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Would Jesus Bet on the Super Bowl? [bold added]
is it a bad thing, or a morally neutral thing, to risk one’s money on a game?Gambling is not one of the seven deadly sins (pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth) but like each of the 7DS can be addictive and ruin lives. The gambler loses in the long run (unless he is a disciplined card counter, but I digress...) and is consumed by the desire for money, which is why it's considered an immoral activity.
Traditions rooted in the Jewish and Christian scriptures have tended to say it’s a bad thing, but the textual warnings against it are less than explicit. Some Christian moralists have claimed that gambling is wrong because it’s an attempt to get something for nothing.
...But it can’t be right that getting something for nothing is always wrong. If that were so, you would be sinning to accept an inheritance from your parents, or to sell a piece of land at a profit when you didn’t cause its increase in value. The Christian gospel itself proclaims that sinners receive what they don’t, and can’t, earn.
...A better way to think about the moral import of gambling, and by extension the ubiquity of online sports betting, is to consider what it reveals about the gambler. The Hebrew and Christian scriptures warn many times against the excessive desire for wealth.
But back to the original question: would Jesus bet on the Super Bowl?
1) According to the creeds He is more than the Son of God, He is God.
2) God is omniscient, i.e., knows everything, past, present, and future.
3) He is therefore guaranteed to win any bet on the Super Bowl, or for that matter on the outcome of any event.
4) Jesus may well need some money to complete his mission on Earth.
5) Gambling is the quickest way to obtain money (unless working for a living is part of Jesus' mission).
So, yes, in my humble opinion, Jesus would bet on the Super Bowl, but unlike the rest of us wouldn't be watching it to see whether He won.
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