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The following passage is taken from the Introduction of Pastor Stephen Hammond’s booklet:
“My intention for writing this booklet is to expose the sinfulness and idolatry that is synonymous with the National Lottery. To give a Christian perspective on the theological issues that are confronting the Church in this respect.
I have attempted to make the booklet as easy to understand, yet as comprehensive as possible. I believe most Christians already know it is wrong to gamble and likewise, know it is wrong to participate in the National Lottery. However, they may not know where to find the relevant Scriptures that say so. To these and those Christians that participate in it, this booklet has been especially written for you.
For Churches and Christian ministries, in Chapter Four I have covered the major Scriptural concerns that morally face us all with the issue of whether it is right or not to apply to the National Lottery for grant funding.
The history of this booklet began in 1995. When as a house group leader, I was asked the question of whether I thought participation in the National Lottery was a sin. This led me to produce a 1,100 worded response, covering trust in God, that He alone is our provider and the importance of our testimony.
Three years later, within ten minutes of my sermon at our very first church service of Praise Revival Christian Church Of God (on 14 June 1998), one of my members openly challenged me by asking, “Where in the Bible does it say that you are not allowed to participate in the National Lottery?” Because I knew that it was likely some of our group had participated in the National Lottery, I chose to respond to the question there and then. Having not prepared for this, I was relying heavily on the Holy Spirit to remind me what I had previously written three years before, to help me to deal with the Scriptural issues involved. This, with God’s help, was satisfactorily achieved.
Then in 1999, as a member of the board of a Christian business co-operative, we were discussing appropriate funding for our education charity. The issue came up on whether it was right to knowingly receive grant funding from another Christian education charity that we believed was partly grant assisted by the National Lottery Charities Board. This gave rise to a highly charged and intense discussion on the theological and moral issues involved. (Some of the theological arguments presented in Chapter Four directly came from this meeting.)
In January of this year (2000) it became undeniably clear to me that there still lacked an appropriate Christian theological response to the National Lottery. At God’s leading and by His grace, I therefore undertook the assignment to write and publish this booklet.
My earnest prayer and desire are that this booklet will not be treated as just ‘another useful contribution to the debate.’ But as a platform document on which the Body of Christ can come together and agree on as one (Psalm 133). To build a strategy and launch a full scale attack on this spirit of idolatry, that is currently choking our nation. To bind it and finally cast it out of our great land. That’s revival!”
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