Can Christians Play Cards? Why is playing cards a sin? What do the suits mean? Why you can't play cards often 7
Olga asks: “What is the law of gambling? If we, for example, play cards in a cafe (not for money), this could lead to a fine, etc.? "
Ksenia Panchenko,
independent lawyer:
According to the Federal Law of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2006 No. 244-FZ "On State Regulation of Activities for the Organization and Conduct of Gambling and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation", gambling is a risk-based winning agreement concluded by two or more the parties to such an agreement between themselves or with the organizer of the gambling game. Also, this law describes in detail and gives definitions to such concepts as "bet", "win", "organizer of a gambling game", "participants in a gambling game", etc. Further, the same law states that the activities of the organization and the conduct of gambling can be carried out exclusively in gambling establishments that meet the requirements provided for by this Federal Law, the requirements for the establishment and visitors, about slot machines, roulette, etc., are described. There is no administrative code. But there is Art. 14.1 of the Administrative Code (Code of Administrative Offenses), as well as Art. 171 of the Criminal Code - "Responsibility for entrepreneurial activity without a license."
With a big stretch, it is possible to apply Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - "Fraud". Therefore, if you play cards, checkers or chess and any other games without wagering, not for money, you do not have a bet organizer and everything described above, this will not be considered gambling. And no guardian of the law can forbid you to do this even in a public place.
Again, I will make a reservation - he can come up, he can take everything, he can even take you to the police station and generally pull your nerves, but another point - all these his actions will not be based on the law, and subsequently you can defend your rights in court.
To get an answer to your question on the pages of the newspaper "Chitay! Gorod" or on the site, leave it in the comments under this news.
Remember Zhukovsky's Svetlana?
Once in Epiphany evening
The girls were guessing…
And also in Pushkin's Onegin:
It's Christmas time. That's what joy!
Windy youth guesses
Who regrets nothing
Before which life is far
Lies light, boundless;
Guesses old age through glasses
At his grave board,
All lost is irreversible;
And all the same: hope for them
She lies with her childish babble.
Maybe unconsciously, but Alexander Sergeevich caught the main thing - the deceitful childishness of fortune-telling. And the image of old age, having lost everything, but still guessing at its grave board, resembles a lost player at the roulette wheel, who puts the last gold on "zero", and, of course, loses.
Why is it impossible to guess? The question is childish and funny for a believer, but, alas, relevant for a half-believer or even an unbeliever. Here's why. Many probably remember the story of M.A. Bulgakov's "Heart of a Dog" and the wonderful phrase of Professor Preobrazhensky: "Here, doctor, what happens when a researcher, instead of walking in parallel and groping with nature, forces the question and lifts the veil: here, get Sharikov and eat him with porridge." The same in the life of every person, when, instead of walking parallel and groping with the Providence of God (or for those who do not understand this language, with his own destiny), he lifts the veil over the future: then he gets his dog-man, his Anubis in the form of their warped, disfigured fate - fulfilled fears and realized phantoms, or on the contrary - fragments of their unfulfilled hopes.
And for a believer, everything is clear. worthy of the eighth circle of Dante's Hell - the separation of "rapists over the Divine" (although, of course, the Divine is not subject to any violence and pressure). These are people who want to snatch from God His secrets, to steal from Him some secret knowledge. They repeat again the sin of Adam and Eve and heed the insidious whisper of the serpent: "And you will be like gods, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3: 5). But, naturally, God does not reveal anything to them, despite all their attempts. After all, "the wicked will not see the glory of God." And even more so, Divine knowledge. Then the question is - from whom do the fortunetellers have knowledge, if not from God? The answer is clear: from the monkey of God, that is, from the devil. Fortune-tellers listen to the seducing spirits, the spirits of celestial malice, ultimately to their master, the Father of lies, or, more simply, to the Chief Scammer, whose entire pleasure is to deceive, destroy, kill. It is no coincidence that many Church Fathers interpreted a well-known passage in the Bible (Genesis 6: 1) about the union of the “sons of God” with the “daughters of men” in the context of the spiritual connection of women fortune-tellers and demons who taught them fortune-telling and witchcraft. And the harsh but justified Old Testament norm becomes understandable: “Do not leave the sorcerers alive” (Ex.22: 18). Because their profession is lying and communicating with demons. And the fate of the one who runs the risk of turning to them is understandable - to become a demonic toy, an obedient ball in the hands of the Chief Thimbler and perish. The fate of the Israeli king Saul, who turned to the Endor fortune teller, is indicative: under the guise of Samuel, she summoned a demon who, apparently, correctly predicted the fate of Saul and his troops, but thereby demoralized them, morally disarmed and did everything to make his sinister come true and a destructive prophecy.
