JW's and the lottery (page 2)

jwfacts

Gambling or going on a game show both have to do with the spirit of greed. For that reason even a free lottery ticket is said to be wrong.

Awake 1994 August 8 p.15 Is Gambling for Christians?

What if a person is offered a free lottery ticket or free money to use for gambling? In either case, accepting such an offer would still be supporting a gambling operation—an operation out of harmony with godly principles.

The story of the person at work accepting a Christmas bonus reminds me of an experience i had. I was telling a couple of shop keepers the other day that this year was my first Christmas ever. They laughed, couldn't believe it, and asked why. I said i was raised a JW. She goes, "of course, my husband runs a company that has a JW. When the JW said he doesnt celebrate Christmas the boss said 'great, you can work on Christmas day' . The JW got all defensive and refused".

Mary

Yes, I remember asking an elder several years ago about why it's okay to invest $100,000 in stock but you're not supposed to invest $1.00 in a lottery ticket. The answers they come up with are ridiculous:

"...The lottery is a form of greed, because you're trying to get something without having to work for it. You're also profiting at someone else's loss."

My answer was: And investing in stocks isn't? The whole purpose of investing in stocks is hoping the value will treble. That's not "working" for it, it's a gamble, especially in view of the fact that you could lose your house, your savings and everything if the market collapses. And what about receiving an inheritance? Did you personally "work for it"? Isn't that "getting something without working for it?" Is that a form of greed? This was especially true as one of the elders in our Hall had invested nearly $100,000 (of an inheritance that he screwed his siblings out of) in a little thing called Enron in 1999, smugly telling people that he had "figured out the stock market". He wasn't looking too smug a couple of years later.

Playing the lottery is like having a drink: in moderation it's not a problem. Just never play with money you can't afford to lose.

Spectrum

Dansk,
"I believe purchasing shares is a form of gambling because it is not a definite certainty that they will increase in value. However, Watchtower published an article stating that it wasn't gambling - then I found out about all the shares it invested in!!!!! Hypocrisy? You bet! BIG TIME!!"
Shares are definitely gambling. JWs will tell you shares are a form of investment but ask any seasoned stockbroker and he'll tell you it's unadulterated gambling. The only way JWs can spin it to sound ok is by saying that it's just another method of increasing your capital like opening a new business - it's a gamble whether it survives or not but then the lottery becomes a legitimate form of making money.

Is the Christmas bonus a dilemma for them? I've never thought about that.

Spectrum

A question for all.

If you offered all JWs $2,000,000 each to leave the Org, how many JWs would we have at the end of this process?
I think that the real die hards are about 50%. So I think about 3,000,000 JW will go for it.

What's interesting is if you got them to read posts on this website all 6,000,000 would find a reason to take the money and let the GB scratch their heads!!

Clam

Spectrum - interesting scenario, but why not offer the GB $10 million each to give it up and issue a statement saying they were off for the same reasons as Franz?

It would be cheaper and logistically easier. You'd be cutting the tree off at the roots instead of lopping it that way.

Billionaires where are you????

Jourles

I asked an elder several years back in casual conversation about the differences between "Wall Street type investments" and playing the lottery. The answer I received basically said that it was up to me to invest my money how I see fit. It was a df'ing offense if I were to play the lottery regularly.

Even while I was in, I knew that investing was a federally acceptable form of legal gambling. I lost quite a bit by 2001 from the tech side - even in companies who are stable today. I would have been better off buying one lottery ticket a day for three years and just putting my extra money in a non-interest bearing savings account. I would much rather have lost a thousand dollars playing the lottery instead of what I really lost with stocks.

Spectrum

clam,
" interesting scenario, but why not offer the GB $10 million each to give it up and issue a statement saying they were off for the same reasons as Franz?
It would be cheaper and logistically easier."

Yeah I didn't think about that! Wind up the business kind of thing. The only problem with that is they don't deserve $10,000,000.

undercover

Where in the Bible is gambling condemned? How is it a DFing offense?

InquiryMan

While visiting abroad, I was told of a family in that congregation who actuallt did win a six digit price in a lottery. they had a disabled child, so I am quite sure the money was needed. However, they were disciplined for taking part in a lottery... though not DF.

luna2

I like the comment about moderation...that's the real key. So many aspects of life are a gamble. Very little is certain. All you can really do is to try to make the best investments of your time, energy, emotions and money as you can.

Becoming a JW is a huge gamble too. It relies on belief in words, fallible humans, invisible beings, that the Bible is magically ~~delicious~~ inspired, and that Jehovah's Witnesses interpreted it correctly and aren't a bunch of crackpots. Hmmm, looks like I lost big time on that one. I could have bought $20 worth of lottery tickets a week for the last 20 years, won nothing, and still come out better than I did with gambling on Jerhobo and the Dubs.

JW's and the lottery

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