i'm fairly new to poker...i started playing about a year ago. i love the game and play it pretty often. i've grown up as what i would consider a strong christian. however, since i've started playing poker, i've had some of my christian friends tell me what i'm doing is wrong. that's fine, they are entitled to their opinions. but it makes me question my faith and my morals. i've definitely changed since i've started playing poker...i'm not really interested in going to church any more and hearing people say what i'm doing is wrong. but i still want to stay strong in my faith. my question is this...how do i do both?

If you win, is it wrong to make a little money for doing something well? Would you feel as badly about making a little money from a woodworking hobby? Conversely, if you are entertained by playing, but are a losing player, is it any worse than going to a basketball game, and being entertained? The trouble comes when you start ignoring your relationship with God and family because of it. Which could also be true of woodworking and going to sporting events. The question you have to answer is, what is the relationship between poker and not going to church anymore in your life? Get your *** back in church and get "Right" and you won't have these questions.

Good Question . . . easy answer. If you feel yourself slipping away from GOD as a direct result of your poker . . . You need to quit poker now! This is a serious answer from a Christian poker player.

I am a Christian and I play poker virtually every day. However, if I ever felt that poker was pulling me away from my relationship with GOD I would quit cold turkey . . . period. I play poker to support my family (wife and 3 kids). It IS possible for a Christian to play poker and remain true to GOD . . . But you have to remember that as a Christian GOD comes before poker and not the other way around. There are a lot of Christians that will tell you that it is wrong and that poker will pull you away from GOD because it has elements that goes against Christinity. IE greed. They are 100% correct . . . if you allow that to take over your life it will definately pull you away. But GOD will bless you in whatever you decide to do (even poker) as long as you glorify and give thanks to him.

Just remember poker is not unlike many things in this world. There are aspects that can cause you to sin . . . but if you remain true to GOD first . . . you will be OK!

I hope this helps . . . if you would like to talk further about this you can PM me as well. Don't worry I'm not a stalker . . . just a Christian who happens to play a little poker .

learn about other religions perhaps and decide for yourself what's best for you?

Think about it. How many people of faith here are that faith because they were raised into it by the people we learned from the most (parents, mainly)?

Can you say for a fact that you would be your religion if you were born in a nation that indoctrinated it's youth with a different belief than your current one?

So whose to say you wouldn't be a great buddhist if you were born in India?

i don't get it.

either you believe your and everyone else's eternal soul is on the line and thus you should quit wasting your time playing games and dedicate every waking moment to god and spreading the word

or.. you should accept that your "faith" is becoming weak because it's really just another word for brain-washing yourself into believing some man-made fables to appease your insecurity/ego - and then you can go on and enjoy life/poker.

logically i don't see how there is room for anything in between.

you go to church sunday morning. come home and log on FCP and start up your poker game. say your prayers, then you carry on the rest of the week while playing poker and thinking about God rarely.

You know that you only question this because of what others say. You know deep down that you dont think that it is sinful to play poker .Stop questioning yourself and God and do what you want.

Life on earth is short whether or not you believe in God you dont have time to waste questioning your actions.

You would if you were deathly afraid your family and friends would disown you depending on your decision...

the point was the vast majority of christians don't have the slightest grasp of what they are really supposed to be believing in. if they did they would give up their entire lives for god, and poker or getting disowned by friends/family wouldn't matter.

QFT

Would you say this is a trait that is more characteristic of Christians than the average non-Christian?

It seems to me that most people don't really have much of a clue what they are actually "believing in", Christian or not. It is probably more evident in a Christians life, as you are right, Christians should be leading radically different lives than those of society, whereas "nominal" atheists or agnostics have no reason to live other than a life that comes naturally.

Bingo- within reason.

I actually agreed with this much of what you said.

You heard about that kid who got struck by lightning through his computer while playing poker? Yea...think about it.

Foose1 is probably the man to listen to. Here's one thing you should take note of: There are more non-Christians in poker than there are Christians. This is because most Christians believe that gambling in general is a sin. Those people believe this not based on any scripture but by the fact that some people have no self-control and have destroyed their lives as a result of that. What you have to do is assure yourself that you can control yourself and get up from the table/computer when you need to. Poker should never take the place of God in your life. Personaly, I never play on Sundays(unless there is a major tourney that is happening, and even then I'll get blinded out until church is over) and i'll rarely play on Wednesdays. There are times when I feel it is appropriate to fast from all aspects of poker to focus on my faith. I think every Christian player should try that. As for people telling you it is wrong, you're gonna hear that until you win some big money in WSOP or WPT that's all there is to it. My advice is just bring it up until you have a good defense for yourself. Don't talk about until you are sure that you are not doing anything wrong. Once you remove all doubt in your mind you will be confident that God still loves you and you won't care what other people say. This forum can be a pretty nasty place, but us believers have to stick together. So you pm me or Foose or any other Christians(that includes Daniel himself) if you need more help. God bless.

I never see where fellow christians get that playing poker or any gambling is a sin, I can see no verse in the Bible that says it is a sin.

It's your hard earned money to do with as you please, either to buy a pizza and a pepsi or play a .25 cent NL cash table.

As others have pointed out, these are not mutually exclusive. Watching movies, buying expensive coffee, eating crap food, all have elements that can be termed sinful.

However Crowtrobot makes a valid point. Most Christians, if they believed what they say they believe, should change a lot about thier lives with a renewed focus. He's pretty hard core about his viewpoint so he makes it black or white. In the midst of trying to save the world, are Christians allowed to have some fun on the way?

dont listen to your christian friends when they try to tell you that what you are doing is morally wrong. trust your heart