Is gambling considered a sin by Religious right?

[Toots]

Why is gambling illegal in all but two states? William Bennett the guy who wrote the book on American Values is an avid gambler yet because he is cherished by the right no one has said a derogatory thing about him. Is this just another neon sign showcasing Religious hypocrisy or have they changed their mind about gambling and states can now make it legal without the fundies freaking out? I would think there aremore than a few states that are envious of Nevada's huge windfall from gambling.

[Deja Q]

1. Only if the fundie-whacko rightwing government doesn't get its share.

If it does, then it's legal and OK.

[soupkitchen]

2. You bettcha

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[0007]

11. ...and we all know that's a misconception

[ET Awful]

4. It's only a sin if you're not PART of the religious right,

other than that, it's totally fine.

[Botany]

5. Bingo!

[WinterStorm]

17. "Las Vegas Night"

[SouthernDem2004]

6. Casino Gambling is legal in atleast 6 states. Then there is

horse/dog racing, bingo, lotteries and other types. Gambling is in almost every state if not all.

[James T. Kirk]

7. Not all Christian denominations believe gambling is a sin.

Bill Bennet is Catholic and Catholic teaching is that gambling is not sinful as long as it does not become excessive or cause you to neglect your loved ones or other important responsibilities. Bill Bennet gambled too much, but he's stinking rich to begin with.

[James T. Kirk]

8. Gambling is legal in most states.

The state governments have taken control of it through lotteries. They ban privatized gambling to it won't cut into the state coffers.

[KharmaTrain]

9. Depends On The Day Of The Week

Welcome to a core right wing hypocrisy...the ones who go to church on Sunday morning, then hit the casino on the way home. The conflict between prosperity and humanity...and greed is surely winning.

States have glammed onto lottos, racing and other forms of gambling as a local cash cow...fueled by the Raygun-omic cut backs of the 80s (when most of the changes began) and now a major revenue source in states that have had a lot of their federal funding and taxing base ripped apart by this regime.

Bennett is the ultimate hypocrite since he knows that gambling fuels his paycheck and that of most the other right wing paid pundits and their fundie friends. Indian tribes have been conned into donating millions to the GOOP and, in turn, the fundies and their wingnut collaborators, look the other way about gambling. Some even embrace this as part of the Reverend Ike "Prosperity Theology" mumbo jumbo.

[Wapsie B]

10. For some of them yes

There was a big stink several years ago when a group wanted to put a casino near Branson, Mo., conservative fundies playground. But I know some very conservative Pentecostals who love going to the slots. So it just depends who you ask.

[merh]

12. Only if you are a homosexaul that gambles

and then it is not the gambling, but the homosexuality thing!

Fundies believe that they accepted Christ as their Lord and Saviour and that is all they have to do to be saved. They don't have to worry about sins, they know they will be forgiven if they say they are sorry.

Come on snake eyes! Momma needs a brand new pair of shoes!

[wuushew]

13. Gambling should be frowned on by the left as well

Since it is counter productive in the all important war of class struggle. I would support gambling if the percentage of rich white guys or Saudi businessmen were higher. As it stands you see bus load after bus load of senior citizens filing into the bingo halls.

I believe Native American tribes should be to operate games of chance both as source of revenue and revenge on the white man. There is nothing noble about the profession however it is merely a substitute for decades of unpaid dues and promises owed by the United States government.

It also it is the second worst form of income generation behind regressive sales taxes. Cannot this country return to the enlightened idea of progressively taxing income of both individuals and corporations? In many states property taxes have risen because corporate taxes have been in a race to the bottom to attract new or existing businesses.

Why should a state or local government support a form of entertainment that has a negative rate of return? With all this talk private accounts and an investment culture why is the government ecouraging people to throw money away? I agree that it is a "voluntary tax" but as such it is not just a harmless form of entertainment. Gambling addiction is a real and serious problem. Those who are not afflicted should at least acknowledge the public interest in those who cannot control themselves.

[KitchenWitch]

14. It's about $ - Our RW fundie Gov wants to open a state-run casino here

I think they think gambling is a sin for poor people, but not rich people.

[CatholicEdHead]

19. It's part of the way to turn the youth to the new economics

in that with the rise of teenagers playing poker, gambeling to pay for what few governement services the feel they should provide, they want people addicted to put their entire life savings (including Social Security) on the line.

That is what I see today.

[jmowreader]

15. Where did you ever get that idea?

The religious right does NOT consider gambling, in the abstract, to be a sin.

They only consider it a sin when they're not running the games.

Here in Fayettenam, the most fervently anti-lottery-initiative church holds bingo games three nights a week. A lot of churches have raffles.

Let's pretend you're the governor of your state. There are two gambling bills going through the legislature. The first one allows privately-owned video poker halls to be established by anyone, with 50 percent of the proceeds going to taxes, 25 percent to the hall owner and 25 percent to prizes. A representative from every fundie church in the state will be in your office telling you how sinful gambling is. You veto that because gambling is a sin and no one wants that, then pick up the next bill. This one allows houses of worship to build and operate full-blown Monte Carlo-style gambling casinos, and none of the proceeds will go to taxes. The same people who told you how sinful gambling is will be right back in your office to tell you how much wonderful work they can do with the proceeds their casinos will bring.7

[amazona]

16. typo-gambling is LEGAL in all but 2 states

Actually gambling is LEGAL in all but 2 states -- Utah and Hawaii. Until recently it was illegal in Tennessee because of the Baptists who didn't want competition with the bingo income, but they did get this changed and Tennessee now has a lottery. If you want to gamble, some form of it is available in virtually every state.

It is a matter of debate in the religious community whether gambling is a sin. Most hold it is not if done for entertainment and no harm is caused to family finance, hence Baptist and Catholic bingo halls being OK for fund-raisers. Extremist fundamentalists do hold that gambling is a sin. Since there is no Biblical authority for this claim, they base it on two points.

1) The Roman soldiers diced for Jesus' clothes while he died on the cross, hence, gambling (or at least dice) is wrong. Mainstream religious would interpret this more as killing people on crosses is wrong. Once Jesus was crucificed, his clothes had to be distributed in some manner, and the casting of lots (dice) was probably as fair a way as any.

2) The passage in Romans where Paul says we should not do anything that leads our "brother" into sin. If you actually read the passage, it says nothing about gambling but explicitly says you should not eat meat, so I don't know about that -- seems a better argument for giving up meat than giving up your weekly poker game.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[wuushew]

18. kick

:kick:

[kiraboo]

20. It really doesn't matter. It's only a sin when the other guy does it. n/t