BY CONOR SHARKEY
WHILE some members of Strabane District Council may object to gambling on Sunday on religious grounds, is it really a sin?
It is indeed a thorny issue and one that each individual should decide upon for themselves. And while for many, the Sunday gambling issue may be solved as simply as 'if you want to gamble, then gamble', for others it goes a bit deeper.
What if you did the lottery on a Sunday and your numbers came up and you donated the whole lot to your local church; would they refuse it because they believed you had sinned by waging the bet on the Sabbath Day? The local church hall holds a bingo extravaganza every Sunday evening in a bid to raise money for a new church roof. Are they condoning gambling because it is being done in the best interest of the community?
What does the bible have to say on the subject? While the 'good book' never actually condemns the practice of gambling, it does warn us of the dangers of loving money. Matthew 6:24 proclaims: "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
Wise words these may be, but if you accept the widely believed perception that the Vatican is the smallest yet one of the wealthiest countries in the world, surely the words of Matthew are at best questionable.
Finally, should a person's religious beliefs be allowed to get in the way of their duty as an elected representative?
Just because a politician says he doesn't agree with the idea of gambling on Sunday, should this be allowed to jeapordise a person's livlihood?
Personally, I don't think it should. I believe most politicians have committed greater wrongs than putting a pound in a fruit machine on a Sunday afternoon.
Anyway, the bottom line as far as I am concerned is that it is about personal preference whether a person chooses to gamble on a Sunday or not. I just fail to see what place it has in a council chamber.
What if you did the lottery on a Sunday and your numbers came up and you donated the whole lot to your local church?
