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John McCain has never been a darling of the Republican party. Despite his many Republican positions on free trade, low taxes, and aggressive foreign policy, McCain has never quite been accepted as “one of the guys.” One reason for this is his seemingly secular stance on some of the issues Christian Republicans hold dear.
This is becoming an issue once again now that McCain’s ties to the gambling industry are coming out of the woodwork. A Calgary Herald piece notes how McCain “faced alienating the influential Christian wing of the Republican party” once it became clear that he was a lifelong gambler with friends in the gambling business.
Now, whether this is true or not will be decided by the polls and - ultimately - the outcome of the election. There is no doubt that some Christian conservatives will be put off enough by this to not vote for McCain. But should they? Is it really true that someone who responsibly enjoys gambling as a recreational activity is immoral, unethical, or untrustworthy?
It’s important to analyze this issue, because I suspect a great many Christian gamblers have faced this dilemma at one time or another. They strive to be good, decent people who live in accordance with their chosen religion, yet are looked down upon for participating in the occasional poker or craps game.
This is a mistake. The problem with condemning all gambling is the same problem underlying many religious doctrines: the uncritical acceptance of dogma. It is taken on faith that any gambling, under any circumstance, of any amount or kind of money is intrinsically bad. But is this really true? If we use our minds and powers of observation and reasoning (instead of pre-empting them by obeying strict interpretations of ancient religious teachings), something becomes clear.
Not all gambling is the same! Most people would agree that gambling away one’s grocery or rent money is far worse than a successful person gambling totally disposable income that is not being relied upon. There is also a difference between gambling as a fun, responsible hobby and gambling as an all-consuming and financially/emotionally draining addiction. A religiously-motivated condemnation of all gambling completely ignores these distinctions, painting large groups of people with too broad a brush to really understand anything meaningful about them.
Now, taking all of this into account, ask yourself: wouldn’t it be a shame - in fact, a total embarassment and lapse of reason - to let something so trivial as whether someone gambles decide whether he becomes President of the United States? When it comes to the most important job in the country (indeed, the entire world), it should be clear that a more meaningful criterion must be used in selecting the office holder. Christian voters would do well to consider that.