Believers often wonder why the Orthodox cannot play cards. After all, this completely harmless activity helps to entertain the company, cheer up, have fun. How harmless can such games be, what does the church think about this? The article will answer these questions.
Opinion of the church
The church considers this occupation sinful. Why can't the Orthodox play cards? These entertainments carry a satanic implication. Even if a person lays out solitaire or divines fate.
Priests believe that such entertainment pursued the goal of blasphemy. And it was invented by Indian cabalists who are engaged in black magic. Therefore, a person who picks up cards unknowingly betrays his Creator.
Reasons for such a ban
Among the reasons why the Orthodox cannot play cards, the following can be distinguished:
- loss of time stolen from family and communication with the Creator;
- urge to unhealthy excitement;
- the initial purpose of the deck is to guess and do magic. These actions are not welcomed by the church;
- the symbols depicted on the cards evoke the blasphemy of the history of Christianity.
According to the church, a Christian must lead a life filled with fellowship with the Creator, knowledge of his truths. This can be achieved if one reads the Bible diligently and thoughtfully, knows the rules of prayer, and enjoys everything that the Lord created. Love and do good throughout your earthly journey.
An important reason why the Orthodox cannot play cards is that playing "pictures" can intoxicate the human mind. He is distracted from reality, he is filled with excitement, which is fraught with spiritual death. So you can lose a lot:
- money;
- property;
- family
- earthly life.
The result of such a rash act can be very sad. What are card debts for which people can take their lives. Card games are widely popular in the criminal environment. This fact also proves which category of people engage in such entertainment. People spiritually devastated find joy in the intoxicating excitement. And often they pay too much for it.
Fool Games
When asked whether it is possible to play cards Orthodox, the church gives a clearly negative answer. If the company, having gathered, spends time playing the “fool” game, it simply takes up its time, which can be devoted to thinking about the Creator's commandments. Such games are of no use; they impoverish a person spiritually.
A card game called a "fool" is contrary to biblical truths. The scripture says:
Anyone who calls a brother (sister) a fool is subject to trial.
And after such a statement there is no room for excuses. After all, the power of God's word is undeniable. If a person calls other people that word, he will have to answer on the Day of Judgment.
Having understood why the Orthodox do not play cards, it is worth noting that those who are engaged in fortune telling commit a great sin. Therefore, they will never find happiness in the Lord's Kingdom. Even the "innocent" unfolding of the deck is considered a demonic activity. It is especially scary when adults teach children to play such games. Then a child from an early age learns passion and depending on whether he wins or loses.
How did the playing "pictures" appear
Speaking about why believers should not play cards, let us turn to historical information about the appearance of these games. They were first used in the countries of the East. Already in the XII century, the cards began to captivate Koreans and Chinese.
Until this time, paper decks were not used. But their alternative was bamboo pieces. Also used shells depicting domestic scenes. The Masluks had cards like the Tarot. But they did not violate the commandments of the Quran, as they did not have human images. Such cards were decorated exclusively with geometric ornaments.
The invention of modern cards was to carry out the ritual of divination. And already from the XIV century, facts about the first bans on such games have been known. The reason why Christians should not play cards was then pointed out to the detrimental effect on people.
In the XVII century, the Russian tsar Alexei Mikhailovich introduced a decree according to which the card game was considered a crime. This occupation threatened with hard labor, pulling out the nostrils. But the situation was changed by Peter the Great. He calculated the economic benefits of trading cards and allowed to play.
Deck value
The Egyptian calendar consists of thirty months (52 weeks). The same number of cards contains a deck. 4 weeks of every month are like playing card suits. They represent four elements:
Like night time, peaks and crosses matched black. Daytime red signs are considered hearts and diamonds.
What card symbols originally meant
The church forbids cards in Orthodoxy. Why can’t you play such games? According to Orthodox theologians who have carefully studied this issue, there are a number of coincidences of the stripes and the image of the Savior.
The prototype of the cross suit is the tools with which murders and tortures are committed. Jesus was nailed to such a cross. Translated from the Hebrew language, club refers to the beast that was torn to death.
Taking, for example, a card with the image of the Cross of Christ, to which half the world worships, they throw it carelessly with the words: “clubs,” which in Hebrew means “bad” or “evil spirits”!
The type of tambourine is associated with tetrahedral caps of stakes. They were driven into the flesh of Christ, who, as you know, was the Son of the Lord.
The “tambourine” suit blasphemously depicts the gospel forged tetrahedral jagged nails with which the hands and feet of the Savior were nailed to the tree of the Cross. As the Lord prophesied through the lips of the psalmist David that “they pierced my hands and my feet” (Psalm 22, 17), it was fulfilled .
Cruelty and soullessness is characterized by a peak suit. It was with this tool that Jesus pierced the rib, which led to his death. To fix the fact of death, three executioners were involved.
The carte suit “blame” (“peaks”) blasphemes the gospel peak of Longin Sotnik: “one of the warriors (Longinus) pierced His ribs with a spear” (John 19, 34).
Heartsuit is associated with a sponge that has been soaked in vinegar. She was given to thirsty Jesus. The sponge resembled a heart in its shape.
The “worms” suit depicts a gospel sponge on a cane.
As Christ warned of His poisoning, through the lips of the king-prophet David, that the soldiers “gave Me bile for food, and in My thirst they gave Me water to drink with vinegar” (Psalm 68, 22), it happened: “One of them took a sponge and gave it water with vinegar and put it on a cane and gave it to drink ”(Matt. 27, 48).
An explanation of why cards cannot be played is considered demonic joy from this activity. A person who is keen on such games worships thus satanic rituals. This leads to a violation of the symbols of Christianity. The soul of such a Christian loses all chances for eternal life.
Priest Advice
Believers can spend time to good use, without betraying Christian truths. You can enjoy communication with the Creator in the process of prayer endlessly.
And this is easy to achieve with such charitable actions:
- prayers
- visiting the temple;
- making pilgrimage trips to Holy places;
- attending Sunday Christian school;
- You can sing and draw;
- should do charity work, helping orphans and the elderly;
- you need to pay more attention to your family members.
In Orthodox life there is so much of God's beauty that you can enjoy it forever. Therefore, the tares that Satan sows must be carefully cleansed and removed from the life of a Christian.
To summarize
Card games - an activity that is prohibited by the Christian church. Therefore, he should not have a place in the Orthodox family. Having studied the history of the appearance of the first decks, you can see that they were created for gambling. And unhealthy excitement can lead a person to great losses. Because of this, they can even take their lives when a player has a big card debt. This is widely practiced in the criminal world.
Priests claim that the mission of the cards is to purposefully humiliate the image of Christ. Analysis of card suits suggests that they were created in the image of those means that were used to torture the Son of the Lord. There were times when card games were forbidden by kings.
Spending time can be much more exciting if you indulge in prayers, discussion of divine truths. It is not forbidden to draw, to sing. Help is also very welcome for those in need: the elderly, the sick, orphans.
It is important to devote as much time as possible to your family and loved ones. And enjoy every new day. Among the divine gifts there is no room for wicked pursuits. It is believed that a deck of cards does not even need to be kept in the house. And fortunetellers commit a great sin. They will be deprived of the joy of eternal life.
Christians must take care of their soul. Therefore, when choosing classes, you should be careful to analyze your actions. And always give preference to charitable pursuits.