Dice The playing at dice or other games of chance has always been discountenanced by the Church. The Paedagogue of Clement forbids it. Apollonius denounces the Montanists for it, asking whether prophets play at dice. The Apostolical Canons forbid the practice, under pain of degradation or excommunication. The Council of Eliberis (A.D. 305) and the Trullan Council (at the close of the 7th century) both forbade it. Justinian denounced games of chance, and even the being present at them, affixing a penalty to the act by the clergy, of suspension and seclusion in a monastery for three years. The account Jerome gives of Synesius alleging his own propensity to gambling as a reason for not being made bishop, and the account of the accusation by certain nuns of the convent of St. Radegund at Poictiers against their abbess, for dicing, and other references of like character, show that the habit was nevertheless all too frequent in the Church.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More