by JH 28 Replies latest jw friends
Can someone explain to me why a witness can't go and buy a lottery ticket for himself, but can keep a ticket they find on the ground or keep a ticket they receive as a gift from a worldly person.
That's the explaination the witnesses gave me when I joined many years ago.
If it's a sin to play lotto, why can they accept a ticket as a gift or keep one they could find?
Because they're daft as brushes and not much of their reasoning makes much sense any way. Heaven forbid that you might be seen buying a lottery ticket! It would show that you were materialistic and greedy. It would show that you had no faith in the Kingdom being the only hope for the future and so no faith in God. But if you found one and you won. Well.... you'd better not tell anyone or they'd think you'd bought it. The elders would kick your ass for you....probably out of jealousy. You'd be marked...disfellowshiped and generally life would not be worth living.
However, if you have a lot of money and you gamble on the stock market.... even if you happen to be the WTBTS...then that's just fine!!
I had it explained that if the ticket was found or a gift, that any winnings would be viewed as a gift not as gambling. If you <snicker> partake in the actual purchase of the ticket, then it is a sin of greed, wanting something for nothing, and gambling.
They have always strained out the gnat and swallowed the camel...
Jean
There are all sorts of rules and rationalizations like this. There was a carpenter in the last congregation I attended who was reproved for working on a church parsonage. He had been approached by a member of the church board who also happened to be his banker about making a bid on window replacement. He didn't really want to get involved, but decided that he better because he didn't want to disrespect the banker. He turned in a bid but jacked the prices up so high he figured he didn't stand a chance of getting the job. Well, he did get the job (was Jehovah providing or testing this follower?) and fullfilled the contract. Of course people saw him working on the parsonage (small town) and questions were asked and the elders got involved and he got spanked. Several months later the same parsonage was struck by lightning and needed to be rewired. The local JWs were surprised to see that the electrician doing the work was an elder in the congregation. The electrician elder expained that it was ok for him to do the work as the work was being paid for by the church's insurance company while it was wrong for the carpenter to do work there as he was paid by the church directly. The Pharisee's would have been proud of this explanation.
Amazing story frozen one.
well if the Lotto represents gambling and chance, why should they permit someone to reap the benefits of having one with winning numbers, even if the person didn't actually purchase it? a lottery ticket is a concrete thing representing a big pile of money somewhere, created by millions of people gambling...
christmas trees represent christmas, jack o' lanterns represent halloween, and chocolate bunnies represent easter, and if someone put those things in your house you couldn't enjoy them and get away with it.
that's just like saying "you can't actually go out and solicit a blowjob, but if a hooker comes to your house and offers one, we'll just sorta look the other way..."
I agree 100% with you Incense_and_peppermints.
* nods
I suppose if a witness won a load of money and donated some of it to the organization they wouldn't think twice about taking it.
And talk about double standards I hope that carpenter brother let that elder electrician know a thing or two. I wouldn't take anything like that laying down. I would be barking and barking all the way to the Bethel.
Then what do you expect JW are not to have anything to do with the image of the wild beast and yet its okay for them
WTBTS to be a part of the UN for 10 years. Go figure.. A bunch of hypocrites....
Orangefatcat.
so twue...
A bunch of hypocrites....
p.s. don't you mean "meowing" and "meowing"?
