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Christians should not use
playing cards |
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Over the years, items
such as playing cards have gained criticism from various Christians
and churches. Some call playing cards "the devil's
deck" or "the devil's
bible". These very evil and sinister sounding names
for cards come from people assigning dark and evil symbolism to
the various face card characters, suits and numbers of a
deck. This dark interpretation of the cards' meaning is
also tied to the similarity that a deck of playing cards has to
a deck of tarot cards, when in reality the similarities are very
few (i.e. both playing and tarot cards are...cards and both
playing and tarot cards have characters depicted on them.)
Some people can see evil in anything. One person can look
at a king of spades and see a king, another person may see an
evil, dark representation of the devil. Some say the origin of
playing cards is steeped in evil and dark, occult
purposes. In my research, I have found no genuine evidence
of such an origin.
In many circles, it is not the playing cards themselves that people criticize as much as it is what cards are used to do. Playing cards have always served three distinct purposes: games of skill, card tricks and gambling. So the question is, are cards themselves evil because some use them in a way that is not glorifying to God, such as gambling? Well, are baseball bats evil because someone may use a bat to beat somebody up, or a gun evil because it is used to shoot an innocent person? The answer to all these is no, just because someone uses an object in the commission of a sin, does not make the object itself evil. 'What about card tricks?', you may ask, 'Many magicians use cards tricks and the Bible speaks out against magic.' Yes, magic is spoken against in Scripture, but card tricks are not magic. Some may mistakenly call card tricks magic when they are in fact more of an illusion or skilled sleight of hand. Magic, as it is spoken of in the Bible, could be defined as, "Magic(k) or sorcery are terms referring to the alleged influencing of events and physical phenomena by supernatural, mystical, or paranormal means. (source: wikipedia.com)". Real magic is a summoning forth of demonic and evil power. The term magic when referring to 'stage magic' or card tricks is NOT the type of 'magic' spoken against in Scripture. I, as a pastor, use card tricks and other illusions to interact with people of all ages. Many of these illusions and card tricks are used to illustrate aspects of the Gospel. Some would say, "a Pastor using cards!!!" But this is said because of legalistic traditions some people hold to, not because of some infraction of the Scriptures. I, and all Christians that do card tricks and illusions, should always be very quick to correct anyone that says what we do is magic. Personally, I explain that the trick or illusion I am doing is not magic, it is just a skill I have practiced and anybody could do it. Cards are an exciting and well recognized tool that can be used evangelistically to build a quick relationship with someone and illustrate a Gospel truth. The last word on this subject is this, many legalistic teachings come from a genuine desire for people not to sin. Cards are many times associated with gambling and many aspects of gambling are contrary to the Bible's teachings on financial stewardship, loving your neighbor, etc. So some impose a legalistic rule to restrict the use of cards in hopes that gambling will end as well. The only problem is that a person who loves to gamble may outwardly conform to the legalistic 'no-cards' rule, but will still seek and find countless numbers of ways to gamble. Again, legalistic laws only control outward behavior, they don't change a persons heart or their motivation. The love and GRACE of Christ change what legalistic laws can't. Do cards offend you? Then don't use them. That's fine. But, don't weave a legalistic spider web of rules and regulations that will declare everyone must live by your man-made rule. q
Let me illustrate how a simple card trick may appear to be 'magic', but in reality there is a simple illusion used to trick you into thinking I can read your mind. Again, there is no 'magic' to card tricks, just a illusion or 'sleight of hand'. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE CARD TRICK
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