Las Vegas and religion have a strange but enduring relationship. For many years local boosters would proudly proclaim that Las Vegas had more churches per person than any other city in the country. Perhaps that was because the population used to be small, and the boosters probably counted all the wedding chapels as churches.
Actually Las Vegas is pretty well “churched”, but not more than any other large city today. What is true even today is this: Las Vegas has more prayers per person than any other city in the country. It is said that there are no atheists in a foxhole, and the same can be said about the people standing around a high-stakes craps table. There just possibly may be a difference between the prayers heard near a casino craps table and the ones mumbled in a church on a Sunday morning—the prayers in the casino may be more serious.
As the casino entertainment industry became entrenched in Las Vegas, various ministries would make their appearances on the Las Vegas Strip. In the 1970s, the Southern Baptist Convention assigned a young minister to the Strip to establish a ministry among the employees, entertainers, and players in the casinos. More recently, the Riviera Casino put a clergyman on its own staff. He is available to counsel other staff as well as tourist guests who experience immediate personal and family needs while they are in Las Vegas. He also conducts services in the casino facility.
Religious and gambling institutions need not be incompatible, although leaders in each are found at loggerheads with one another. The primary leader of the opposition to gambling in the United States at the beginning of the twenty-first century is Tom Grey, a Methodist clergyman. Churches have been prominent in campaigns against gambling, as documented in John Dombrink and William Thompson’s The Last Resort: Success and Failure in Campaigns for Casinos (Dombrink and Thompson 1990). On the other hand, casinos, wary of political opposition from religious groups, have often extended financial support to church groups. The famous casino at Baden, Germany, actually constructed both the Catholic and the Protestant church buildings of its town. The Berkeley Casino Company of Glasgow, Scotland, aided a local Presbyterian church body by purchasing its old building in order to utilize it as a casino. The pews were removed, but the religious aura seems to hang over the roulette wheels and blackjack tables. On the other hand, the Guardian Angel Church on the Las Vegas Strip features a large stained glass window that depicts scenes of several nearby casinos. Of course, many churches have also used bingo games and raffles for fund-raising reasons.
The relationship of gambling and religion goes back to the dawn of human time. Was the snake tempting Adam and Eve with a gamble when he suggested that they disobey God and eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge? Could they have known where that quest of knowledge would lead them? Could they have contemplated the nature of life had they not searched for something different?
Moral and religious views on gambling are probably as old as gambling activities themselves. Prehistoric and primitive societies have engaged in exercises to try to make sense of their universe and control their environment by appealing to the supernatural, forces often expressed as gods or God – that is, powers beyond their world. David Levinson’s Religion: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia describes religion as a “relationship between human beings and the supernatural world” (Levinson 1996, vii). The exercises involving appeals to chance would be part and parcel of a people’s religion.
For instance, in all societies from the prehistoric to even modern times, the notion of divination has been present. Divination involves beliefs and practices of human beings that enable them to communicate with gods (or God) in order to tell the future. In divining the future, leaders might throw sticks or stones into the air and watch where they fall in order to gain the answers. It was as if they were throwing dice or rolling a gambling wheel. Religious leaders might also hold long sticks that would somehow point them in a direction that their people should follow on a journey, perhaps in quest of water or food. A large part of early religions may have involved the use of gambling instruments (Levinson 1996, 53–54, 182–183). The origins of many games played among traditional Native American tribes may have had religious connotations. The following discussion, however, concentrates on early experiences in the Judeo-Christian heritage as well as established Eastern world religions.
The Hebrews were probably carrying on prehistoric traditions as their leaders sought ways to find the “truth” about the future or about the proper decisions they should make. They would throw stones that were in essence two-sided dice called Urim and Thummim in order to choose between two alternatives. They would also draw lots in situations calling for choices. There are many references in the Old Testament regarding the use of these gambling devices for decision making. Urim and Thummim are mentioned in the following eight cases. Aaron was made to carry Urim and Thummim upon himself as he came before the Lord, as the objects would tell him the judgment of the people of Israel. (Exodus 28:30). The Lord commanded that Moses place the Urim and Thummim on Aaron (Leviticus 8:08). In Numbers 27:21, Moses chooses Joshua to lead the people, and he is given Urim and Thummim to help him find the right answers in his leadership. Similarly, Levi is given the objects in order to make choices (Deuteronomy 33:08). As Saul was preparing for war with the Philistines, he was bothered when the Lord did not urge him forward. He thought it perhaps was because of his sins, his son’s sins, or those of his peoples. Urim and Thummim told him the sins were not his people’s. Then he threw the stones again, and he was told they were sins of his son Jonathan. His son confessed that he had broken the laws. When Saul determined that his son would have to die, the people intervened, and Saul was forced to walk away from battle (I Samuel 14:41). Later Saul threw the stones again in order to get directions he should take in another battle with the Philistines (I Samuel 28:6). Solomon (Ezra 2:63) and Nehemiah (Nehemiah 7:65) both used Urim and Thummim to determine which of the people who came to the temple were clean—in the sense of having the proper family heritage—and could enter the priesthood and partake of holy food.
