Organized religion and Gambling, moral or are people just against gambling.

[michellee]

The reason why they against gambling is gambling can ruin their lives any second. The problem will be big if they lose control which that will be a matter of time especially those who dream of making money from gambling. Religious people will against gambling and say that gambling is a tool of the devil to ruins people. If your religion prohibit playing gambling, don't game but if you still want to gamble, that is your choice. People know how they determine gambling and what should they do with gambling.

[Darker45]

If I'm not mistaken, religions have different views on gambling. Some treat it as a tool of the devil, some not. From what I understand, some Christian religions don't even treat gambling as evil. What's evil is when you commit crimes, deprive others of their rights, and so on because of gambling.

In the end, however, it's not about religion. It's about whether gambling does good or bad to you, your family, or your life in general. But gambling can only do to you what you allow. That's the bottom-line.

[Agbe]

Though the Bible has not made any warning against gambling. According to 1 Timothy 6:10. "The love of money is the root of all evils", and gamblers lover money so it warn that anything that would make you to love money more your God is evil. Therefore gambling is evil and Children of God should not participate in gambling. There is a concept of Stewardship in the bible which say, you have to get honest money and not over night riches. To cut it short. The bible do not mentioned directly against gambling but the description make it clear for us to understand. And that is not the main purpose preachers against it. Gambling has not produced 1% or 2% of the population in any  community to be a rich man. Say this person is a rich man through gambling, I have not seen. But gambling has rendered 100% gamblers useless in every community. Which I know. But I have seen a gambler won $4,000 dollar but that amount can't categorized someone as a rich person for a long time but few days. So Religion Leaders do not want their followers to waste money in the gambling industry instead they should use it to do business that can fetch money to them daily or timely. So they can use the extra income as offering and tithes.

[HONDACD125]

Since I'm a muslim, so I'm going to explain the reasons why gambling is generally considered Haram (prohibited) in Islam. There are several reasons why gambling is prohibited, such as:

1. It's a satanic act: It basically makes people waste their time, have a lust for money, and forget their general duties and prayers or whatever they should generally do towards both, their religion and the world around them.

2. It creates enmity and hatred: People who gamble often become angry, frustrated, and short-tempered, and it creates enmity between those who gamble and lose and those who win.

3. It's a destructor of wealth: Any religion, especially Islam, preaches hard work and honest earnings, which means that every person should make money in the right way, but gambling is the opposite of that. You don't do anything other than making a bet with your money, and if you win, you basically get someone else's money, which is immoral, and, if you are already doing well financially, gambling can destroy your wealth.

4. It is addictive: Gambling is very addictive, and those who get addicted to gambling will resort to doing illegal and unlawful things only to feed their addiction. Someone who doesn't have more money to gamble with will start taking loans, doing crimes, and these things eventually create problems for them, they become mentally disturbed, and this then will also destroy their relationships.

These are some of the reasons why Islam as a religion prohibits gambling, there might be more reasons, but I know of these for sure.

[vs2014]

If someone is not addicted to gambling and plays just for fun then there is no reason for it to be a sin. due to some religious beliefs people do not gamble because they think it is a sin because by gambling one can earn money without any work just by luck. The question is that luck is given by the creator so if we get money by luck then there is nothing wrong in it. Use gambling only for entertainment and never gamble out of greed. Because when you are greedy and want to sell your wealth to gamble then it becomes a sin. If you are not too addicted you are right and you can stop gambling if you want due to religious beliefs.

[Floxynice]

Op, you are leaving out the part of the bible that says "the love of money is the root of evil". Gambling falls into that category where we can say pursuing money through that means aggressively can cause more harm that we can attribute as the devil's doing. Gambling can make one commit atrocities. People steal, take loans, become miserable and get greedy all because of gambling.

Religions do not support greediness, lack of of self control, covetousness, laziness and all other harmful habits. Gambling can lead one into exhibiting any of these negative attributes so, religions may not be wrong either, they are encouraging people to stay away from anything that will cause them to sin.

[Felicity_Tide]

So I want to know from the gambling community is gambling really a tool of the devil since, it has roots right from the days of the Bible.
References
 Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:24, John 19:23.

Well, the scriptures you quoted literally had no answers to the questions.
From the information I found online, it used to be a tradition for the Roman soldiers to take the belongings of whoever they're executing, which I assume was the case in both scriptures that you provided. And, in regards to how religion views gambling, well, it all boils down to the definition of morals. Of course, we all know that the negative effect of gambling can ruin a person's life both spiritually, physically, and mentally, and I guess that's why religion often frown against it. Is the reason justified?, well I guess YES.

Same thing goes for ALCOHOL. To an average person, a bottle doesn't do much, but due to the severe consequences that comes with overtaking it, you expect religion to definitely frown against it, which in my opinion, is also a valid reason.

