Playing Cards

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Apologetics

Playing Cards

By Rowland Croucher and others ⋅ January 3, 2003 ⋅ Post a comment

Dear Mr. Croucher,

I was wondering if you could help me find or at least point me in the right direction concerning a message I heard as a teenager about the origin of playing cards. I remember hearing that cards had their beginning from a man who was an atheist. He decided to make pictures to make fun of God and to blaspheme Him as much as possible. The King was God. The Queen was Mary. The Jack was the illegitimate son of Mary and the Joker, etc. I have looked in several Bible book stores, as well as, on the internet, but have had no success. All I have been able to find are sites that state the origin of playing cards came from the Chinese and basically have been added to and change through the years to give us what we have today. I know gambling is wrong, but if the message I heard as a teen is true, then how can a person with good conscience play any games with a deck of cards, if he is a Christian.

Thanks for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you,

In Christ, <>

Hi my friend,

A Google search turned up the following:

http://www.llano.net/baptist/originofcards.htm

http://www.pagat.com/ipcs/history.html

http://jducoeur.org/game-hist/seaan-cardhist.html

http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Musee/7685/cards.htm

http://www.wopc.co.uk/

http://www.livingwaters.net/playing.htm

I’m not sure about all this: you can invent conspiracies where they don’t exist. Gambling, however, is a different matter…