Well?

[TK]

Church Rejects Donation from Lottery Winner

comments?

TK
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"Were not our hearts burning within us? (Lk 24:32)

[Steve]

The pastor acted upon principle. I admire him for that! The law instructs the priests of Israel not to accept money from the wages of a prostitute (Deut.23:18), meaning the church should probably not receive ill-gotten gains. I don't necessarily see playing the lottery as the moral equivalent of prostitution, though this church (and others) might see it that way. Though I do not like the lottery, I would not turn down the donation. Assuming the church thinks they are doing God's work, what better thing do they think the guy can do with his winnings? Burn them?
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In Jesus,
Steve

[TK]

i had the exact same thought, steve.

with the stats showing that the vast majority of lottery winners blow the money within a very short time, at least the money could have been invested for the good of the Kingdom.

I DO admire the church for sticking to principle. unfortunately (or fortunately) now some other church will likely reap the benefit right under their noses.

TK
_________________
"Were not our hearts burning within us? (Lk 24:32)

[kaufmannphillips]

An anecdote here from the Talmud Bavli:

[Rabbi Aqiba] said to [Rabbi Eliezer]: Perhaps some matter pertaining to Minut [= Christians] has come into your domain and given you some sort of satisfaction, and on that account you were arrested [on the charge of being a Christian]?”

[Rabbi Eliezer] said to him: Aqiba, you remind me! Once I was going in the upper market of Sepphoris, and I found a certain person, named Jacob of Kefar Sakhnayya, who said to me, ‘It is written in your Torah, “You shall not bring the hire of a harlot...into the house of the Lord your God” [Deut. 23:19]. What is the law as to building with such funds a privy for the high priest?” Now I did not say a thing to him.

So he said to me, “This is what I have been taught, ‘“For the hire of a harlot has she gathered them, and to the hire of a harlot they shall return” [Prov. 5: 8]. They have come from a filthy place and to a filthy place they may return.’ And that statement gave me a good bit of pleasure, and on that account I was arrested on the charge of being a Christian....

[Michelle]

Emmet! Where have you been? How coincidental, I was just speaking about you yesterday.

[kaufmannphillips]

Hi, Michelle,

I have been very busy. I began an MA program last fall in Jewish studies, and have been teaching local studies in Greek and backgrounds to the bible. Besides work.

A lot of times, prepping a worthy post here takes more time than I can afford . But maybe I can be more active again after the program is done later next year.

Shalom,
Emmet

[Michelle]