how many vague scriptures you pull out of context in a twisted attempt to make them apply, gambling is simply not mentioned as a sin anywhere in the Bible. Period.
That?s not to say that the activity of gambling does not appear in Biblical text. Actually, there are many references to gambling throughout the Old and new Testaments in an activity called ?casting lots?. There were many methods of casting lots that resembled everything from throwing dice and drawing straws, all the way to simply picking random stones from a bag the way a bingo caller would. Believe it or not, the priests would sometimes ?cast lots? after prayer in order to determine the will of God.
My personal experience in the church has shown me that not all Christians take such a pious view of recreational gambling. Certainly not the men from my church with whom I have a standing Saturday night poker game. And you may have heard of a church that holds the occasional bingo game or raffle to collect money for a good cause. So how can it be that some Christians would take such a stern view of this topic while others do not? Simply put, some cite scripture in order to vilify gambling as sinful, while others have correctly realized that gambling is like any other recreational activity not specified as being ?wrong? by the Bible.
For example, no one would argue that my playing a round of golf is a ?sin?. But what if I skipped church on Sunday morning to do so? What if that golf game became more important to me than spending time with my family? What if I bought new golf clubs instead of feeding my children? As I mentioned earlier, I play poker every Saturday night with men from my church. But the next morning you can find us sitting on church pews with our well fed families.
The truth is that the scripture used by these zealots to label gambling a sin could just as easily be applied to any other leisure activity that they would never attempt to argue as being sinful. So if gambling is not specifically mentioned in the Bible as being a wrong, and the scriptures used to condemn the activity could easily be applied to other activities, maybe it?s time they recognize that the activity itself is not right or wrong, it?s the choices the participants make, and the priorities they set.
Gambling as an ethical issue...
Up to now I have pointed out the mistakes made by some of the Christian faith who incorrectly list the activity of gambling as a sin. That?s not to say that they are alone in the blame for the complexity of this issue. What?s happened these days is that gambling is correctly recognized as an ethical issue, but the line between morality and religion has become blurred and distorted. Both sides need to realize what gambling is... and what it is not.
If the religious right can come to grips with the fact that gambling is not sinful, then the supporters of gambling must come to grips with the fact that this is a serious social, economic and legal issue which requires a great deal of scrutiny and a great deal of responsibility to work correctly. In other words, it?s an ethical issue.
If politicians and the Christian right are serious about protecting addicts, stopping children from gambling, and keeping organized crime from flourishing, they have no alternative but to strive for regulation of the industry. Anything less is pure foolishness.
Is the Religious Right a victim of politics?
As a Christian man myself, there is one thing upsets me more than anything else. It?s that politicians like Bill Frist (former Tennessee Senator) and Bob Goodlatte (Representative from Virginia) spew lie after lie about the ?evils? of online gambling in order to secure the support of religious groups like the Southern Baptist Convention and Focus on the Family. All the while these men are taking thousands and thousands of dollars from the casino and horse racing industry.
Politicians pay lip service to these Christian groups and hope to get their votes, but they are complete hypocrites. They don?t believe gambling is wrong or they wouldn?t accept the tens of thousands of dollars from gambling interests. And for that matter, they wouldn?t accept additional tens of thousands of dollars from the liquor and tobacco industries.
It makes me angry enough to curse (and that would be a sin!) that these Christian groups buy the lies of these men, and that they never take the time to do any research on the people they are doing business with. And in an effort to do what they believe in the right thing, they are actually making deals with the devil. In the end, the politicians they sell their souls to have no intention of eradicating gambling. They just want to ensure that the right people will profit from it.
Be careful what you wish for, you may just get it.
On a final note to my Christian brethren, a word of caution. I understand your desire to protect the innocent from the dark side of gambling. It seems to me, however, that gambling is a lot like fire: While many may responsibly enjoy it?s fascination and warmth, it also has the ability to rage out of control and utterly destroy everything in it?s path. And that, my friends, is why we need regulation and not prohibition.
Prohibition has never been successful and it never will be. During the prohibition of alcohol in America, it didn?t matter how many bootleggers were arrested or how many speakeasies were raided, people were going to drink. At that time, there were also many who attempted to make the issue into a religious one. They failed, just as prohibition did. And in much the same way, the attempted prohibition of online gambling will follow the same path.
Lastly, consider this: If any religious group were to successfully pass legislation based solely on their moral beliefs, it will only be a matter of time before the prescient set was turned on them by others. That slippery slope could be used by any other religious group to legally force their moral beliefs on others... including you. These are dangerous times. When every step counts, tread lightly.
Join the Fight!
The Association of Players, Casinos, and Webmasters - APCW.org ~ Join the Fight!
BY J.TODD OF THE APCW
I must admit that I approach this topic with a great deal of trepidation. I know that no matter how much research I do... No matter how many facts I present... No matter how lightly I tread... No matter how delicately I word things... There are going to be people out there whom I offend.
That said, I have decided to simply do the best job I can and let those metaphoric chips fall where they may. This doesn?t mean that I don?t care if I upset people, I do. It just means that I?ve been around for a while and have a fairly decent grasp of human nature. And if there?s one thing that?s an absolute certainty in this world, it?s that you will never be able to make everyone happy no matter how hard you try... So be it.
Some of you out there may be wondering why the APCW would even approach such a volatile topic in the first place. Good question. And we have three very good answers:
1) For years, there has been vigorous religious rhetoric about gambling with precious little response. The void of dialogue has created a total misconception in peoples minds, and that has lead to ignorant ideas about our industry.
