Is there a clear biblical position against lotteries and casino gambling?
Is there an explicit, direct, biblical prohibition of casino gambling or lotteries? Not that I know of. However, the Christian church has consistently taken a dim view of casino gambling and the use of lotteries based on the implications of certain biblical principles. For example, in the church where I am ordained as a minister, part of our confessional position is that we are to follow not only what the Bible teaches explicitly but what can be drawn from the Scriptures by clear and necessary inference. The Bible does have clear principles that touch issues like this. The most notable, of course, is the principle of stewardship, whereby I am responsible to act as a steward of my possessions, including my wealth, and not be wasteful or irresponsible in how I spend my money. The biggest problem I have personally with casino gambling, and particularly with lotteries, is that they tend to be very poor investments, and inevitably they exploit the poor of the society. The poor man dreams of
