For centuries, playing cards has been considered something bad, a sin. Many religious people call it evil and try to avoid cards at all costs. But we believe there is no place for superstitions in the modern world. We think that it’s time to understand if playing cards is actually evil or not.
So, we asked people who are experts in religions. Also, we asked this question other people from different spheres of expertise. And now we are ready to make some claims.
In this article, we’ll view playing cards from different angles of religion and everyday life and will try to figure out if it’s evil or not. It’s going to be fun for everyone who wants and loves to play cards!
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Is playing cards a sin from the point of view of the Christian religion?
- What’s good about playing cards?
- What’s bad about playing cards?
- Why shouldn’t you be afraid of any type of cards?
Let’s get started!
What does religion say about playing cards?
Although there is no one correct answer to this question, most experts and priests that we’ve talked to were pretty sure that there is no sin in playing cards and that the cards have no evil in themselves. They are just papers with some pictures and it’s only about what you are doing with them that can make cards evil.
Also, most experts in different religions say that playing cards is not a sin and it’s not evil because there is almost nothing that holy books say about this. But still, they say that gambling, tricking people out of money, and getting hung up on cards can be considered a sin.
We were surprised that people who aren’t religious and don’t know much about religious rules often believe playing cards is a sin and cards are evil. We asked dozens of ordinary people and almost all of them said cards were evil. So, we think that society still sees cards as evil although religion experts say cards are just papers with pictures. Strange things are happening here.
But in some religions, playing cards is still considered a sin and is forbidden. Islam, for example, forbids gambling in all forms, so you will not see an Islamic person playing cards. At least, if this person is really religious and doesn’t want to be considered sinful.
Bible doesn’t say much about cards or gambling overall. So, priests in Christian traditions are OK with playing cards until it doesn’t hurt anyone.
Can playing cards be good?
Now, that we know that playing cards is not prohibited in most of the world’s religions, we want to know if there is anything good in playing cards. Why so many people are addicted to card games and some of them even play every day?
We’ve found several factors that can be considered advantages of playing card games:
- this may work as a great way to entertain yourself with little equipment and in any circumstances – you just need a card deck and a partner for this;
- playing cards is a great way to spend some time with friends and have fun, it also helps people communicate freely and positively;
- sometimes, playing cards may develop some skills like attention, counting, logic, strategic thinking, creativity, etc.;
- playing cards can obviously bring joy because most card games are highly entertaining and even addictive;
- playing cards is probably the easiest way to feel that you are the winner – anyone can win and get this positive emotion.
So, a lot of great advantages are there to playing card games. And it may make you buy a deck of cards. But be careful and read the article to the end before you do so. Unfortunately, cards, just like any other thing in the world, will have some disadvantages. And for some of us, these disadvantages will be highly unexpected and very important.
Let’s look at a different side of playing cards and discuss some topics that may worry you since you are still on this page.
What are the problems with playing card games?
So, you may know that a lot of people believe playing cards is a sin. And a lot of them find this action disgusting and filthy in many ways. But why? It’s just people throwing colored papers with pictures on the table and having fun!
Things are seen differently when it comes to some really bad sides of playing card games. Let’s list these negative sides and you will see why cards are seen as evil by some people.
1. Gambling
Although gambling is also not seen as evil and a sin in Christianity, it’s obviously not the best thing in the world. Gambling makes us take wrong decisions, lose our money, and lose control over our lives sometimes. For some people, gambling is just a way to have fun but for others, it’s the thing that ruined their lives.
Be careful with playing card games for money – this can lead to consequences that you aren’t ready to take.
2. Strong involvement
Sometimes, when playing cards, we can get so involved that we lose the sense of time and don’t notice anything around us. It’s bad for our safety and even for our mental health. It only means that you should be careful when playing. Don’t involve too much and always have the power to stop. If you don’t control yourself much when you are playing cars, better don’t even start.
Strong involvement can be bad for your life. You can sit with friends and play cards for hours instead of doing something you have to do like working, dealing with homework, spending time with your family, etc.
3. Madness and mental health issues
When people lose, they tend to get mad. Playing cards means losing sometimes because you just can’t win all the time. When people can lose and take it easy, it’s OK. But if you have this very common problem of getting mad when you lose, card games can lead to mental health issues.
If a person who can’t take losses plays cards and keeps losing 20 times an hour, this person is likely to have some issues after just some hours. You may easily develop mental health problems and will need professional help to avoid the deterioration of these problems.
4. Card games can develop bad habits
When we are playing cards and are involved, we tend to find something to take our attention from cards. Subconsciously, you may want to hold something else in your hands or take 5-minute breaks for something. This is how a lot of eager card players started smoking or drinking alcohol when they were playing cards.
This may sound ridiculous but you should just check out how people play cards. This makes sense when you just watch their emotional condition and readiness to do whatever is needed to have a break.
5. Cards can be very time-consuming
Even if you just play for fun with your friends, cards can take a lot of your time. Also, cards disturb you from other important things in life if you get involved. You should be careful if you decide to play cards regularly with your friends because all your free time together will turn to compete with each other and playing cards which may change the nature of your relationship.
6. It’s bad for your friendship
We usually start playing cards with our friends. They seem to make a great reason to come together and have fun. But instead of having a beer and laughing when telling some funny stories, you start competing with your friends and trying to defeat them.
This will lead to another problem – you will either lose your friends or spoil your relationship with them. Someone plays cards better than others and this person will often win. After some time, this will start annoying other people in the company and this may grow into a conflict.
Should you be afraid of cards?
Not at all! Cards are just like cartons or papers with pictures on them. Whatever kind of cards you take, this is it – they are just papers. People can make them good or bad by making different actions. If you play cards for hours without breaks, play for money, try to cheat to win more, or lose your friends because of severe involvement, then you should change your attitude toward cards.
If you sometimes play cards for fun and this only improves your relationship with friends or family, then it’s a great instrument to make your free time more diverse and interesting.
That’s how you should take cards. It’s not exactly cards that are good or bad. It’s all about people who take them in their hands and start doing things.
