Church Gambling | AdventAI

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jun 4, 1872

Church Gambling.

On the subject of raffling at church fairs, so common in these days, the late Dr. Nadal said:

The church raffles are as complete specimens of gambling as the Crosby Opera House Lottery—and either of them is as real gambling as the operations of the faro bank or the card table.

In our church fairs, in addition to the countenance and respectability, as in the “Opera House Raffle,” we give to gambling the sacred sanctions of religion. It is the church spreading her hands and saying grace over every faro bank and gambling hell in the country.

The raffles of the church tend to remove religious and moral scruples; the last breakwater that holds back the threatened inundation of gambling. If the church fiddles, the world will dance of course. Like priest, like people.

The church’s raffles are felt, however unconsciously, in every bet on every race horse—at every card table—in every art lottery—aye, in every prize fight. When the bride of Christ raffles, and pockets her gains amid the smiles of gay ladies and flattering beaux, every gambling hell rises in dignity. Whatever wrong there may be in the gambler’s calling, the church shares it in principle in her raffles: and the only difference between her and the regular gambler in this respect is, that he, perhaps, does his rudely, profanely, in a place set apart to sin, while she does hers, genteelly, piously, and in the church or lecture-room. This abuse of holy things, this profanity, this prostitution of the sacred offices of the church, ought to be stopped.

The church has been poor, and can afford, if need be, to be poor again: but she cannot afford, whatever may be the bribe, to be the pimp of worldly lust. We therefore bow, penitently under the world’s accusations, and confess that we deserve the scourge of the old proverb, “Physician, heal thyself.”