WT Article on Gambling completely dishonost

by Lore 45 Replies latest watchtower bible

• 

  OnTheWayOut

  So let me re-phrase the WT article:

  Those damned Catholics try to say that they will not make a hard-fast rule that gambling is a sin. They only say that it can become a sin if it causes one to neglect their duties. Those damned Catholics don't even use the scriptures about gambling being a sin to prove that gambling is not a sin. Watchtower knows that those scriptures don't exist, but we find plenty of scriptures that we can twist to make it seem as if the Bible says that gambling is a sin.

  The Bible doesn't always make specific rules about specific subjects, but gives room for the reader to understand what God really thinks. Don't worry about that. Those damned Catholics expect you to figure out whether your gambling is a sin or not by the way you understand what God really thinks, but here at WT we don't leave that to chance. We expect you to realize that what we say about gambling is what God really thinks. We'll avoid the direct word 'sin' so we seem to be not going beyond what is written, but c'mon people- God hates gambling. We know. Do what we say.
• 

  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Getting baptized as a JW was the biggest gamble I ever took. I was convinced that I would win a pet tiger and eternal youth in paradise. It was a hasty and foolish risk. Ultimately, it has cost me years of my life and wasted opportunities. Are there more people currently alive that "saw" Christ's invisible return in 1914 or are there more people currently alive that have won a lottery?
• 

  WTWizard

  Fact is, the Washtowel Slaveholdery requires one form of gambling. They require people to "Seek Jehovah, seek his meekness, seek his righteous [according to their own standards, not the Bible]. Probably you MAY be concealed in the day of his anger". This means you gamble away all your time and money supporting the organization, for a "Probably" and a "May"? To me, that is gambling--I think I will stick with scratch offs and casino gambling.

  I can also think of other health issues. If smoking is banned merely for health issues, what about regularly eating at McDonald's? Many pio-sneers eat there every day for lunch. What about regularly eating foods known to contain monosodium glutamate, high fructose corn syrup, and/or aspartame? The fluoride in the water (which, to me, is riskier than a blood transfusion and is always senseless)? Driving while sleep deprived? (Like going in field circus at 5:30 in the morning after being at the Kingdumb Hell until nearly 11 the night before.) What about depending on coffee to get going in the morning? (This factors out reasonable coffee use, because it focuses on dependency on caffeine, which is what they focus with nicotine). What about the health hazards of suit dry cleanings? (And the environmental hazards.)

  They seem to interpret their rules to suit their own needs. Smoking does not suit their needs, but depending on coffee so you can squeeze more field circus in the day does. Gambling at a regular casino or playing lottery doesn't suit their needs, but gambling by seeking a "Probably" you "may" does. And, since most people live on monosodium glutamate burgers, rape oil-soaked fries (genetically modified potatoes), high fructose corn syrup (or aspartame) drinks, and dry cleaning fumes to get more field circus time, they are not going to come out against that.
• 

  kurtbethel

  It must be noted that the Holy Scriptures
  do not directly mention gambling. This does
  not mean, however, that we are left with no
  direction on the matter.

  This is a WT "tell". It means "we are going to make up crap anyway".
• 

  kurtbethel

  Getting baptized as a JW was the biggest gamble I ever took. I was convinced that I would win a pet tiger and eternal youth in paradise. It was a hasty and foolish risk. Ultimately, it has cost me years of my life and wasted opportunities. Are there more people currently alive that "saw" Christ's invisible return in 1914 or are there more people currently alive that have won a lottery?

  The entire religion is what I call a casino religion. You do not have any promise or assurance of any outcome. They tell you up front that following their direction gives you a mere prospect of winning eternal life. When you go into a casino you have a prospect of hitting a big jackpot. Same thing, and they explicitly tell you that.
• 

  Palimpsest

  Surely investing in stocks ans shares is a form of gamnling. You put money into them in the hope that you will get a lot more back.

  I tried to argue that one so many times, and they always just brushed me off. It's a "business investment," so it doesn't count in their view.
• 

  WontLeave

  Gambling, birthdays, oral/anal sex, beards, etc... All Pharisaic rules. I'm sure the Pharisees could come up with scriptures to "prove" their ceremonial hand washing they confronted Jesus with. The Jewish law to not boil a kid in its mother's milk has been interpreted to mean eating meat and dairy in the same meal isn't kosher. When someone shows you a scripture and then goes on to tell you "what this means is..." hold on to your hat, because it's going to get dogmatic. Extrapolating scriptures to cover circumstances far outside of their context is a very iffy endeavor and there are several scriptures that warn against trying to bind others' consciences with our own personal standards and interpretations.

  On another note, I wouldn't use Samson's personal life as any example to be followed. He also frequented brothels and really seemed to be a douche, if you read about him. A lot of the guys in Judges were pretty awful, which is probably why the book ends with the disclaimer: "In those days there was no king in Israel. What was right in his own eyes was what each one was accustomed to do."
• 

  NVR2L8

  A few years ago I bought a meal at a fast food chain and with the meal came a lottery ticket and chocolate bar. I made no case of the ticket and dumpted it in my glove compartment with my gas receipts...a few weeks later I found the ticket and checked if it was worth something. Ding, ding, ding...I was a winner - the amount was the equivalent value of a luxury car. But then, being a MS and guided my "Bible-educated" conscience, I did some reasearch in the publications and found a WT article from the 70's that would have allowed me to claim the amount in good conscience, but a more recent WT article said that accepting money from the lottery even if you didn't pay for the ticket would be like profiting from the loss of greedy people - an activity that God disaproves. The article likened accepting the prize money as accepting diamonds as a gift, knowing that these were stolen. Then I realized that the WTS doesn't condemn those who accept blood fractions obtained from an action disaproved by God - blood donation! Using the same reasoning, blood fractions are stolen from God and the WTS will not condone or condemn those who accept blood fractions....hyprocrits.

  BTW - this amount helped catch up for a late start in my retirement fund since I wasn't supposed to get old in this system.
• 

  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  It must be noted that the Holy Scriptures
  do not directly mention PANTS. This does
  not mean, however, that we are left with no
  direction on the matter.

  As I have mentioned many times on this forum, Jesus never wore pants, trousers, slacks, or even suitpants. This is clearly understood to mean that pants, which stem from paganism and military garments, are not appropriate for True Christians.
• 

  blondie

  Billy, he didn't even wear underpants?!!!!!!!!!!