Do you think its Morally OK to have Bingo and/or Poker/Blackjack at an Annual Chuch F

  • Thread starter Thread starter ProLifeAction
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
40.png
ProLifeAction:
Do you think its Morally OK to have Bingo and/or Poker/Blackjack at an Annual Chuch Festival?
Click to expand...

Not at a church, not annually, not at all - ever.​

Gambling is a form of theft - money which could, even should, be spent on others, is as good as thrown away. Gambling prepares the way for addiction to gambling, poverty, the breakdown of the family, alcoholism, and rocketing costs to society.

It’s improvident, unpatriotic, morally shortsighted, a scandalously bad example to others such as employees or children, it brings many evils in its train, undermines self-restraint and self-discipline, and is utterly unworthy of a decent human being; never mind a Christian, who has been purchased by the Blood of Christ. Gambling feeds human cupidity, in the gambler and in the provider of the gambling facilities, and thereby damns two people for the price of one.

It’s intolerable that the Church is soft on gambling - it’s infamous, and a scandal in itself 😦 It’s amazing that the teaching Church can see sexual misdoings from a thousand yards, but seems oblivious to the poisoned fruits of gambling on her own premises. She can lecture the world outside the Church about AIDS, but can’t see the log in her own eye.

By allowing it, the Church undermines her own teaching on the virtues: this looks like a case of “passive aggressivess” - as discussed by Fr. Groeschel in “Arise from Darkness”. ##
 
40.png
BobCatholic:
I look at gambling just as I look at drinking.

Moderation is the key.

Selling one beer is one thing. Selling 20 beers to the same person is another.

A guy who plays $20 in two hours of gambling is not having a problem. A guy who loses $2000 is in trouble.

It all depends on the amounts involved.
Click to expand...
Personally, I think it is the act. Why open the door to the enemy.Whether one steals a pen or robs a bank its still called stealing. By having church activities that involve any form of gambling is really going against morals and principles of Gods teachings. Gambling is gambling.Drinking is drinking. Commiting sin in moderation is not acceptable. We can all come up with all kinds of excuses but the truth is the truth. Maybe a better idea would be for the church body to TITHE. Im sure if Tithing was applied God would meet all the churches needs with plenty to spare. I like Gods principles better than mans because Gods plan works. :confused: God Bless
 
40.png
SPOKENWORD:
Personally, I think it is the act. Why open the door to the enemy.Whether one steals a pen or robs a bank its still called stealing. By having church activities that involve any form of gambling is really going against morals and principles of Gods teachings. Gambling is gambling.Drinking is drinking. Commiting sin in moderation is not acceptable. We can all come up with all kinds of excuses but the truth is the truth. Maybe a better idea would be for the church body to TITHE. Im sure if Tithing was applied God would meet all the churches needs with plenty to spare. I like Gods principles better than mans because Gods plan works. :confused: God Bless
Click to expand...
Well I guess you would have called Our Lord adrunk because he drank wine and an enabler because he turned alot of water into wine as his first public miracle.God Bless
 
40.png
SPOKENWORD:
Personally, I think it is the act. Why open the door to the enemy.Whether one steals a pen or robs a bank its still called stealing. By having church activities that involve any form of gambling is really going against morals and principles of Gods teachings. Gambling is gambling.Drinking is drinking. Commiting sin in moderation is not acceptable. We can all come up with all kinds of excuses but the truth is the truth. Maybe a better idea would be for the church body to TITHE. Im sure if Tithing was applied God would meet all the churches needs with plenty to spare. I like Gods principles better than mans because Gods plan works. :confused: God Bless
Click to expand...
Spokenword,

Then I suppose you are against Insurance as well. Stakes are placed (premiums) against a specific risk for a potential payout. And the value of the stakes is set so that the ‘house’ has the advantage and will make a profit.

It is the exact same thing as gambling. Specifically, it is called a ‘put’ bet, where you bet towards a particular risk. It happen is craps all the time.

If “Gambling is gambling”, are you about to to cancel your health, life and fire insurance?

And if you really want to get into it, commodities trading is also gambling. You place a value on a certain commodity, and will win if the price goes up, or lose if the price falls.

You better give up on farming, because farmers do this all the time. The make decisions on if they should sell to the first trader, or hold their crops to see if the next trader will offer more. They are quite literally gambling.
 