And not only in essence, but also in the form of fortune-telling, they carry anti-Christian meanings. Take, for example, cards as a divination tool. They are not so harmless in appearance. Of all the three hypotheses of the origin of cards (Chinese, Egyptian and European), the most convincing is the European-occult, according to which cards appeared in Europe in the second half of the XIV century and are associated with the Jewish Kabbalistic environment. In this case, everything falls into place. It is no coincidence that the color “baptism” is also called the word “clubs,” while in the Jewish tradition, food of clubs is called unclean food. Accordingly, the suit "baptize", blasphemously symbolizing the Cross of the Lord, is denoted by a word that testifies to the Jewish abhorrence of the Cross. The peaks symbolize the Spear of Longinus, which pierced the rib of Christ (John 19:34), which is also hinted at by the very name of the “peak,” that is, the spear. “Worms” means the Gospel sponge on a reed: “one of the soldiers took a sponge, filled it with vinegar and, putting it on the reed, gave Him to drink” (Matthew 27:48). Another interpretation is also associated with the Passion - this is the pierced heart of Christ. Finally, the "tambourines" symbolize the nails with which Christ was crucified. It would seem, what do diamond-shaped "tambourines" have in common with nails? The answer is clear for those who have seen the heads of old pre-revolutionary nails: they are square, not round like modern ones. Medieval nails were like that. The Jewish trace is also present in the name "trump", which is a distorted word "kosher", which means "pure", ritually acceptable food for the Jews.
Let's turn to the names of the cards. The most significant card is the joker (literally "jester"). But in the Italian version he is called "the devil" and initially on his staff he carried ... a human head. The word "tuz" is of Polish origin, from Low German "devil". It is significant that on the ace card in the 16th century. they often drew ... a pig - an animal, to put it mildly, not kosher from a Jewish point of view. It is possible that the "lady" is a blasphemous image of the Madonna, the fact remains that biblical heroines - Rachel, Judith and so on - were often painted as ladies. Finally, David and Solomon were often depicted among the "kings". In contrast, among the "jacks" (the word "jack" literally means "servant, servant") was depicted the knight La Gere, nicknamed "Satan".
It is no coincidence that the cards soon began to be subject to prohibitions and persecution due to their obvious connection with blasphemy and evil spirits. The occultists themselves recognize as an occult character the so-called. tarot cards, or Egyptian cards, and the connection of ordinary cards with them. Here are just some eloquent quotes from occult sites:
“The history of the origin of playing cards is often considered in conjunction with the history of the Tarot (or Tarot) deck.
Tarot is a deck of 78 cards with various designs on them. The deck is divided into 2 parts, b O The largest of which consists of 56 cards, called minor cards, and the other part - of 22 cards, called major (or senior) cards, as well as - the Arcana.
The 56 small cards are divided into four suits, each of which consists of 14 cards, very similar to modern playing cards.
Four suits - Sceptres (sticks, wands), Swords, Cups and Pentacles (Coins, Dinarii). Tarologists usually give the following correspondence of these suits to the suits of playing cards. Sceptres - crosses, Swords - spades, Cups - worms, Coins - tambourines.
Each suit consists of ten cards from one (Ace) to ten, as well as four role-playing cards - King, Queen, Knight and Page.
Arcana consists of 21 numbered cards and usually go in this order: 1 - Magician, 2 - Popess (Priestess), 3 - Empress, 4 - Emperor, 5 - Pope (Priest), 6 - Lovers, 7 - Chariot, 8 - Justice , 9 - Hermit, 10 - Wheel of Fortune, 11 - Strength, 12 - Hanged Man, 13 - Death, 14 - Temperance, 15 - Devil, 16 - Tower (Lightning), 17 - Star, 18 - Moon, 19 - Sun, 20 - Court, 21 - Peace. The unnumbered card is called the Fool (Fool).
“The suits of playing cards, as well as role-playing cards, can be found in the theories of GI Gurdjieff. It is noteworthy that the most mysterious researcher of the East (mainly of Sufi traditions, the religious and mystical trend of Islam), who brought many secrets of Eastern wisdom to the West, uses playing cards to describe his system, which he called “Model of Destiny”. According to G.I. Gurdjieff, a person consists of three Centers. This is the Intellectual center (mind, intellect, thinking) - it corresponds to the tambourine suit, the Emotional center (emotions, mood, heart) - it corresponds to the suit of worms, the Physical center (body) - it corresponds to the suit of spades (body movement) and the suit of clubs (instincts , body reflexes).