2) This is going to be an election issue whether you like it or not. And even if you?re not a religious person, you better start educating yourself on this topic if you care about personal freedoms in America.
3) Who else is going to write this? I was raised in church and still attend regularly, and having the combined knowledge of the Bible and the industry that I?ve worked in for six years, I believe that I am uniquely qualified to tackle this sticky and complex issue.
Also, due to the fact that Christianity is the predominant religion in America, and therefore makes up the largest religious groups sought after by politicians, I will be addressing this issue as it relates strictly to the Christian Bible.
Is gambling a ?sin??
First and foremost, Christians must be open minded enough to accept the fact that gambling is not a sin. It doesn?t matter how many vague scriptures you pull out of context in a twisted attempt to make them apply, gambling is simply not mentioned as a sin anywhere in the Bible. Period.
That?s not to say that the activity of gambling does not appear in Biblical text. Actually, there are many references to gambling throughout the Old and new Testaments in an activity called ?casting lots?. There were many methods of casting lots that resembled everything from throwing dice and drawing straws, all the way to simply picking random stones from a bag the way a bingo caller would. Believe it or not, the priests would sometimes ?cast lots? after prayer in order to determine the will of God.
My personal experience in the church has shown me that not all Christians take such a pious view of recreational gambling. Certainly not the men from my church with whom I have a standing Saturday night poker game. And you may have heard of a church that holds the occasional bingo game or raffle to collect money for a good cause. So how can it be that some Christians would take such a stern view of this topic while others do not? Simply put, some cite scripture in order to vilify gambling as sinful, while others have correctly realized that gambling is like any other recreational activity not specified as being ?wrong? by the Bible.
For example, no one would argue that my playing a round of golf is a ?sin?. But what if I skipped church on Sunday morning to do so? What if that golf game became more important to me than spending time with my family? What if I bought new golf clubs instead of feeding my children? As I mentioned earlier, I play poker every Saturday night with men from my church. But the next morning you can find us sitting on church pews with our well fed families.
The truth is that the scripture used by these zealots to label gambling a sin could just as easily be applied to any other leisure activity that they would never attempt to argue as being sinful. So if gambling is not specifically mentioned in the Bible as being a wrong, and the scriptures used to condemn the activity could easily be applied to other activities, maybe it?s time they recognize that the activity itself is not right or wrong, it?s the choices the participants make, and the priorities they set.
Gambling as an ethical issue...
Up to now I have pointed out the mistakes made by some of the Christian faith who incorrectly list the activity of gambling as a sin. That?s not to say that they are alone in the blame for the complexity of this issue. What?s happened these days is that gambling is correctly recognized as an ethical issue, but the line between morality and religion has become blurred and distorted. Both sides need to realize what gambling is... and what it is not.
If the religious right can come to grips with the fact that gambling is not sinful, then the supporters of gambling must come to grips with the fact that this is a serious social, economic and legal issue which requires a great deal of scrutiny and a great deal of responsibility to work correctly. In other words, it?s an ethical issue.
If politicians and the Christian right are serious about protecting addicts, stopping children from gambling, and keeping organized crime from flourishing, they have no alternative but to strive for regulation of the industry. Anything less is pure foolishness.
Is the Religious Right a victim of politics?
As a Christian man myself, there is one thing upsets me more than anything else. It?s that politicians like Bill Frist (former Tennessee Senator) and Bob Goodlatte (Representative from Virginia) spew lie after lie about the ?evils? of online gambling in order to secure the support of religious groups like the Southern Baptist Convention and Focus on the Family. All the while these men are taking thousands and thousands of dollars from the casino and horse racing industry.
Politicians pay lip service to these Christian groups and hope to get their votes, but they are complete hypocrites. They don?t believe gambling is wrong or they wouldn?t accept the tens of thousands of dollars from gambling interests. And for that matter, they wouldn?t accept additional tens of thousands of dollars from the liquor and tobacco industries.
It makes me angry enough to curse (and that would be a sin!) that these Christian groups buy the lies of these men, and that they never take the time to do any research on the people they are doing business with. And in an effort to do what they believe in the right thing, they are actually making deals with the devil. In the end, the politicians they sell their souls to have no intention of eradicating gambling. They just want to ensure that the right people will profit from it.
Be careful what you wish for, you may just get it.
On a final note to my Christian brethren, a word of caution. I understand your desire to protect the innocent from the dark side of gambling. It seems to me, however, that gambling is a lot like fire: While many may responsibly enjoy it?s fascination and warmth, it also has the ability to rage out of control and utterly destroy everything in it?s path. And that, my friends, is why we need regulation and not prohibition.
Prohibition has never been successful and it never will be. During the prohibition of alcohol in America, it didn?t matter how many bootleggers were arrested or how many speakeasies were raided, people were going to drink. At that time, there were also many who attempted to make the issue into a religious one. They failed, just as prohibition did. And in much the same way, the attempted prohibition of online gambling will follow the same path.
Lastly, consider this: If any religious group were to successfully pass legislation based solely on their moral beliefs, it will only be a matter of time before the prescient set was turned on them by others. That slippery slope could be used by any other religious group to legally force their moral beliefs on others... including you. These are dangerous times. When every step counts, tread lightly.
Join the Fight!
The Association of Players, Casinos, and Webmasters - APCW.org ~ Join the Fight!
