The Christian Concern with Addiction

Britons gambled £53 billion in 2005. That figure represents a 7-fold increase in 5 years, and equates to more than £800 for every man, woman and child in the country. Thanks to the Football World Cup, the 2006 equivalent figure will certainly be higher. The turnover of Ladbrokes and William Hill rose by, respectively, 110% and 219% between 2002 and 2005. The nature, scale and regulation of gambling in the UK are changing rapidly. The most recent data on gambling prevalence are already 7-8 years old, and widely thought to be significantly out of date. Gambling participation and expenditure in Scotland tend to be higher than the national average.

The Roots of Christian concern.
Over time, Christian concerns about gambling have reflected two perspectives. Firstly, they have arisen from a theology about money and its uses and the proper stewardship of our possessions. Secondly, they have been associated with direct pastoral concerns: the problem of addiction for both addicts and their dependents; the effect on the poor; and the distortion of the values on which our society is based. Each of these perspectives is relevant to our current overview.

The theological perspective
This perspective is principally informed by a theology of money and its uses and an understanding of the nature of possessions and stewardship.

With something approaching unanimity, Scripture teaches that ownership is not absolute. We may not do anything we wish with our property, for we have been given stewardship, rather
than unconditional rights, over our belongings, our wealth, and our resources. We are accountable to God for the way we use the goods that God has entrusted to us, and God wills that they be shared and used for building up community. In a sense, this means that we hold things in common, and should not use possessions selfishly. We share for the sake of fellowship, and as a way of establishing fellowship. There is a strong thrust in the Bible and in the Christian tradition towards greater economic equality, the encouragement of fellowship through generosity and an emphasis in favour of the poor, vulnerable and marginalised.

Money is to enable market transactions, to encourage production and exchange. It is a tool, an instrument, but it does not in itself sustain life or community. Yet it easily becomes a kind of idol. The Bible in both testaments commends lending of money and of goods, as a way of helping those in need, or the relatively disadvantaged. Jesus picks up the theme of lending and radicalizes it. Lend, he says, expecting nothing in return (Luke 6.34-35). In other words, we should do daring things with our resources, but only in order to love and help our neighbours and the strangers among us, rather than for our own amusement or enrichment. This was an extension of the Old Testament ban on usury, or the taking of interest on loans. There was a strong injunction not to take interest from one’s kin or from fellow Israelites; but Jews were allowed to lend at interest to foreigners.

None the less, it is clear that lending at interest, commonly called usury, went on in the time of Jesus. Otherwise the Lord’s injunction to lend expecting nothing in return would have been pointless. In the parable of the talents, the unfaithful servant was expected by his master when he returned to have earned interest on the money with which he had been entrusted (Matthew 25.27 and Luke 19.23). Usury clearly went on, but it was generally disapproved of as exploitation of the poor, and a mean-spirited action. Of course this was all in the context of very simple economies. Yet even here, debt was of such importance that Christians all down the ages have prayed “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.The Fathers of the Church and the medieval theologians developed the opposition to usury. Usury, it was argued, is unnatural, for it is letting money “breed”, and be used in ways which are unnatural and improper. During the Reformation period, the ban on usury was quietly relaxed, particularly in Calvinist countries. According to Max Weber, R.H. Tawney and many others, this provided the context in which modern capitalism could emerge. However, there remained a strong emphasis on the virtue of frugality and a horror at luxury. Those who profited from the new markets were expected to be generous in giving to those in need, recognising that riches were given by God for the common good and not for the prodigality and selfishness or for the amusement of the few. Devout Calvinists were commonly at the forefront of efforts to develop a responsible capitalism and an accountable market.


Credits
The Photograph of the dice was taken by Marcandelariviere.


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