Compared to tarot cards, modern playing cards are a smaller tarot deck, from which the Page or Knight is removed, as a result of which 13 cards remain in each suit. Even in such a truncated form, the cards are of great symbolic importance, since the accepted division corresponds to the number of seasons. The two colors - red and black - represent the two main seasons of the year, when the sun is north of the equator and when it is south of the equator. The four suits represent the four seasons. Twelve role-playing cards (kings, queens and jacks in each of the four suits) represent the signs of the zodiac, built in triads. "
I think it's enough for the reader to understand that playing cards are inextricably linked with all devilry.
Of the Russian legislative monuments about cards, he first mentions the Code of 1649, which prescribes to act with the players at cards "as it is written about the tats" (thieves), i.e. beat mercilessly, cut off fingers and hands. By the decree of 1696, it was introduced to search all those suspected of wanting to play cards, "and from whom the cards are taken out, beat with a whip." In 1717, playing cards is prohibited under the threat of a fine. In 1733, a prison or batogi was assigned for repeat offenders. Unfortunately, under Catherine ΙΙ cards practically took root in Russia. With corresponding consequences - countless meanness of landowners in relation to serfs (losses in cards of living people and entire families), ruin and suicide.
Therefore, dear readers, if you are asked to tell fortunes at cards, stop and think: with whom you are - with Christ or with Satan.
Chatto V... Origin and history of playing cards. London, 1848.
J. V... Thiers... Traité des jeux. Paris, 1686.
Senger... Researches into the history of playing cards. London, 1848.
Lehrs. A, 1885.... Die ältesten deutschen Spielkarten des Königlichen Kupferstichkabinetts zu Dresden. Leipzig
We play cards everywhere. But few people know what destructive power they have for the human soul. For Christians, they pose a particular danger.
The cards were invented in 1392 for the king of France Charles 6, who was a mad man. The deck of cards was called the "devil's bible." In the 17th century it was called "the book of the devil". Indeed, each card in the deck has its own. As knowledgeable people say, cards have a secret language.
At first, the authorities were tolerant of practicing cards, but then they began to persecute them, since they saw the interference of evil spirits here. From the legislative monuments about cards, he first mentions the Code of 1649, which prescribes with the card players "as it is written about tats" (thieves), i.e. beat mercilessly, cut off fingers and hands.
Decree of 1696. it was introduced to search all those suspected of wanting to play cards "and from whom the cards are taken out, beat with a whip." In 1717. it is forbidden to play cards under the threat of a monetary fine. In 1733. for repeat offenders, a prison, or batogs, is defined.
So what do the suits and meanings of the cards mean?
The structure of a card deck is known to everyone: ace, king, queen, jack, even lower tens, nines, and so on up to sixes or up to twos in a full deck - a typical hierarchical ladder from the highest to the lowest.
The Joker is a frivolous figure in tights, a buffoon's cap, bells.
In pre-revolutionary stage performances, a similar character was called Fradyavolo. "Joker" is above all, it has no suit and is considered the strongest in the game.
Ace is a word of Polish origin from the German Daus. The German-Russian dictionary indicates the meaning of the word: Daus - devil.
The cards are so saturated with negativity which in the beginning was laid by the servants of Satan, which today only fortune-tellers read the cards. They do not use chess, dominoes, bingo or other games of fortune telling, but they do use cards. since bad energy is contained in the cards.
Cards with their destructive power are used in casinos and other evil establishments, destroying entire families.
As for the occult principles, their essence is as follows:
1. "Cross" (Trefa) - a card with the image of the cross on which Jesus was crucified and which is worshiped by half of the world. Translated from Yiddish, "trefa" means "bad" or "evil"
2. "Blame" (lances) - symbolizes the gospel lance, that is, the spear of the holy martyr Longinus the Centurion, with which he pierced the stomach of Jesus
3. "Worms" - means the Gospel sponge on a reed: “one of the soldiers took a sponge, filled it with vinegar and, putting it on the reed, gave Him to drink”
4. "Tambourines" - a graphic image of the Gospel forged four-sided serrated nails with which the hands and feet of Jesus were nailed to the wooden Cross.
So, a Christian who plays or keeps cards (and also uses the services of fortune-tellers) becomes an enemy of God.
Moreover, it can be a seemingly harmless "throw-in fool" or more serious games, the rules of which imply a delicate calculation and hope for a serious win.
But are card games so dangerous, why can't you play cards, as many believe?
Church is againstIn the view of the church, the suit of cards is an exact repetition of the attributes used during the execution of Christ.
