Nov
17
2009
Speaking of Gambling
I didn’t realize this when I wrote today’s piece on gambling, but Phil Johnson over at Pyro is doing a series on gambling. In his first post he recounts (in detail!) the arguments put forward by one college student wishing to defend gambling as legitimate entertainment. Phil doesn’t answer all his questions in this first post, but he promises to eventually.
Read the first post here. Check back at Team Pyro for the newest installments.
2 Comments
Be sure to read the lengthy comment thread as well.
“The free man owns himself. He can damage himself with either eating or drinking; he can ruin himself with gambling. If he does he is certainly a damn fool, and he might possibly be a damned soul; but if he may not, he is not a free man any more than a dog.” GK Chesterton
Johnson’s economic reasoning is flawed, based on an analogy with agriculture. Gold does not suddenly multiply because stocks go up. Things get shuffled around a bit, which means someone, somewhere gives it up, and someone else gets it. Very wooly stuff.
But it is a baptist tradition to bind people’s consciences. That’s why Welches grape juice was created, and that is why it is still called “wine” in worship.