(Tim) Many believers gamble, some in the stock market, others playing bingo or the lottery, and still others in casinos. So posting this from David Wegener, our Africa correspondent, is no exercise in a well-worn public policy debate, but rather a pastoral warning to me, you, and every believer. Thank you, David, for passing this on.
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We got some new books for the Theological College of Central Africa library, recently. Now they are being processed to go into the collection and I was reading one of them this morning. The book is, John H. Leith, 2001, Pilgrimage of a Presbyterian: Collected Shorter Writings
, ed Charles E. Raynal, Louisville: Geneva Press. On pages 208-13, there's a short article he wrote in 1956 titled, "Gambling--What's Wrong with It?." Here's a summary:
1. "Gambling encourages the belief that a man can enjoy the advantages of a prosperous society without making a significant contribution to that society."
2. "Gambling arouses false hopes and gives little in return."
3. "Gambling is parasitic by nature. It creates no new wealth and performs no useful service. At best, it merely redistributes wealth from ... the many ... to the few."
4. Gambling is an attempt "to escape responsible work..."
Last night I had dinner with my dear brother, Paul Cote (left), out from the Boston suburbs to attend Gen Con 2016 which has taken over Indy at 60,000 gamers strong this year. Paul is here kindness of Mike Carr (center), the only man who has attended every Gen Con since the first one back in 1968 hosted by Gary Gygax of Dungeons and Dragons fame. Paul introduced me to Mike last night and we had dinner together. Interesting conversation made for a good evening, and much of the conversation had to do with Dungeons and Dragons, TSR, and their friend, the late Gary Gygax.
