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Over 100 ministry leaders urge lawmakers to oppose expanded gambling in Ohio
More than 100 Christian ministry leaders across Ohio have signed a letter urging Gov. Mike DeWine and the state Legislature to reject a proposal to legalize online poker and virtual casino gambling. The letter calls the proposed expansion of gambling a threat to the state’s most vulnerable populations and a violation of biblical principles.
In the letter, organized by the Center for Christian Virtue, the pastors warn that the legislation would result in a “predatory gaming” system designed to extract wealth from low-income Ohioans and funnel profits to out-of-state corporations.
The letter criticizes the plan for using addictive games as a revenue model and argues that it would disproportionately harm the poor, young men and those already struggling with mental health challenges.
“Expanding access to 24/7 online gambling — especially through smartphones and computers — turns every living room into a casino and every struggling Ohioan into a potential target for financial exploitation,” the letter states.
The pastors cited data from the Ohio Casino Control Commission showing that gambling addiction carries one of the highest suicide rates among addictions.
The letter also draws attention to a Rutgers University study on legalized gambling in New Jersey, which found a sharp rise in online gambling among young men. According to the study, a third of young men were gambling online in 2023, four times more than in 2017, and 19% were classified as being at high risk for problem gambling.
The ministry leaders warn that expanded online gambling would worsen this trend in Ohio, especially among younger men who are already showing lower rates of workforce participation. They argue that the state should be helping these individuals build strong families and productive futures, not offering them a pipeline to addiction.
Drawing on scriptural references, the pastors called the proposed legislation “morally indefensible.” They quoted Psalm 140:12 and Isaiah 10:1 in condemning policies that would prey on the poor, and Proverbs 31:8–9 in calling on lawmakers to “defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
The letter argues that relying on gambling losses to fund state operations represents a betrayal of public duty.
From a pastoral perspective, the signatories said they have seen the direct consequences of gambling addiction: “broken marriages, lost homes, mental health crises, and children left behind.”
A 2023 national survey by Lifeway Research found that most Evangelical pastors across the U.S. share similar objections to legalized gambling.
Of the 1,004 Protestant pastors surveyed between Aug. 29 and Sept. 20 that year, only 13% supported legalizing sports betting nationwide, while 55% said they believe it is morally wrong.
Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, noted that many Americans are drawn to gambling as a shortcut to financial gain, especially through unpredictable sports outcomes. But he said most pastors viewed sports betting as fraught with moral hazards and damaging to the broader society.
The survey also revealed that Evangelical pastors (62%) are more likely than Mainline pastors (50%) to consider sports gambling morally wrong. Among denominational lines, Baptist (65%) and nondenominational (63%) pastors showed higher opposition rates than Lutheran (42%) and Presbyterian/Reformed (46%) pastors.
Regional and demographic differences also emerged, with pastors in the South and Midwest more likely to oppose gambling than those in the West, and younger and black pastors somewhat more open to legalization.
In a 2022 column for The Christian Post, Richard Land, former head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, wrote that gambling causes addiction, covetousness and family breakdown, while corrupting the role of government by turning it into a profiteer from vice.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018, many states have legalized various forms of gambling.
Ohio has previously approved casino operations and sports betting, but the proposal to legalize online poker and virtual casinos would represent a new and more expansive phase.
Sources:Christianpost
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ഇന്ത്യൻ ക്രിസ്റ്റ്യൻ ഡേ സമ്മേളനം സെപ്റ്റംബർ 19 വൈകിട്ട് 5 മണിക്ക് ഇർവിംഗ് സിറ്റിയിൽ
ഡാളസ് : ഇന്ത്യൻ ക്രിസ്റ്റ്യൻ ഡേ സമ്മേളനം ഇർവിംഗ് സിറ്റിയിൽ സെപ്റ്റംബർ19 ശനിയാഴ്വ വൈകുന്നേരം 5 മണിക്ക് ബെഥനി ഫുൾ ഗോസ്പൽ അസംബ്ളി ഹാളിലാണ് ആരംഭിയ്ക്കുന്നത്. സമ്മേളനത്തിൽ ഇർവിംഗ് മേയർ (A I Zapanta ), ഷെർവിൻ ഡേസ്സ് , ഡോ. സിസിൽ അനിയൻ തുടങ്ങിവരാണ് മുഖ്യ പ്രസംഗകർ. ഇവരെ കൂടാതെ ഇന്ത്യൻ പ്രവാസികളായ ക്രൈസ്തവ ജനതയെ പ്രതിനിഥീകരിച്ച് വിവിധ സഭാ മേലദ്ധ്യഷന്മാരും, പ്രതിനിധികളും, സംഘടനാ ലീഡേഴ്സും, പൊതു ജനത്തെ അതിസം ബോധന ചെയ്ത് സംസാരിക്കുന്നതാണ്.
ക്രൈസ്തവരായ ഇന്ത്യൻ ജനതയുടെ പൈതൃകം, സംസ്കാരം, സാഹോദരിയത്വം , ഐക്യത തുടങ്ങിയ മൂല്യങ്ങളെ ഉയർത്തി കാട്ടുന്നതിനും, ക്രിസ്തുവിൻ്റെ സ്നേഹം മറ്റുള്ളവരിലേക്ക് പകരപ്പെടേണമെന്നതാണ് ഈ സമ്മേളനം ലക്ഷ്യമാക്കുന്നത്. പാസ്റ്റർ മാതൃൂ ശാമുവേൽ, പാസ്റ്റർ ജോൺ യല്ലംമ്പള്ളി, പാസ്റ്റർ പോൾ ഗോരപ്പ തുടങ്ങിയവരാണ് ടെക്സസിലെ ഇന്ത്യൻ ക്രിസ്റ്റ്യൻ ഡേയുടെ മുഖ്യ സംഘാടകർ.
