“What is right with gambling?\uff94 asked Pastor Cedric Moss on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Pastor Moss is the senior pastor of the Kingdom Life World Outreach Centre on Chesapeake Road, and his question was posed at the release of Kingdom Life’s \uff93position paper\uff94 on gambling. The paper was written by Mr Moss. <\/P><\/p>\n
The pastor said he was aware that “this question is the opposite of the common question being asked; ‘what’s wrong with gambling?'” However, he maintained that his was a “much better question.”<\/P><\/p>\n
His remarks come at a time of heated debate over issues relating to gambling legislation, including proposals for a national lottery and calls for a referendum concerning gambling restrictions on Bahamian citizens in general. <\/P><\/p>\n
The \uff93position paper\uff94 aims to defend “the position of the church on gambling from a Biblical point of view.” To this end, the paper argues the issue of gambling law reform, from the position that while no specific prohibition against gambling may be found in the Bible, “we are obligated to consider what it says as a whole to find the principles that speak to the specific issue or situation. Such is the case with gambling.”<\/P><\/p>\n
From this position, the pastor identifies seven “Biblically grounded reasons to support my view that gambling for money is wrong in all forms.”<\/P><\/p>\n
The paper argues that:
\n\uffa0\uffa0\uff95 Gambling promotes greed, in the sense that “one who gambles is greedy for materialistic gain above what he presently has.” The pastor said that gambling appeals to “the love of money” which, he said, is Biblically “the root of all sorts of evil.”
\n\uffa0\uffa0\uff95 Selfishness is also promoted by gambling, according to Pastor Moss, in the sense that “the objective of gambling is…to try to enrich oneself at the expense of others.”
\n\uffa0\uffa0\uff95 Laziness, which is “condemned in numerous places in Scripture “is exhibited by those who gamble with the aim of escaping the necessity of earning a living. In relating the distaste for honest labour to its frequent outcome, the pastor claimed that “gambling is stealing, even if it is a state sponsored lottery.”
\n\uffa0\uffa0\uff95 The pastor cited the Biblical injunction which names man as merely a “steward” in terms of physical possessions, as “all material goods belong ultimately to God.” He concluded that “throwing away hard earned money on the contrived, artificial chance of gambling is a foolish use of our material prosperity; it is not responsible stewardship.”
\n\uffa0\uffa0\uff95 Pastor Moss also pointed out that gambling is addictive, that “self-control is a clear teaching in the Scripture” and that individuals should avoid activities that \uff93carry an inherent risk of enslaving people to them.\uff94 He also claimed that \uff93a state sponsored lottery will increase the addiction of those who are currently addicted to gambling because the stakes will be higher.\uff94
\n\uffa0\uffa0\uff95 The pastor also said that gambling is deceptive, in that \uff93people are not warned that thousands lose their money\uff94 and that \uff93the big jackpot is dangled before them and they are encouraged to play to win.\uff94 He stated that \uff93deception is at the heart of gambling\uff94 and observed that \uff93deception, in all its forms, is clearly taught as being wrong in Scripture.\uff94
\n\uffa0\uffa0\uff95 Gambling also \uff93hurts the poor and vulnerable\uff94, said Pastor Moss, claiming that \uff93drawing on a broadly reported experience of the United States lotteries, it is generally accepted that a disproportionate number of lottery players are very poor.\uff94 He characterised such gamblers as individuals who would \uff93take the food out of their children\uffb4s mouths in their weekly pursuit of the virtually impossible dream of winning the jackpot against incredible odds.\uff94 He also pointed out that \uff93Scriptures teach that we should help and protect the poor and vulnerable, not hurt them.\uff94<\/P><\/p>\n
The \uff93position paper\uff94 released by Pastor Moss also dealt with the proposed referendum on gambling. <\/P><\/p>\n
The Pastor clearly stated his opinion: \uff93Is a referendum necessary to determine whether we should legalise gambling for Bahamians? I do not think so. Furthermore, the constitution does not require it.\uff94 <\/P><\/p>\n
The pastor said that dictating to government on such issues \uff93defeats the system of governance\uff94 in that we should only get to dictate to them once every five years by determining who will represent us.\uff94 <\/P><\/p>\n
In light of this, Pastor Moss considers it necessary that Bahamians \uff93allow those whom we elect to govern\uff94 so that they do so \uff93with a conscious awareness that they will ultimately answer to God.\uff94<\/P><\/p>\n
By Paco Nunez, The Tribune<\/B><\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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