Dear Editor, Several months ago I listened with keen interest to a recorded sermon that was preached many years ago by the late American Baptist preacher Dr. Adrian Rogers on gambling. Like many of our Christian leaders in The Bahamas, I had struggled to find just one verse in the Bible that could be used against gambling. Thanks to Dr. Rogers, however, I finally have one. The noted spiritual giant argued brilliantly that gambling, in any form, is really a violation of the eight commandment: Thou shalt not steal. The MacArthur Study Bible defines stealing as the dishonest acquiring of another's goods or assets. Dr. Rogers pointed out in his sermon that in gambling one man's gain always comes at the expense of another man's loss.

Another American evangelical leader opined that in gambling, existing wealth merely changes hands. As well, the Christian leader said that gambling involves four elements: One, something valuable is put at risk; two, something belonging to someone else is at stake as a prize; three, an element of chance is involved in determining the outcome; and four, no new wealth is created in the process. Bahamians need to wake up and smell the coffee. I find it very troubling that few have expressed moral outrage that the Christie administration is banking on raking in between $15 million and $20 million of the poor people's money annually if the December 3 referendum passes. I disagree with Bahamas Christian Council President Rev. Dr. Ranford Patterson when he said that only a few individuals who are currently conducting illegal gambling enterprises would benefit if the referendum passes.

Not only would few gambling bosses benefit, but the government as well. The sore losers will be the thousands of struggling Bahamian families who would be gambling away their hard-earned money on chance. Clearly the odds would be stacked against these people. And the Christie administration is fully aware of this. And that is why the gambling bosses are so wealthy. The reason why the gambling bosses have promoted the legalization of gambling is that it involves a massive transfer of wealth. These gambling bosses didn't earn their wealth in the Biblical or capitalist fashion. They gained it at the hurt and expense of thousands of hardworking Bahamians who spent their money in their web shops. Hence, an immoral principle underlies all gambling. The gaming industry is a major rip-off. Despite the illegal gambling industry's phenomenal growth in the last 10 years, and despite claiming to have 3,000 Bahamians in its employment, The Bahamian economy continues to slide down the slippery slope.

While Dr. Patterson expressed confidence that the Bahamian people will vote no on Referendum Day, I am not so optimistic. My brother saw several persons clad in church clothing at a web cafe on a Sunday morning. Go figure. Still, all is not lost. The Bahamas Christian Council leader should call on prominent Christian leaders who support the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) to speak out against the legalization of gaming. To his credit, Bishop Neil C. Ellis of Mount Tabor Full Gospel Baptist Church has expressed opposition to the PLP on this issue. But what about the other prominent evangelicals who are supporters of the PLP? Why aren't they publicly speaking out against this referendum and the legalization of gambling web shops? Their apparent silence is deafening.

I haven't heard from Rev. Dr. William Thompson, chairman of the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas; Cynthia "Mother" Pratt, co-chair of the Urban Renewal Commission and former deputy leader of the PLP; PLP Senator Cheryl Bazard; member of Parliament for Bamboo Town and Permanent Secretary of Works and Urban Development Renward Wells; North Abaco member of Parliament and Parliament Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister Renardo Curry; Bishop Godfrey R. Williams of St. John's Jubilee Cathedral in Grand Bahama and Bishop Ricardo Grant of Universal Household of Faith in Grand Bahama. I am by no means suggesting that Bishops (Godfrey) Williams and (Ricardo) Grant have not admonished their memberships to vote against gambling on December 3. I am simply saying that I haven't heard them in the national media voicing their opposition to this plan.

Seeing that God has given both Christian leaders, including the aforementioned prominent PLP evangelicals, a platform, they should all use that platform to publicly oppose this dangerous proposal. God has given all these evangelicals prominent positions of influence. As the Old Testament Jewish heroine Esther used her position as Queen of the Persian King Ahasuerus to save her people from Haman's intended holocaust, these PLP Christians should use their influence to defeat this plan. Granted, individuals like Wells, Pratt, Thompson and Curry might face political repercussions for opposing their party. But Jesus Christ demands absolute loyalty from His followers.

There are times standing for Christ would mean opposing the government. These PLP evangelicals should emulate the courage of German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Dutch Christian Corrie Ten Boom, who both opposed the Nazis. Both of them suffered greatly for their loyalty to Christ. If the Church stands together with Dr. Patterson, then maybe, just maybe, we might pull this off. - Kevin Evans

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