Dear Editor,

On Monday, January 7, Philip Galanis, a campaign coordinator for 'Vote Yes Bahamas', used his weekly column to lobby for a 'yes' vote in the upcoming gambling referendum. As one of the many Bahamians who believe that a 'no' vote will make for a better Bahamas, I thought I would respond to what appears to be Mr. Galanis' two best arguments for a 'yes' vote. Today, I address his religious argument. Mr. Galanis argues: "There is not a single, direct biblical text which posits that participation in gaming activities is either sinful or offensive to God.

Not one! Sure, there are some references that can be 'interpreted' as tangentially supportive of such an hypothesis, but as regards a specific divine prohibition, the scriptures are silent." While Mr. Galanis is correct that there is no direct biblical text that speaks against gambling (i.e., "Thou shalt not gamble."), he is wrong to conclude that it therefore means that gambling is neither sinful nor offensive to God; and it is not difficult to show how his conclusion is a fallacy.

Let me explain (and I credit Pastor Allan Lee for this important insight). Using Mr. Galanis' words and reasoning we can make a similar case and say that since the Bible does not directly speak against wife beating, beating one's wife is therefore neither sinful nor offensive to God. However, we overwhelmingly know that it is sinful and offensive to God for a husband to beat his wife. Why? Because the Bible commands husbands to love their wives (Ephesians 5:25), and beating your wife is not loving your wife; it breaks this Biblical command, and it is therefore sinful and offensive to God.

Accordingly, while there is no direct biblical text that states that a husband should not beat his wife, there are numerous biblical texts that teach that a husband should not beat his wife because they command him to love his wife. The same is true about gambling. While the Bible does not state in exact words that gambling is sinful and offensive to God, there are many biblical texts that teach that gambling is sinful and offensive to God.

A very obvious one is what our Lord calls the second greatest commandment: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39). Gamblers (both the players and the operators) want to win, and it necessarily follows that they want others to lose in order for them to win ("everybody wins" is a lie). This desire to win the losses of other gamblers is fueled by love for self and a lack of love for neighbor, and it breaks the second greatest commandment. What Mr. Galanis misses is that the Bible is not a code book that directly speaks to every single human activity; God never intended it to.

However, God's Word (the Bible) is sufficient, and it is "profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). However, even if for the sake of argument we agree with Mr. Galanis and others that the Bible is silent on gambling, let's apply the "What Would Jesus Do" test. Someone came up with this simple test to use when we are trying to make a moral decision about which we are unsure. The person suggests that we ask the question: What would Jesus do? Hence, I ask these questions of Mr. Galanis and all who are wondering about the morality of gambling: If he were here, do you think Jesus would be gambling, trying to win other people's money?

Do you think Jesus would watch web shop owners, national lottery operators and others take advantage of the poor, the weak, and the financially desperate, raping them financially every day, and say nothing and do nothing? Do you think Jesus would be parading around like Bishop Simeon Hall and Dr. Philip McPhee, urging people to vote 'yes' in the upcoming gambling referendum? If you can sincerely answer 'yes' to any of these questions, then vote 'yes'.

However, if you can't, then I urge you to vote 'no'. I conclude by saying that if we decide only to follow "direct biblical texts," as Mr. Galanis is arguing to make his case for gambling, we can also make a case for beating our wives and for committing many other sinful acts that the Bible does not directly address but clearly teaches against. And as in the case of gambling, such activities will not make for a better Bahamas.

-- Pastor Cedric Moss

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