Gambling in various religions?

The only gambling I'm aware of in the bible is the Roman soldiers who cast die for Jesus's robe. I never understood why soldiers would care about a sweaty, bloody robe from an executed criminal, or why what they did was evil.
There is a proverb about those who work hard will prosper and those who chase fantasies will go hungry. I guess if you look at it just right it might be anti-gambling.
As my Grandmother evidently ran book after her husband died, they might have been a bit prejudiced.

Quote: billryan

The only gambling I'm aware of in the bible is the Roman soldiers who cast die for Jesus's robe.

They bible says they cast "lots" for them. Lots are mentioned in other places for making decisions randomly in the bible as well. I've looked into this and the evidence seems to indicate the process was akin to keno or bingo, where there were a number of labeled pebbles in a jar and they drew one randomly.

I welcome other opinions on this.

Quote: Gandler
I will be living in Qatar for a year soon and that is a Muslim country. Gambling is strictly outlawed in Islam from what I discover (as is alcohol) and as such obviously gambling and casinos are illegal.

Great news. Maybe you won't be
able to post from there. What a
shame that would be. Chin up,
sparky..

Quote: Wizard

Please expand on that. Can you give me a single bible verse that forbids gambling? I think FrGamble would be on my side on this, assuming the gambling is in moderation.

let me ask you a question(s) first. Do you think Jesus would gamble, especially in a casino?

How sure are you gambling isn't a sin, is there any question or doubt in your mind that it could be a sin?
Ill ask you the same thing I asked Bill. Not everything that is sinful is mentioned in the Ten Commandments. One can do crack without getting addicted and in moderation. Do you think that's a sin?(I don't think you do, so I don't know why I even asked you that question)
Do you remember why Frgamble left this site? If so, Perhaps you should that should tell you something.

Quote: billryan

The only gambling I'm aware of in the bible is the Roman soldiers who cast die for Jesus's robe. I never understood why soldiers would care about a sweaty, bloody robe from an executed criminal, or why what they did was evil.
There is a proverb about those who work hard will prosper and those who chase fantasies will go hungry. I guess if you look at it just right it might be anti-gambling.
As my Grandmother evidently ran book after her husband died, they might have been a bit prejudiced.

Of course there's gambling in the bible! There's the parable of the Roman tribune Masala who wagered 4 to 1 that he in his fine chariot would beat that of Sheik Ilderim driven by Qunitus Arrius the Younger in the great race at the circus in Judea.

I find it hard to believe that a God that decided to use quantum mechanics as the framework for the universe is opposed to gambling.

There is the story of Job. It seems that God and Satan were shooting the breeze and Job's devotion to God came up. Satan said Job only loves you because you give him nothing but good luck and sunshine. God says you are wrong, he loves me because I am me, not for my gifts. Devil disagrees and offers a wager that he can make Job turn on God. God accepts and gives his loyal servant over to Satan. Satan kills Jobs crops, kills his sheep, kills his children, kills his wife, and his girlfriends. Thru it all, Job stays loyal even when his friends blame him for his misery. Eventually Satan realizes he is wrong and God was right. So God collects on his wager and goes to see Job. Does he apologize for his action to his loyal subject? Hell no. He lectures him on how tough it is to be God and how no one understands him. That no one was around when he was doing the heavy lifting of creating the heavens and earth. That no mortal can understand what he goes through. Perhaps God feels a little guilty because he rewards Job with a new hot trophy wife who is very fertile and buys him a bigger farm in a much better zip code and rewards him with a goose that lays golden eggs and it all ends well. Except for Jobs' original wife, family and livestock. They are still dead.

Quote: EvenBob

Quote: Gandler
I will be living in Qatar for a year soon and that is a Muslim country. Gambling is strictly outlawed in Islam from what I discover (as is alcohol) and as such obviously gambling and casinos are illegal.

Great news. Maybe you won't be
able to post from there. What a
shame that would be. Chin up,
sparky..

This post is from 2014 (you can check the date stamp at the top left of posts). (I am surprised that it is still so active). But, thanks for the warm wishes? You are as pleasant as always...



But, on an interesting note. This site and Wizard of Odds are on the banned list of websites (at least when I was there, again over 5 years ago now....). Since we have to be careful about political posts now, I will just say internet access is heavily state regulated. And, any site that is gambling or alcohol related cannot be accessed (without the use of a VPN which is illegal).
On military posts you can access this site (and any site) if you are on military networks or base wifi.

I did get to attend the first Comic Con in Qatar which was heavily watered down compared to America (though the Mountain from Game of Thrones was there which was cool). But, video games and card games are also heavily regulated so anything that could be perceived to have any kind of gambling aspect (which includes many trading card games) or anything else that was illegal was not allowed (and as you can imagine the usual scant costumes were heavily not allowed)....

But, yeah in country you cannot access this site or any of the sister sites legally. Or any online casino obviously. And, you don't want to get caught trying to go around the restrictions in Qatar.....

The point is if you like gambling, this is not the country (or region) for you.

Religion has nothing to do with gambling. It's like your choice to believe in God and your choice is to gamble ... and that's it

I have several Muslim friends and they have a negative attitude towards gambling. Believe that gambling is not evil, but just one of the forms of entertainment.

I tried to see if Muslim countries ban gambling. I cant recall what I read. I think it was illegal.

I couldn’t find anything in Christianity that prohibited gambling.

Some denominations will preach that the gambling itself is not a sin, but can be a pathway to sins such as greed (the desire for money) and sloth (getting something for nothing) and the Mormons consider gambling to be a, "Lesser Transgression," for this reason.

Religious leaders in other denominations will often make an argument against gambling along the same lines, but there is no specific Biblical law by which it is forbidden.

One of the Proverbs says that money that comes easy is tainted, and only by working hard will one profit long term.

Quote: billryan

One of the Proverbs says that money that comes easy is tainted, and only by working hard will one profit long term.
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Well card counting is not easy I taught one friend and he quit and he is not dumb. He did various mos’ for 30 years in the military. His last MOS was ranger medic. His first was intelligence MOS

As far as I remember, the Bible tells about the game of backgammon ... the game itself is not condemned. I don't think games are evil.