Is it against Christianity to make bets with yourself?
396635
Does it interfere with your love of God?\n\nDoes it interfere with love for your fellow humans?
826134
Either you're wrong or the church is wrong.  you need to decided which is which, but if i had to bet my money's on the church.
220397
Definitely.  Just call me Job. It is ok to argue with God. He gave us good minds to use, and arguing with authority is not a sin. However, refusing to do what He says I think is sinful, and usually He won't let you sleep until you do what He says...   :~)
235789
Yes that is against god and everything in the world. I would recommend not doing that unless you want to be looked down upon in society.
866745
There are a lot of great answers here. I especially like the one where scripture references were given because that is what you really need to go by.\n\nGambling is one of those grey areas that Christians will debate about until the Lord comes. Just like drinking alcoholic beverages, gambling is not listed anywhere in the bible as being prohibited. I too was given questionable scriptures regarding this very issue. The verse given to me was "They cast lots for Jesus clothes". To that my rebuttal was, yes and "casting lots causes contentions to cease" and also the 11 disciples cast lots to see who would replace Judas Iscariot.\n\nSo here's the scoop:  Since there is no concrete "thou shalt nots" concerning gambling, then God leaves it up to you do use your conscience. Ask yourself why you are gambling. Is it for the love of money? Then you know God probably wouldn't approve of it. But if it was just to have a good time with your wife after dinner, and assuming you don't have a gambling problem, then God probably okays it. In that case, you would give God the glory not for your winnings but for the good time you had with your wife (and yes, don't forget to tithe on it).\n\nI believe it's in the book of Romans concerning such grey matters where it is written that if another Christian sees you doing it and it causes a him or her to stumble, then it is sin. It also mentions that if you think it is a to do this thing sin, then it is to you. This covers all those questionable areas such as drinking alcohol, gambling, and picking your nose.\n\nSo in short, ask yourselves these questions:\n1) Does the Bible say not to do it?\n2) If not, does your conscience say it's permissable?\n3) If so, is there another Christian around you who's conscience might not say it's permissable?\n4) If not, what are your motives (or are you addicted)?\n\nThe safest and quickest answer is to just say no to these questionable areas. But if you're just dropping a dollar worth of nickles in a slot machine to enjoy some time with your wife then, biblically, there is no prohibition against doing so.\n\nTo clarify about the issue of drinking alcohol, according to the bible, IT IS a sin to get drunk (Proverbs), but not to drink alcohol.
958202
Christians dont mess with that.(fortunes(...theology is taught in colleges for ministers...youre confused..
67320
Absolutely NO WAY! I could not do that because I am happy with my religion. I don't let people affect my decisions. I make my own. I hope you don't let this "someone" change your religion.
686381
Hmm...  Apparently slacking on your agnostic studies are we?  Well, ok, here is what my scouting has taught me:\n\nYou will not get one answer on this question because the many religions have conflicting messages and then the sects have conflicting messages within the religions.  Some christians think you will be damned if you don't accept Jesus in your lifetime, some will say you're damned if you don't recognize God after you die, some say you have to have secret passwords (like God's true name is ""Jehovah" or "Erasu" or "Dave"), while others say that your level of salvation will depend upon the level of your faith.  Some will even say you can be a completely vile, evil person and still get into heaven as long as you praise God!  The sheer volume of confusion on this matter seems to me what I call "the agnostic's dilemma" within "Pascal's Wager."\n\nPascal's Wager states simply that if betting on whether God exists, it is better to bet on God and be wrong than bet against a God and be wrong: There is no risk in betting on the idea that a God exists from the perspective of life after death, but being wrong and rejecting God might lead to damnation.\n\nThe bloody difficult agnostic, however, throws a wrench into the works by asking what your question begs: "How the heck do I know which God is the real God?!"  You don't, hence Pascal's wager is ALMOST meaningless.  Hedging the bet as much as possible, the agnostic keeps studying to find an answer, while avoiding signing on with one religion or another lest they later learn that they stepped on the wrong set of divine toes.\n\nSO, now the real meat of the question!  What is the sense in being good?  Now that has been something of a concern.  It seems to me from my studies that a number of things are universal among religions, with the number one thing being true nature of Good and Evil.  While there may be some disagreement in what exactly constitutes bad behavior, it apparently exists, hence there must be some basis for morality, regardless of religion.\n\nMy answer has generally been this:  If God created me, God made me this way - agnostic.  If that is unacceptable to God, then God has a self-conflict, not a conflict with me.  I exist because God made me so and to be untrue to my own form would be more of an insult to God than to try to be something I didn't believe (to live a lie - which appears to be universally wrong among religions if you think through all the consequences).\n\nI also think about what kind of God would I WANT to worship.  If God is a vile, selfish, hateful creature that tortures the good for petty reasons, I often think that I would rather be tortured right along with them than cowtow to such a hideous thing.  This has actually been very helpful in sorting out several religions right away as simply unacceptable- even if... maybe especially if that is the correct God!  It is not perfect, however, as there are still plenty of sects, branches, religions, and whatnot that are not so filled with hate, so I am still left with agnostic uncertainty.\n\nAt the very least, be reassured that, where ever you end up, I will probably be right there along with you.  Whatever that fate may be, I hope it is at least a mildly pleasant one.
