Gambling and the Religious...

I knew a pastor who's largest contributor owned the local liquor stores. He said he had no problem accepting the tithe, because "the devil had had control of the money long enough".

I would say I am about as "religious" as anyone else, I do not believe that gambling in itself is a sin nor do many other Christians so I would say most Churches would be happy to have the tithe from the 100k. An example of the point at which gambling becomes a sin would be let's say you have $5 left from your paycheck and not enough milk for your children to last till the next paycheck, it would be a sin to buy lotto tickets instead of the milk for your kids.

Gambling, like many other things, becomes a problem when it engrosses a person and takes over their priorities. I did though hear a story about the Illinois lottery when it was first implemented. One Chicago Pastor, who fought most diligently, was interviewed, in the media, after the first winning number was drawn. Come to find out his wife was the first winner. The pastor's remarks were "God works in mysterious ways", and indicated that they would not return the money.

Please give wide variance to this story as I heard it when in Fort Wayne, Indiana many years ago, and it may be too good to be true. How much accuracy there is in it I can't vouch for but it does make a good story if true.

quote:

Originally posted by BFred07:
I would say most Churches would be happy to have the tithe from the 100k.

If what you say is true, why is the "Christian" people & churches the first to raise their head to stop it when gambling is mentioned coming to Alabama?

quote:

Originally posted by semiannualchick:

quote:

Originally posted by BFred07:
I would say most Churches would be happy to have the tithe from the 100k.

If what you say is true, why is the "Christian" people & churches the first to raise their head to stop it when gambling is mentioned coming to Alabama?

Probably because as people keep saying-The gambling establishments would be getting some of the money that normally would go to the churches. Seems the churches have the monopoly on the money here. I'd guess they wouldn't be too happy with part of it going to something else instead. I mean, how else are churches gonna keep paying for utilities to heat and cool those gargantuan fancy buildings with the huge, thermally lossy windows? There's mansions in Greenwich, CT that can't compare to some of these behemoths.

Aren't the church folks gambling when they pay their 'tithes?' I would think so. They're betting that they're going to be 'saved.' They condemn gambling......and then condone it with the collection plate..

Notice that the churches don't really seem to have a problem KEEPING money gained from gambling. Or from anywhere else, for that matter. Sounds like a pretty good racket to me.

Hmm.....

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by BFred07:
I would say most Churches would be happy to have the tithe from the 100k.


If what you say is true, why is the "Christian" people & churches the first to raise their head to stop it when gambling is mentioned coming to Alabama?

BINGO!
THANK YOU! semichick!
p.s. I don't eat cat...

Perhaps all of you should go to a church to find out that particular church's view on tithe from gambling funds. That way you would know for yourself rather than depending on hearsay. We can all speculate on what all is involved in brain surgery but until we have actually be to medical school or witnessed it I doubt we could be very accurate in answering questions about it.

I know a quite a few tv "evangelist" who would love to get their hands on it. Those $5000+ Armani suits and expensive ties are costly! This is especially true to the Houston "Tony Robbins" who preaches wealth!

Gambling ,prostitution,mugging,all go hand in hand.....throw out a carcass and the scavengers will appear.

quote:

Originally posted by semiannualchick:

quote:

Originally posted by BFred07:
I would say most Churches would be happy to have the tithe from the 100k.

If what you say is true, why is the "Christian" people & churches the first to raise their head to stop it when gambling is mentioned coming to Alabama?

Some Christians believe that all forms of gambling are sin, what you hear from Christians about gambling, drinking,etc all depends on the point of view of each individual Christian along with the doctrine of each individual Church. The people and Churches that speak so strongly against gambling are quite vocal with their opinions but not necessarily majority all of the time.
If you were to look up the doctrine of each of the major protestant denominations you would find a very wide variance and conflicts on many beliefs, additionally if you talk to the people in the Church's you would find that in many cases their personal beliefs conflict with the doctrine of their Church.
From all that I have read in different versions of the Bible things like gambling and alcoholic beverages really fall into the "it's not a sin, it's ok to do but better to not" category. Some Church's go to the extreme and condemn these things across the board but that is not right.