Church Bingo....... is it sacreligious???

[4uLord]

what are your views people...my church is thinking about allowing a group to hold bingo sessions monthly, pastor says the pot will be divided up between the winner and our church. pastor says it will bring funds into the church....are we committing a sin, is gambling in the church sacreligious??? if we are allowing gambling in our building with the motive of financial gain, is that something that the Lord would not appreciate???? i really could use some reference to scripture if any of yu can lead me there i would be blessed and i would pray a blessing over yu as well. thank yu people, thank yu people.

 

[Sleaker]

I'd pray about it a lot, but my first inclination is to suggest that it is more of an opportunity to show the love of Christ than it is a sin. The church is not the building, it is the people who inhabit the building, as such if you help the community by renting it out or allow someone to use it, it provides opportunities to help out in the community.
This might be a little different but we put a Disc Golf Course on our campus at church and we get people that choose to drink alcohol and such on the campus, we can kindly deter them, since it is private property, but would we close it just because some people are doing some bad stuff? Nah. There are more opportunities to spread God's love! The campus and building are being used to invite people in. In fact it provides an opportunity for some people in the church to provide a free meal for the Disc Golfers once a week at a game where they play for money.. The church hosts it and as such relationships are built where people get to see the goodness of God and His love.

With that I think it can be a beneficial thing to open the doors of your building to other groups.

 

[Sketcher]

There is not one verse declaring gambling to be a sin. Where that whole logic comes from is that people are likely to lose, and the money we have is not ours to do with as we like. Since it is God's we are to be good stewards. Many people have taken this to mean no gambling. Considering who gets the money (the church, and the elderly winner) I don't see how it's a problem.

 

[okiemommy26]

I do not see it as a problem either and I agree with Twisted.

 

[Apollonian]

Wow, blackjack I would believe. I might just believe that "pick the duck with the winning number at the Church fair" is gambling. Bingo is about the most inane thing I can think of as far as "gambling".

I highly doubt that God would be offended by a group of people coming together to fellowship and have fun in the name of raising money for the church. More likely, God would be tickled by it.

Now, given, if there is someone in the church who shows up every week, buys 10 cards, brings 42 lucky trolls, 3 rabbits foots, and a magic 8-ball... then it's time to quietly talk to that person about their gambling problem. Otherwise, I think it is an excellent idea, most especially if the pastor agrees.

In philosophical circles, there is an old explanation of the process of classifying whether something "is or is not"...

If a man has no hair on his head, he is considered "bald". If a man has a full head of hair, he is not "bald". However, what if a man has three hairs? Wouldn't he still be called "bald"? What about 15 or 20? Where do you draw the line? There is a point where people simply know that something "is or is not".

Bingo is not a sin when it is presented in a God-honoring way to raise money for the church under the blessing of the church leaders.

 

[Mrs. Enigma]

Jesus tossing temple table comes to my mind, but it seems like it would just be nicer if people played the games just for fun and then gave offerings of their own free will, but on the other hand, it is like they are paying for entertainment, so how would it be different then if the church charged for a meal, or a rock fest, or something?

I keep seeing Jesus tossing temple tables in my head, but I am a worry wart, so who knows...

 

[Sleaker]

Maybe, but you do realise that the building is no longer the temple, The Temple is in the hearts of Christians now. So if there is going to be any table turning it is going to be in a persons heart kicking out all the junk..

 

[InTheFlame]

I think that if it's on a Sunday during church, it might just fall into 'sacrilegious' - just Definitely falls into the same sort of category as the money changers in the Temple, imo (in that case).

But if your church/denomination has no doctrine or rules against gambling, I don't see the problem. I would recommend that your pastor ensure there are pamphlets available for the local gambling addiction line, though. Bingo can attract rather serious gamblers at times. Sounds sad, doesn't it?

 

[Mskedi]

Eh... if people are addicted to Bingo (and some are), then I think it becomes exploitation on the church's part. To benefit from someone else's addiction would be wrong on many levels.

But if it's just a fun way to raise funds for the church or the church's ministries, then there's no harm done.

A wise person wouldn't spend more on a bingo game than they'd be willing to donate to the church.

 

[sweetlambofgod]

I see no problem with it