"Spades" exactly repeat the shape of the weapon, which inflicted wounds on the body of the Savior. "Worms" in their shape are similar to a sponge dipped in vinegar, which was given to Christ, suffering from thirst, by his tormentors instead of water. The "tambourines" repeat the shape of the square nails with which it was nailed to the cross. And "Kresty" themselves do not require any comment. That is, playing cards, willingly or unwillingly, but a person himself takes the symbolic instruments of torture of Christ and transfers them from hand to hand to his partners, plunging both himself and them into sin. This is how the church explains why the Orthodox cannot play cards. By the way, in fairness, it is worth noting that the faithful preachers of Islam also do not encourage such hobbies.
Do not traumatize the child's psyche!Not news today - children playing cards. The baby's soul is pure and open to the world. The child is not always able to figure out on his own what is good and what is bad. Card games are one of those temptations that can slowly but surely erode a child's psyche. Surprisingly, many parents do not see anything wrong with the fact that children play "the fool": what is it, a harmless game! Alas, everything is not as easy as we would like to imagine. At first it is the desire to win and taste the sweet 
feeling of victory - it would seem, what's wrong with that ?! Nothing, but not all means are good to achieve the goal. It is also worth considering that children, imitating adults, do not play "just like that": their favorite toys, sweets, and small money are put on the game line. And if she turned away, resentment and excitement wake up: the child is extremely painfully experiencing a loss and is ready to do everything not only to return “his own”, but also to teach a more successful rival a lesson. It is in childhood that a painful addiction is laid, which in psychiatry is called "gambling addiction". Parents should understand that card games are gambling; that's why children shouldn't play cards.
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Surely there are quite a few people who like to play cards just for fun, when there is nothing to do. Moreover, many Christians do this without even thinking about whether it is possible for the Orthodox to play cards? At first glance, this is a harmless game that does not have any negative consequences. But in reality, this is far from the case. And in the Orthodox religion, there are certain prohibitions on card games, even if you are not playing for profit. Moreover, it is considered a great sin, which should be taken into account in.
First of all, why it is impossible for the Orthodox to play cards, it is believed that the card game is a passion, which in turn generates an inevitable dependence, the acquired image of sinfulness. In no case should Orthodox people be attracted to cards and play various games in them. Since the demon pursues only one goal - to tempt all those who are closer to God.
Having played one game and at the same time losing, a person will want to play more and more until he wins. Even being already addicted, everyone can say that they can stop at any time. But actually it is not.
In addition to gambling, the ban on pastime in card games has a different interpretation, which carries a deeper meaning than gambling. It's all about the depiction of the colors themselves, which imply the image of the Cross of Christ along with other revered objects among Christians. These are items such as a spear, a sponge, and nails. After all, it was they who became the instrument of execution, which brought incredible suffering to Jesus Christ.
The value of the suits in Orthodoxy
As mentioned above, all four card suits carry a certain secret meaning:
- To baptize means the cross on which Christ was crucified.
- The lances are the lances with which his ribs were pierced.
- Tambourines mean nails.
- The worms symbolize a sponge filled with vinegar, which the torturers specifically gave to Christ instead of water.
For example, a player takes a card with the image of the Cross of Christ, which is worshiped by half of the world and throws it at the same time, exclaiming "clubs". Few people think about the fact that translated from the Hebrew language it means evil, nasty. In the Bible, however, this word is interpreted as meat torn to pieces in the field, which cannot be eaten. It should be noted that each of the suits is mentioned in the holy scriptures and the Bible.
The unrepentant robber, who was crucified along with Christ like a gambler, blasphemes the sufferings of God's Son, without forever went to hell. The robber set an example for everyone and repented on the cross, thanks to which he inherited eternal life with God. Cards are demonic revelations, so in no case should they be kept in the house and played or read on them.
Other games in Orthodoxy
There are several more common games, the permission to play which interests many believers. For example, a certain part of Christians do not know if Orthodox Christians can play the lottery.
There are cases when lottery winnings very often go not to the player for his own gain, but to charity. Despite this, many clergy are convinced that the lottery is also a game of chance. Therefore, playing it is also a sin.
As one priest said: "You shouldn't gamble, even if you really need money - as God pleases, it will happen in life."
Is it possible for Orthodox Christians to play computer games
Despite the fact that today there are a fairly large number of different computer games, with different goals and objectives, they are considered gambling and do not bring any benefit to humans. Therefore, playing such games according to the Orthodox religion is also a sin. Moreover, such games pose a rather serious threat not only to psychological illnesses, but sometimes even death.
The Lord is always with you!