I never oppose gambling, though I never gamble “real money”. I always play offline computer games:D
any investment is a gambling. worse than casino games, their risk is unknown. you can say American Roulette has a house edge of 5.2%. blackjack if played skillfully(card counting etc) has a negative house edge. when you put money in the bank, you’re betting the inflation rate won’t pass the interest rate of the bank in the next few years. you’ll never know for sure the risk of investment
 
I’m one of those who just does not feel that the Church or government should be endorsing gambling. It is not good stewardship; it doesn’t lead to the common good; and it does not build up the relationship to God. On top of that, it easily leads to or supports addictive behaviors in people prone to additions.

Considering the number of families that have been destroyed by gambling, and having seen the “little old ladies” who will gamble away their prescription money at bingo, I just can’t see how the Church can not actively discourage gambling rather than condoning it.

Peace,
 
When will the madness end. There should be NO gambling of any form on any Church owned grounds. This should come to an end! Gambling is morally wrong. I personally know a husband and father who lost all his money and home to gambling. He is one of many. The Church should NOT in any way help support an activity that will lead to such a devastating addiction.
 
My church holds a festival each year, and I would always go and participate in the ‘cake walk’ (give the lady your ticket and walk around the circle till the music stops, if you land on the right number you get your pick of the cakes). I understood, even as a child, that I would probably not win, but still did it many times and used many of my tickets on it instead of other games. It was my choice.

Gambling isn’t in and of itself bad, the person makes the free choice to give their money over in exchange for the fun of ‘playing the game’. It’s just like paying to ride a rollercoster or go skydiving. They all have risks (the rollercoster could jump the tracks), but the person still makes the free choice to do so (or not).

In the end if you start remove some gambling you will have to remove all, down to the rubber ducky games or the ball tosses for the children (also games of chance). Then you are telling people that they are not capable of making the correct choices so “I’m” going to make it for you. As well as making a very boring festival.
 
We have Bingo twice a week at my parish. The few times I went it was a lot of fun, and it didn’t turn me into a compulsive gambler. I think the Black Jack and Poker games are a little worse, but not necessarily sinful.
I grew up in a parish named for St. Frances Cabrini- pittsburghjeff
Click to expand...
Pittsburghjeff, are you talking about St. Francis Cabrini in Fairless Hills, PA? In that case, I live right by your old parish, but I belong to St. Joseph the Worker in Fallsington.

In Christ,
Matt
 
Is gambling a sin? Is Bingo a type of gambling? I am leaning that gambling could lead to sin. Correct me if I am wrong please. 😉
 
40.png
renee1258:
Yes, but only to parishioners. We use to have bingo at the parish, but all that would come would be non-parisioners who would go church to church gambling. If it isn’t a parish building activity, then it shouldn’t be allowed.
Click to expand...
Well if you don’t invite in the non-Catholics you at least better let them have a barge to have better times on.
The word gamble means: to bet on uncertain outcome; to play a game of chance for stakes.
What are the non parishoners going to do and how are they ever going to become members of our church if you don’t let them play with you.
Life is a gamble and morally we have an obligation to include others into our fellowship isn’t that what Christ wanted.

Marmee79
 
If a friend of yours had a drinking problem. Would you take him to a bar ? Isnt that what we are doing with bingo and blackjack. Arent we just being their enabler ?
 
40.png
Brendan:
Spokenword,

Then I suppose you are against Insurance as well. Stakes are placed (premiums) against a specific risk for a potential payout. And the value of the stakes is set so that the ‘house’ has the advantage and will make a profit.

It is the exact same thing as gambling. Specifically, it is called a ‘put’ bet, where you bet towards a particular risk. It happen is craps all the time.

If “Gambling is gambling”, are you about to to cancel your health, life and fire insurance?

And if you really want to get into it, commodities trading is also gambling. You place a value on a certain commodity, and will win if the price goes up, or lose if the price falls.

You better give up on farming, because farmers do this all the time. The make decisions on if they should sell to the first trader, or hold their crops to see if the next trader will offer more. They are quite literally gambling.
Click to expand...
Well put, and very logical and clear thinking. Insurance is gambling. All you who say gambling is wrong, please cancel your insurance policies or risk being thought of as, well, not completely honest.

The Church, which we as Catholics are bound to believe is infallible in matters of faith and morals, has very clearly stated that gambling/games of chance are not immoral or sinful. Therefore we are to give our assent that it is not immoral or sinful to gamble. Yet so many people here state as though with authority that gambling is immoral and sinful. That is not the Catholic teaching. Get over it. The ideas of the more puritanical protestant religions is well disseminated amongst those here who are Catholic.
If we want to take the arguement of one thing leading to another, then we should get rid of money. Next to sex ( or maybe it surpases even sex), money is at the root of more evil, sin, immoral behavior than anything in this world.
 