സമ്മേളന സ്ഥലം : Bethany Full Gospel Assembly, 2901 N MacArthur Blvd.Irving,.Tx.75062
വിശദ വിവരങ്ങൾക്ക് ബന്ധപ്പെടുക: 469 212 3216.
Sources:globalindiannews
us news
കോർക്ക് ഏബേനസർ ദൈവസഭയിൽ സെപ്റ്റംബർ 19 ശനിയാഴ്ച ഏകദിന യുവജന ക്യാമ്പ്
അയർലൻഡ്: ഏകദിന യുവജന ക്യാമ്പ്: കോർക്ക് ഏബേനസർ ദൈവസഭയുടെ ആഭിമുഖ്യത്തിൽ എറൈസ് & ഇഗ്നൈറ്റ്’ എന്ന വിഷയത്തെ ആസ്പതമാക്കി ഏകദിന യുവജന ക്യാമ്പ്, 2026 സെപ്റ്റംബർ 19 ശനിയാഴ്ച രാവിലെ 10:00 മുതൽ കോർക്കിലെ ഏബേനസർ ദൈവസഭ ഹാളിൽ വച്ചു നടത്തപ്പെടും.
പ്രശസ്ത ദൈവവചന പ്രാസംഗികനും ഗായകനുമായ പാസ്റ്റർ കാലെബ് ജീ ജോർജ് ക്യാമ്പിൽ മുഖ്യസന്ദേശം നൽകും. യുവാക്കളിൽ ആത്മീയ ഉണർവും ദൈവീക അനുഗ്രഹവും ലക്ഷ്യമിട്ട് ക്രമീകരിച്ചിരിക്കുന്ന ഈ ക്യാമ്പ്, ആത്മനിറവിനായുള്ള മികച്ചൊരു അവസരമായിരിക്കും
കൂടുതൽ വിവരങ്ങൾക്കും സൗജന്യ രജിസ്ട്രേഷനും പാസ്റ്റർ എം. എം. തോമസ്, പാസ്റ്റർ കെ. പി. ബിജുമോൻ എന്നിവരുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെടാവുന്നതാണ്
ഏവരുടെയും പ്രാർത്ഥനാപൂർവ്വമായ പങ്കാളിത്തം പ്രതീക്ഷിക്കുന്നതോടൊപ്പം, എല്ലാ യൗവനക്കാരെയും പരിപാടിയിലേക്ക് സ്വാഗതം ചെയ്യുന്നതായി ഭാരവാഹികൾ അറിയിച്ചു.
Sources:cchintha.in
us news
Theologian Uncovers Dangerous ‘Common Sense’ Hidden in Kids’ Movies Today
Very often, the truth is hiding in plain sight. That’s certainly the case with much of children’s entertainment.
The underlying message affixed to any number of movies geared toward kids seems to be some version of following one’s own heart, listening to his desires, chasing after her feelings. But that message, according to Trevin Wax, is a direct contradiction to the Gospel.
Wax, an author and visiting professor at Cedarville University, recently appeared on CBN’s “Faith in Culture,” were he eschewed such ideologies. While the world calls those ideas “common sense,” he said they are incongruous with Christianity.
“You think of these slogans that are out there, like, ‘Be true to yourself,’ ‘You do you,’ ‘Live your truth,’ ‘You are enough,’ ‘Follow your heart,’ ‘Chase your dreams,’” he said. “Sociologists call that ‘expressive individualism.’ … That’s the plot line in so many movies, even, like, good wholesome movies, in Disney movies. … It kind of passes for common sense in our day and age.”
The secular understanding of “freedom” is a far cry from true freedom as explained in Scripture, Wax said.
“It’s just so easy to define freedom in our day as a freedom from constraints, from limitations,” he explained. “[The world says] freedom is me doing whatever I want to do, when the Bible actually teaches that, ‘No, you doing just whatever you want to do, especially in our flesh, is a kind of slavery.’”
Throughout the New Testament, the Apostle Paul explains human beings will always be slaves to something — either to sin and our own desires or to a just and merciful God whose ways are higher and better than our own.
In Romans 6:16, Paul wrote, “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living” (NLT).
“True freedom is submission to God, and it’s freedom for something,” said Wax. “It’s not doing whatever we want; it’s aligning our wants with God’s will, recognizing that that’s when we’re truly freest.”
Wax is the author of the new book, “The Gospel Way Catechism for Kids,” a children’s edition of his book by the same title.
In it, he and his co-author, Thomas West, outline 50 faith-centered questions and answers for children to read, study, and talk about with their families. He explained that these catechisms should serve as conversation starters in the home.
“A catechism isn’t supposed to be everything,” he said. “It’s supposed to be something. It’s meant to give you the structure or the scaffolding that you can then come in later and begin to fill in.”
While the world teaches a “meditation” that empties the mind of everything, Wax emphasized a godly mindfulness that calls believers to fill their minds with the commands and promises of Scripture.
“We’ve got to distinguish the Christian understanding of prayer from just mindfulness routines or just Eastern meditation that leads us to sort of empty our minds,” he explained. “[B]iblical meditation … is a filling of the mind with Scripture and God’s Word.”
Sources:faithwire
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