658584
Let me applaud you for your open mindedness.  Many people would just blindly refuse everything religous or totally ignore it while you are prepared to adopt practices you consider benifitial even if you don't believe in the religion.\n\nAnyhow, the problem with Pascal's Wager is one of motivation.  Is it not better to do what is considered right not because you are looking for your own benifit after death but out of care for others.  Some would say that the curse of damnation just scares people into not doing what is considered wrong.  This has happened in the past.  The threat of damnation or promise of heaven has also been taken advantage of by those who seek power.  It is also possible people may be so afraid of damnation they refuse to do any deeds in case they may be bad but in this way stop doing good deeds.
407322
God would never betray you, not ever.  His promise of that is written in the Bible.  Therefore, I will ever remain a Christian.  :)
141330
The simple answer is "No."\n\nNow the complex answer.\nToo many people confuse true Christianity with a religion.  Religion has rules, "we vs. them" types of mentalities, and tends to try and conquer other people who think or believe differently.  Not all religions are "religious" according to this type of definition.  According to this we could easily cast the homosexuality movement as a religion, athiesm as a religion, even Democrats and Republicans as a religion.\n\nTrue Christianity is a relationship.  A relationship between you and God.  The Bible exists to help you understand how God want the relationship to work, what you are responsible for, and what He is responsible for.  As with any good relationship there are great benefits with Christianity.  Also, there are certain things you can do that will cause strife and pain to the relationship.  The last component to this relationship is God wants to help you - just like you want to help your best friends.  He tells you of things to avoid to help you live a better life and make good decisions.  God is NOT a bully, is NOT a genie to do your bidding (although too many Christians treat him this way), and will not control your life.  It's all based on FREE WILL.
450946
No, and this is one of my pet peeves. I changed my religion because my initial one felt "wrong" to me. I went searching for what felt right and I found it through my own quest. I didn't need anyone badgering me, which is how every person I met trying to convert another has come off. I hate when people try to lay their own beliefs on others.
1061203
nope, it's not my place to punish sinners and I don't think someone else can hurt my religious sentiments.  If someone is not respectful of my beliefs it might tick me off but it doesn't affect my beliefs.
598005
Its not a sin, sin, but it is self destructive and here's why.\nMy brother started out just buying strach and win tickets.  Then he started going to the casino, and now he's a gambling addict.  He's a Christian and its ruined our family.\nI hate all lotteries because of it, all childrens lotteries, etc.  I think its disgusting that charities have to resort to lotteries to collect money.  And its money that comes from mostly seniors.\nThere have been a few people in our church that have won millions in the state lottery.  The church refuses to accept donations from this money.\nDon't forget that the Roman soldiers gambled for Jesus's clothes before he died by rolling dice.\nHaving said all that, my grandpa lived to 100 and would always play the lotto and I would always have to buy tickets for him, because he couldn't get out.  It was one of his few enjoyments.  I hated doing it, but I never told him, because he was so happy.  Again seniors though paying.
281314
Yes.  There is nothing wrong with buying and selling something of worth.  However, it could be a sin...  We are to be good stewards of our money.  If you really are doing nothing more than gambling away your rent money, then it is a sin.
345072
THERE PROBABLY AGAINST CHRISTIANITY AND WE SHOULDN'T WORRY LET THEM DO THERE THING
940186
well i would be against it seeing as this is the powerful sign that the antichrist has taken over and that means i would be part of the tribulation which is something i dont want to be apart of. but in the future, u won't be able to avoid it. it WILL happen. only God knows when, but it WILL happen