The Old Testament also records more than a dozen references to the use of lots or lotteries. The first was when Aaron used lots to decide which of two goats were to be sacrificed to the Lord as a sin offering (Leviticus 16:08). Joshua divided the land of Israel into seven portions and awarded them to families through a casting of lots (Joshua 17:6). Moses used lotteries to divide the lands of Israel among families (Numbers 33:54). Soldiers were selected for battle by lottery (Judges 20:9). Saul was chosen to be king by the process of a drawing (l Samuel 10:20–21). David was told which way to go in order to assume command of his troops (2 Samuel 2:1).
Leaders of the Israel church community were chosen by lots (1 Chronicles 24:31ff.), and the music was organized for the temple by using lots to assign duties to individuals (1 Chronicles 25:8–31). Specific duties such as controlling gates and roads, as well as storehouses, were also given by lots (1 Chronicles 26:13–14). In Nehemiah (10:34) it is reported that lots were cast to decide which families would bring wood offerings into the house of God. One-tenth of the people were allowed to live in Jerusalem; the others lived in smaller villages. Those who were allowed into the city were chosen by lotteries (Nehemiah 11:1). Job (6:27) has a reference to one remonstrating with God, saying “you would even cast lots over the fatherless and bargain over your friend.” In a passage that must have been in anticipation of the crucifixion, the Cry of Anguish in the Psalms (22:18) talks of one dying and of dogs who “divide my garments among them, and for my raiment they cast lots”.
Joel spoke the word of the Lord condemning the nations that had scattered the Jews, claiming that they “cast lots for my people and traded boys for prostitutes” (Joel 3:03). In Obadiah (1:11) the Lord condemned the people of Edom for allowing foreigners to cast lots for Jerusalem, looking down on your brother “in the day of his misfortune.” Jonah (1:07) offers the story of a ship that has been disabled by a storm. The crew believes it is because a sinner is on board, and they cast lots to find that it is Jonah. Nahum records the Lord’s anger at Nineveh as he spoke of people casting lots for her nobles and putting her great men in chains (Nahum 3:10).
In Isaiah (36:08) it is reported that Judah is asked to make a wager with the king of Assyria in which he can win 2,000 horses for Israel if he is able to put riders upon them. The story is repeated in 2 Kings (18:23).
These references to lots, throwing of dicelike objects, and wagering are not at all judgmental (collectively) regarding the desirability of gambling or the acceptability of gambling. The same may be said for New Testament references that include the use of lots (some think dice) by Roman soldiers to decide which centurion would receive the clothing of the crucified Christ (Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:24; Acts 1:26). Certainly this is a negative light in which gambling is classed. But contemporary with that event was the use of lots to select a replacement for Judas in the group of twelve disciples (Act 1:21–26).
Because the Bible contains no direct condemnation of gambling (not even in the Ten Commandments), different religious groups among Christians and Jews interpret its writings in various ways. Some point to the many uses of gambling devices in decision situations, essentially as objects for divination, as a justification of gambling. Others say that the use of lots to determine God’s will is substantially different from using gambling for personal gain. Other biblical passages suggest that there might be evil in gambling. The writers of Isaiah (65:11–12) state, “But you who forsake the lord who set a table for fortune and fill the cups of mixed wine for destiny, I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to slaughter”. Proverbs (13:11) suggests that winnings from gambling are only temporary: “Wealth hastily gotten will dwindle, but he who gathers little by little will increase it”. Other Old Testament references suggest that gambling represents covetousness or stealing, which is condemned (Exodus 20:15–17). The New Testament admonition to give up possessions and follow the Lord suggests that the quest for wealth through gambling is not appropriate. Tom Watson, in Don’t Bet on It, feels that a further commandment against gambling beyond the Ten Commandments would have been somewhat redundant. “If God didn’t get our attention with his laws about stealing and coveting, He probably felt any reference to gambling would be ignored as well” (Watson 1987, 63).
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