Featured Dancing, Gambling, and Drinking

Nobody said anything about Paul Washer and, as you well know, your behavior wasn't limited to that one thread, but spread across several threads and into PMs to me and another poster.

It wasn't an opinion. You made a statement of fact that turned out to be demonstrably untrue.

Actually, you did call me a liar.

Well, since Nixon showed signs of mental illness, I guess that's true. Clinton was just white trash.

And yet, you still brought it up.

Funny how you have a habit of bringing things up and then, when responded to, start whining about how it's off topic.

 

First, as regards telling someone else not to do it, I don't engage in that type of nullification. However, when the subject of gambling comes up, it isn't my own experience that causes me to say something. My purpose should be readily evident in my first post. Gambling at any level of engagement is sin.

You continue to say "I look it as entertaiinment," but I again return to my comparison to throwing that $20 bill out the window. You say here, "I would probably [my emphasis added] not do it again," which honestly tells me you equivocate about it. If you found yourself in Las Vegas or any city with legalized gambling, would you go to a casino? Unless you can tell me emphatically, "No," I've got to wonder, is there a problem there?

Throwing money away is not good stewardship. Gambling is throwing money away. Therefore, gambling is not good stewardship. That's not logical fallacy, that's fact. Anyone should be able to see that gambling is not any way for a Christian to spend his/her time.

 

There is nothing wrong with saving and preparing, Proverbs 6 teaches this.

What does the text in 1 Timothy 6 teach? My opinion means nada, correct? Good questions though. Does the text say desiring to be rich is wrong? I believe it does. It's akin to being covetous and is opposed to being content. I'd say the person buying the lottery ticket is desiring to be rich and is not content with what he has. Now, there could be a person doing it to give it away, or, promising God that they will give most of it away if only He would give them the winning numbers. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :thumbs:

 

As long as we are asking questions about the use of money...

How is going to the casino and spending $20 on slots for entertainment for a couple of hours different from spending $20 on a ticket to a baseball game and being entertained for a couple of hours?

 

But again, wouldn't the same thing apply to investing in stocks? Cause that's a definite gamble.

 

Wow. SN just made a sincere effort to reconcile with you and instead of graciously accepting his apologies you stick the knife in and twist it. And in public. Shame on you.

 

That's my point. I don't see how the church differentiates between the two.

$20 for a couple hours at the casino or for a baseball game or a $1 for a lottery ticket or a dollar for a Big Gulp?

 

That's why SN needs to just leave it alone at this point.

 

Looks to me that he's attempting to do exactly that. But JDF just won't let up.

 

And what would Scripture say about that since you say it is in fact gambling?

I know in our culture things have become acceptable, people have become desensitized, so I wonder about it all in light of God's Word which isn't affected by society nor is it a product of culture, nor does it adjust to the times.

 

The argument against gambling usually goes like this--The person engaged in gambling is attempting to obtain something for next to nothing, or at least by not working. This violates the work ethic. Then a tenuous connection to working and eating can be made via 2 Thess 2:10-11:

...if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. 11 For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.

Ergo, gambling is a sin. (I don't believe gambling is a sin, but I think it should be avoided for other reasons.)

 

"Plenty of people don't win the lottery the first few thousand times they play it."

 

I get something from these. The Internet is not "entertainment" for me, it is a necessity for my work, though obviously I get some entertainment out of it in off hours. With movies, I truly am entertained, whether by a comedy, a documentary (which is also informative), a drama, or historical fiction. Usually, except when I guess wrong about the manner of talent and expertise put into a movie, I come away a bit better for having seen it. Cable television provides the same thing, to a lesser degree, plus it brings me news and information.

You keep asking this, but avoid the issue of greed, which Paul calls "idolatry" in the Colossians passage I quoted. Is greed ever good or entertaining? No. It is always sin.

You get something out of it, without sin. You cannot get something out of gambling without sinning. That should be easy enough for anyone to understand.

 

Greed is an attitude of the heart. Is wanting to get a raise at your workplace greed? Is wanting to negotiate a better deal for an automobile greed? Is following your 401k's performance greed? I say no.

SN admitted he only did slots for entertainment. That's not greed. Now if he was habitually going to the casino with the hopes of striking it rich, that would be greed.

 

I was wondering if they ever happened. My mind just doesn't see any big differnce between investing 10K to make 100K over a long period by investing in stocks which it may or may not do or spending a dollar on a lottery ticket to win a million which you may or may not win.

 

I understand that earning interest is OK but I see a huge difference between that and the real possibility of losing substantial amounts of money on a gamble type investment.