Albert Einstein once said "God does not play dice", expressing his discomfort with the apparent randomness in nature. However, according to John van Sloten, Pastor at the New Hope Christian Reformed Church in Calgary, while God may not play dice he does like an occasional healthy game of Poker, more specifically Texas Holdem.
According to a recent article in the Calgary Sun, John van Sloten, a pastor at the New Hope Christian Reformed Church in Calgary, will be preaching about the positives of poker in his sermon this Sunday. The sermon will be attended by around 300 faithful and hundreds more via an Internet podcast.
The Calgary Sun quotes Van Sloten as saying: "In my view, poker has a lot to teach us about ourselves and even about God, [...] I hope to talk about how God made us for gambling, how every human is made for the adrenalized-risk buzz of the game and how this is what a real and alive faith should feel like."
Van Sloten backs up his belief with the Holy Book, adding "And the Bible does not have any strong admonitions against games of chance, which might surprise people." Van Sloten also plays an occasional game of Texas Holdem with friends, the article concludes.
More information:
"Poker
has holy spirit" by Todd Saelhof, The Calgary Sun.
Blog and
podcast of Pastor John van Sloten