[joeperry]

This is an interesting topic, I agree with most of the people here that it's not clear if gambling is a sin but a lot of people see this as immoral because gambling is connected to creating more sin, as we all know gambling addiction is no joke and a lot of people not only destroyed their own lives but also the people that surrounds them. So a lot of people including the religious one thinks that gambling is unethical and immorally wrong that could lead for more sin and temptation. Since as you can see, a lot of people are also becoming successful in gambling such as jackpot winners, gambling owners, investors, etc. it's immorally wrong but not a sin in my opinion.

[Son Of Blockchain (SOB)]

 Some religions are against gambling because they feel it could get their members addicted and lead them to sin for instance stealing to gamble but same religious leaders forgot about gambling responsibly or teach their members towards gambling responsibly to avoid addiction, they made it seem like gambling un general is a bad thing but it's wrong because if people can do ir responsibly then they won't be addicted.
 If those religious leaders who made the rules can preach to their members to try avoid sin why can't they teach them on gambling responsibly to avoid getting addicted or ruining their life? That's what I've been thinking of since I came across this thread, teaching their followers to be responsible in doing it is more better than condemning the act.

[Bright0515]

Look, actually this scripture is not a proof or against gambling... it only proves that gambling existed in Jesus time and certainly before him too.

Gambling is not today thing or neither started just yesterday, truth is that gamble has existed for e very long time (just as you have said already) and honestly it has existed even because Christ, and that's why it can not be stopped. Many government authorities have tried to make sure their citizens are no longer gambling but still there are so many of their citizens that are still gambling (so it can not be stopped). Gamble is not bad, but a gambler that is irresponsible is bad. Many people seems to talk about the negative side of gamble then abandon the positive side which is not supposed to be so.

[Perfectbaby]

I do not think people would stop gambling since the Bible do not in the first place stops people from gambling not now would it stop the entire world population to gamble, again as we know gambling has been there since the origin of man so there will be no different to what we are actually seeing now. As a religious person as you Said you can believe on your religion not to gamble but that doesn't mean as a Christian that you can't gamble, perhaps there are more chances of you to gamble but the ability for you to know when to stop and when to quit is what actually makes you a responsible gambler and those who are not responsible are the people who are that vulnerable to gambling where they would start losing money without applying self control to it. Anyone who loses money know that such person is the one who opened himself to loses because he failed to apply moderate and responsible gambling.

[Finestream]

Greed, covetousness (the love of money), exploiting the vulnerable, addiction and destruction, faith in God through chances, and opposing contentment are works of the evils, so basically since all of these are present in gambling, then we can conclude that gambling is an evil's activity.

However, while some religion are not that strict with gambling, and can still be done in moderation, but majority of these religion still oppose gambling, and they believe it is safer and more righteous not to enter gambling in the first place to avoid the chances of addiction and life's destruction in the future.

[danherbias07]

There's nothing about gambling being against God, but what it does to a person is the thing that must be avoided.

The casting of lots that was said in the Bible was just a game that was used to identify who would get the garments, but it doesn't say that it was gambling that was evil on that. It's what the soldiers did, which is evil, by disrespecting the one who owns it.
Gambling can destroy life and family. That's a fact. Once a gambler succumbs to the habit, it becomes a bad one. As a gambler, we must be the one who is responsible for what we do. When we gamble, we must know our limits, and we should be sure that we are gambling to be entertained and not to add problems to our finances.

[Queen uloma]

Gambling is not a tool of the devil, many religious people are against it, which for me I don’t really blame them. There is no place in the Bible that was stated that gambling is bad but the same Bible warn us about love of money and quick wealth.
If a person continues to gamble without control, they will end up losing more than they expected. Just as you said, gambling can easily  turn  to addiction if a person failed to control themselves. Gambling can also affect responsibility of a person, in a situation whereby they use money meant for foodstuffs, rent or any important things to gamble. But once you have discipline and you can be able to control yourself, you are good to go in gambling. The reason why Christians preach that gambling is bad is because of the addiction, greed, and irresponsibility. But it doesn’t really mean that gambling is automatically a devil work. Just set your boundaries and know when to withdraw yourself when necessary.

[crwth]

Well, if you look at the references, "casting lots" doesn't mean profit seeking or entertainment purposes. It's mostly a way to make a decision, not to be for profit type of thing. It's not gambling.

In Catholic Catechism 2413 it shows

2413 Games of chance (card games, etc.) or wagers are not in themselves contrary to justice. They become morally unacceptable when they deprive someone of what is necessary to provide for his needs and those of others. the passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement. Unfair wagers and cheating at games constitute grave matter, unless the damage inflicted is so slight that the one who suffers it cannot reasonably consider it significant.

Games of chance are not inherently unjust, but become morally unacceptable if they deprive needs or affect others. Maybe some of the pastors just do it like that because they are angry at it ^{(because they lose )} or just really don't like gambling

[Achalugo BTC]

If I'm not mistaken, religions have different views on gambling. Some treat it as a tool of the devil, some not. From what I understand, some Christian religions don't even treat gambling as evil. What's evil is when you commit crimes, deprive others of their rights, and so on because of gambling.

