IS THE NATIONAL LOTTERY A SIN?
By S.C. Hammond
Shem International London. £2.50
ISBN 0 95381 560 9
Should Christians participate in the Lottery or knowingly receive funding from an organisation which itself has been assisted by the Lottery Charity Board? This book is the author's 'theological' response to these two questions.
In a very direct, hard-hitting way, he states that participation is driven by covetousness and idolatry and involves serving the god of money. Any Christian organisation which receives money which originated with the Charity Board is benefiting from 'immoral (prostitutes)... blood money'. The author is sympathetic to 'promotional competitions' and in chapter three explains how the biblical usage of lots was not gambling.
He concludes that we must preach vehemently against the National Lottery. Christians must unite to take action against 'this very evil principality in operation over our nation'. This would include adopting a motion 'for forwarding by force (Matthew 11.12) upon Parliament'.
He is to be commended for seeking to put the National Lottery high on the churches' agenda. It is probably right to say that teaching on it is not so prominent as on other moral issues. However, the book is not likely to change many people's minds - the author is prone to making dogmatic statements rather than trying to draw readers into thoughtful consideration of the issues involved. There are constant references to passages of Scripture, but without any interaction with the context. The book would provide a useful starter for those who have not given any previous thought to the two questions asked at the beginning.
