A lot of it is religious dogmatism.
Christianity has had a long history of opposing gambling. The moral root of the issue with gambling has little to do with it being an unwise way to spend ones money (There's that too, but that's a small part). Rather, throughout history; whether it be John Wesley or otherwise, Gambling institutions have targeted and preyed on the poor. They willingly let people put themselves in financial ruin because of their addiction and then extend them a line of credit to ruin them further. As Christians, even if we can afford it; some of our historic leaders like John Wesley would suggest we shouldn't support an institution like that. It's no different than, in modern days; folks for a variety of reasons boycotting businesses they consider immoral. Boycotting seems to be a pretty universal idea and it works on both sides. Progressive-minded people boycotted Chic-fil-a and Duck Dynasty when their respective leaders made disparaging comments, and have boycotted businesses that fund conservative think-tanks or push for legislation that allows them to shirk taxes, or that pay employees minimum wage; and conservatives have boycotted large multi-national stores that have decided to stop carrying guns and ammo, or who provide birth control to all employees. A conservative friend is currently boycotting a restaraunt chain (I forget which) which they seemed to have discovered is funding a non-profit that is assisting Syrian refugees which this individual fears is a security risk. (I don't even know if that one is true; this individual is ripe with 'confirmation bias' and will often believe anything he sees if it aligns with himself politically)
But then we have these ludicrous discussions about retirement funds, insurance, etc., being "Gambling" and thus immoral. It misses the point. And that's just a modern social teaching of great Christian leaders through the years; nevermind the twisting of Christ's teachings! At some point we need to start asking "why".
A local Baptist church told me they don't do fundraisers, nor do they have insurance; because "the Lord Provides". Are they expecting mana from heaven? And doesn't that fly in the face of the "individual accountability" mantra of "You get what you earn"? The latter I've heard that Pastor preach (he preached it at a community service; about how welfare makes people weak and nobody owes you anything). Interesting that it's okay for people to starve if they don't go to work, but if a church burns down Jesus will give them a loan. It, admittedly, doesn't make much sense to me.
Christianity has had a long history of opposing gambling. The moral root of the issue with gambling has little to do with it being an unwise way to spend ones money (There's that too, but that's a small part). Rather, throughout history; whether it be John Wesley or otherwise, Gambling institutions have targeted and preyed on the poor. They willingly let people put themselves in financial ruin because of their addiction and then extend them a line of credit to ruin them further. As Christians, even if we can afford it; some of our historic leaders like John Wesley would suggest we shouldn't support an institution like that. It's no different than, in modern days; folks for a variety of reasons boycotting businesses they consider immoral. Boycotting seems to be a pretty universal idea and it works on both sides. Progressive-minded people boycotted Chic-fil-a and Duck Dynasty when their respective leaders made disparaging comments, and have boycotted businesses that fund conservative think-tanks or push for legislation that allows them to shirk taxes, or that pay employees minimum wage; and conservatives have boycotted large multi-national stores that have decided to stop carrying guns and ammo, or who provide birth control to all employees. A conservative friend is currently boycotting a restaraunt chain (I forget which) which they seemed to have discovered is funding a non-profit that is assisting Syrian refugees which this individual fears is a security risk. (I don't even know if that one is true; this individual is ripe with 'confirmation bias' and will often believe anything he sees if it aligns with himself politically)
But then we have these ludicrous discussions about retirement funds, insurance, etc., being "Gambling" and thus immoral. It misses the point. And that's just a modern social teaching of great Christian leaders through the years; nevermind the twisting of Christ's teachings! At some point we need to start asking "why".
A local Baptist church told me they don't do fundraisers, nor do they have insurance; because "the Lord Provides". Are they expecting mana from heaven? And doesn't that fly in the face of the "individual accountability" mantra of "You get what you earn"? The latter I've heard that Pastor preach (he preached it at a community service; about how welfare makes people weak and nobody owes you anything). Interesting that it's okay for people to starve if they don't go to work, but if a church burns down Jesus will give them a loan. It, admittedly, doesn't make much sense to me.
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