State operated lotteries: It is a moral issue!
Proponents of legalized lotteries often point to the prior existence of legalized lotteries in the United States. But they fail to mention that frequently the minimum amount which could be wagered might be as high as $10, which was a significant minimum in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries designed to prevent poor people from being preyed upon unduly. And proponents also fail to mention that in the early English lotteries, everyone received some prize. (G. Robert Blakely, State Conducted Lotteries: History, Problems and Promises," The Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 35 #3, 1979, pp. 63—65)
By the early nineteenth century, strong opposition was developing to legalized lotteries. Three reasons were cited: (1) lotteries were a financial drain on the economy, (2) many lotteries were fraudulent, and (3) lotteries contributed significantly to crime and poverty. (Ibid, pp. 68-69)
The Louisiana State Lottery, which ceased operating in 1894, was the last to be abolished. It had done a prosperous business by selling tickets through the mail to residents of many other states. (Ibid., pp. 69-71)
Legalizing Gambling Is a Moral Issue
The decision to legalize gambling is a moral issue. Proponents of legalized gambling never tire in accusing opponents of arguing about "morality."
But the morality involved is not a sectarian, religious, or even Christian morality. We as Christians do bring specific, biblical values to bear in our analysis of the question of legalized gambling. But public morals are necessarily much broader than that.
The pro-gambling forces advocate a morality which essentially justifies the gambling (the means) by the revenue it produces (the end). This is one type of morality. Another type of morality is a materialistic morality which longs for the opportunity of getting something for nothing, for the chance of being able to "get rich quick" apart from labor or the creation of a product of real value.
It is a moral issue when a state decides to derive income from an activity which is a highly regressive form of taxation that affects poor people more extensively than affluent people.
It is a moral issue when a state decides not only to tolerate gambling but to get in the business of planning games, engaging in promotional activities (radio, television, newspapers, billboards), and targeting its citizens through extensive marketing analysis in the hopes of creating new gamblers to contribute taxes through an inefficient form of "tax farming."
It is a moral issue when a state adopts a form of gambling which in all probability will increase the extent and the amount of illegal gambling.
It is a moral issue when a state adopts a form of gambling that will draw off large amounts of money especially from the poor people for whom the state supposedly has a responsibility to provide assistance.
It is a moral issue when a state engages in naïve projections and adopts financial planning that amounts to putting a shoddy patch on a state's long-term financial problems.
These are issues which require a decision on the part of every citizen of the state about the kind of state which he or she wishes. Here Christians can join hands with all other responsible citizens to resist a temptation which threatens to undermine the public morality which a state hopes to maintain.
Reference:
The Christian Action Commission, Mississippi Baptist Convention, P.O. Box 530, Jackson, Mississippi 39205, 601-968-3800
By the early nineteenth century, strong opposition was developing to legalized lotteries. Three reasons were cited: (1) lotteries were a financial drain on the economy, (2) many lotteries were fraudulent, and (3) lotteries contributed significantly to crime and poverty. (Ibid, pp. 68-69)
The Louisiana State Lottery, which ceased operating in 1894, was the last to be abolished. It had done a prosperous business by selling tickets through the mail to residents of many other states. (Ibid., pp. 69-71)
Legalizing Gambling Is a Moral Issue
The decision to legalize gambling is a moral issue. Proponents of legalized gambling never tire in accusing opponents of arguing about "morality."
But the morality involved is not a sectarian, religious, or even Christian morality. We as Christians do bring specific, biblical values to bear in our analysis of the question of legalized gambling. But public morals are necessarily much broader than that.
The pro-gambling forces advocate a morality which essentially justifies the gambling (the means) by the revenue it produces (the end). This is one type of morality. Another type of morality is a materialistic morality which longs for the opportunity of getting something for nothing, for the chance of being able to "get rich quick" apart from labor or the creation of a product of real value.
It is a moral issue when a state decides to derive income from an activity which is a highly regressive form of taxation that affects poor people more extensively than affluent people.
It is a moral issue when a state decides not only to tolerate gambling but to get in the business of planning games, engaging in promotional activities (radio, television, newspapers, billboards), and targeting its citizens through extensive marketing analysis in the hopes of creating new gamblers to contribute taxes through an inefficient form of "tax farming."
It is a moral issue when a state adopts a form of gambling which in all probability will increase the extent and the amount of illegal gambling.
It is a moral issue when a state adopts a form of gambling that will draw off large amounts of money especially from the poor people for whom the state supposedly has a responsibility to provide assistance.
It is a moral issue when a state engages in naïve projections and adopts financial planning that amounts to putting a shoddy patch on a state's long-term financial problems.
These are issues which require a decision on the part of every citizen of the state about the kind of state which he or she wishes. Here Christians can join hands with all other responsible citizens to resist a temptation which threatens to undermine the public morality which a state hopes to maintain.
Reference:
The Christian Action Commission, Mississippi Baptist Convention, P.O. Box 530, Jackson, Mississippi 39205, 601-968-3800