In the end, however, it's not about religion. It's about whether gambling does good or bad to you, your family, or your life in general. But gambling can only do to you what you allow. That's the bottom-line.

Whatever thing one is doing, let it be done in moderation and not in excess because it will always lead from one problem to another, it doesn't matter whether its religion or not. But, one has to do it for their own safety and of their future, that is why its good for players to just have fun so that they won't have to injure themselves into doing things that will destroy their lives and just enjoy the game as it is and not to do otherwise.

[shawonngp]

Since I'm a muslim, so I'm going to explain the reasons why gambling is generally considered Haram (prohibited) in Islam. There are several reasons why gambling is prohibited, such as:

1. It's a satanic act: It basically makes people waste their time, have a lust for money, and forget their general duties and prayers or whatever they should generally do towards both, their religion and the world around them.

2. It creates enmity and hatred: People who gamble often become angry, frustrated, and short-tempered, and it creates enmity between those who gamble and lose and those who win.

3. It's a destructor of wealth: Any religion, especially Islam, preaches hard work and honest earnings, which means that every person should make money in the right way, but gambling is the opposite of that. You don't do anything other than making a bet with your money, and if you win, you basically get someone else's money, which is immoral, and, if you are already doing well financially, gambling can destroy your wealth.

4. It is addictive: Gambling is very addictive, and those who get addicted to gambling will resort to doing illegal and unlawful things only to feed their addiction. Someone who doesn't have more money to gamble with will start taking loans, doing crimes, and these things eventually create problems for them, they become mentally disturbed, and this then will also destroy their relationships.

These are some of the reasons why Islam as a religion prohibits gambling, there might be more reasons, but I know of these for sure.

Yes, gambling is haram, and it is strictly prohibited in the Islamic religion, and most people of that religion refrain from it, who respect their religion very much. I don't know about the restrictions of other religions on gambling, but I think all religions treat it negatively. You have focused on very important points, explained in detail why gambling is haram in Islam, people in Islam can't earn as they want, just as gambling is very harmful for people financially, physically, and mentally, so it is considered haram or forbidden. Because of gambling, we lose a lot of valuable time. A lot of money is wasted because very few people can benefit from gambling, and because of this, many people take loans. And becomes financially indebted. Considering all these, gambling is prohibited in Islam.

[YOSHIE]

Organized religion and Gambling, moral or are people just against gambling.

In general, we can understand that, perhaps, almost on average, the majority of religions and their adherents consider gambling as being contrary to morals.
The reason: we often see religion as teaching what is wrong and what is right, teaching what is good and what is bad, This is all taught in religious teachings, as well as cultural traditional values.

Almost all religions have morals in their attitudes that guide human behavior and also things that are obligatory to reject, such as gambling. In the religious aspect, gambling can be seen as a bad act against individuals, that is the reason gambling is contrary to religion in general.

[qwertyup23]

Either you are being religious or you follow your custom and tradition, all I know about gambling is that it is not a crime to gamble as long as you are not doing it illegally, gambling is not fornication or any other atrocities will commit, gambling simply means having fun or being entertained by playing games on a casino, if others are taking the wrong approach to it, then our conscience should judge us that we are doing the right thing and maintain the normal standard.

One of the reasons on why gambling is depicted as something immoral and evil are due to the effects that necessarily follow with it. Basically, gambling causes addiction and the latter has effects that lead to a life of sin, such as:

• Intentionally not meeting your obligations to your family;
• Commit various crimes just to satisfy your gambling addiction;
• You surround yourself with pleasure that is immoral in character; and
• Greed.

I do believe that gambling by itself is not sinful; but the addiction that follows with it causes a person to commit a sin. As long as you know your conscience is clean and you are not committing sins while you gamble, in the eyes of the Lord, you are free from committing such.

[programmer3666]

Gambling is something that has been seen by many as been against the principles that the Almighty God commands people to do. Even though there are no clear standing about gambling in terms of God warning against gambling in the Bible yet, many preacher are against gambling. I don't know about other religions but as a Christians and someone who is into gambling I was shocked, to realize that the cloth of Jesus was used to gamble upon. This shows that from time immemorial there has been different forms of gambling activities. The gospel of Matthew talks about lots been thrown over the cloth of Jesus. So is organized religion really against gambling or people are only against it due to their moral right or values so they are opposed to it. There are many reasons religious people who are against gambling will give such as gambling is a tool of the devil used in taking money away from people, that gamble is a scheme of the devil.

But from what I have seen there are allot of things that can take away money From you as an individual, infact anything in life that you are into that you don't have self control will take away money from you. So I want to know from the gambling community is gambling really a tool of the devil since, it has roots right from the days of the Bible.
References
 Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:24, John 19:23.

In all honesty, I think it is more about values and self control than saying gambling is purely  good  or  bad. Many religious people are against it because they see how it can lead to addiction, loss of money and problems in people’s lives. So their concern is more about the effects, not just the act itself. In simple reality, anything without control can become a problem, gambling, spending, even business. So in my view, the main issue is not gambling itself, but how people handle it.