40.png
carrieloon:
I don’t think it’s wrong, but I do wonder what kind of message is being sent to non-Catholics (and to ourselves) when you attend a church picnic and THE top sellers are the beer booth and the gambling booths.

In addition, what messages are being sent to our children? That in order to have some fun at church functions there has to be activity that is on the ‘edge’ and not just good old fashioned fun?

Believe me, I am no prude. I don’t object to either of these things but they do leave a weird taste in my mouth when I attend a function at my parish (which is normally the most reverent and holy parish I’ve ever attended) and it is chock full of drunken people and pull tabs littering the grounds.
Yes, these are the sins of the PEOPLE but the church is providing these things and *may *be contributing to the “near occasion of sin” for a lot of folks.

Why contribute to it at all, is my thinking.
Click to expand...
Allowing these things panders to people’s weaknesses - St. Paul speaks against drunkenness several times. As for gambling, previous posters have made many of the arguments that show why a Church cannot indulge in such practices.

To tolerate these things, is to lead into sin - they have nothing to do with glorifying God, eveything to do with strengthening concupiscence and “taking thought for how to satisfy the desires of the flesh”. How is getting filthy drunk in any way Christian 😦 ? How does gambling build up our neighbours ? Isn’t there more than enough gambling and alcoholism in the world without the Church of God adding to it, and prostituting church buildings to it ? What happened to “My House shall be called a house of prayer” ? Gambling and drunkenness do nothing but ignite the basest human passions; and that is not what the Church is meant to do.
 
Lady Cygnus:
My church holds a festival each year, and I would always go and participate in the ‘cake walk’ (give the lady your ticket and walk around the circle till the music stops, if you land on the right number you get your pick of the cakes). I understood, even as a child, that I would probably not win, but still did it many times and used many of my tickets on it instead of other games. It was my choice.

Gambling isn’t in and of itself bad, the person makes the free choice to give their money over in exchange for the fun of ‘playing the game’. It’s just like paying to ride a rollercoster or go skydiving. They all have risks (the rollercoster could jump the tracks), but the person still makes the free choice to do so (or not).
Click to expand...
You’ve just made an excellent argument for consensual adultery - “It’s all right, because the person makes the free choice”. IOW, freely choosing to do X, not make X morally right if X is wrong for other reasons.
In the end if you start remove some gambling you will have to remove all, down to the rubber ducky games or the ball tosses for the children (also games of chance). Then you are telling people that they are not capable of making the correct choices so “I’m” going to make it for you. As well as making a very boring festival.
Click to expand...
 
Gottle of Geer…

And then what excuse do you give to our Lord for making many jugs of wine at a wedding feast (a wedding is a religious event) after people had been drinking enough so that they ran out of wine??? You lack consistancy in your arguement. You say that what the Church says specifically is not sinful is actually sinful. On whose authority??? Or do I take it from your response that when you drink you usually get drunk? …because that is what you are saying about others.
 
Gottle of Geer:
You’ve just made an excellent argument for consensual adultery - “It’s all right, because the person makes the free choice”. IOW, freely choosing to do X, not make X morally right if X is wrong for other reasons.
Click to expand...
Off base, not even related.

Where does it say ‘thou shall not gamble’?

Gambling is morally neutral. It would be the losing of house and food money that would be immoral, neglecting care of yourself and your family.
 
I think it’d only be okay to gamble at church ONLY if all winnings went to charity, the parish, the local seminary, etc. If the winnings aren’t going to help the poor or the church then people are just wasting/losing their money for no good reason at all without bettering themselves or the church/parish.
 
I wish our parish had bingo. There are so many casinos around here that churches don’t bother. Parish bingo is more than gambling, more than fundraising. It is a social activity. You get a chance to visit with people, chat and catch up on what’s new.
 
Um…I don’t play Bingo as a rule. But tonight our parish had a fund raiser for our Peruvian Mission. The prizes were turkeys and gift certificates to local restaurants. We bought 5 cards which we shared with our 5 year old grand daughter. She got 1 and we each took 2. Ten games were played,
My husband won the first game with a diagonal. We got a 10 lb turkey.
Our grand daughter then won the eigth game, 4 corners. She got a 10 lb turkey too.
We had door prizes in between of which we won none.
But then came game ten, picture frame. I won a 20lb turkey and a50.00 gift certificate for dinner at a nice restaurant.
Though I was somewhat embarrassed, we accepted all the prizes we won. I know some people there thought we should have quit after the first win. But it was such fun. And so funny to have won 3 out of 10 games.
We will donate the extra turkeys to some good cause, of course. But I know why people love this game. When you win it’s a great feeling!!!👍
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top