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Do you think that " I have found god" should mean the same as "A get out of Gaol/Jail free" card. Would you be able to spot the difference between a genuine conversion and a false one? . What test would you apply in order to confirm authenticity?

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Mcflewster 8 Dec 10
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6

"I have found the flying spaghetti monster"

5

No it shouldn't be a "get out of jail free" card. It doesn't change the fact that you broke the law and the law doesn't/shouldn't give a damn if you've found god.

As far as telling the difference between whether or not someone actually believes, I couldn't care less. I don't care if they guy who claims to have been raped anally by aliens really believes it so why should I care if someone actually believes in a god?

4

If they have really converted they should have their sentence lengthened.

keep the idiots off the street and lessen the chance of them weakening the gene pool

4

A photograph with God, Bigfoot, and a unicorn together.

Walk into a bar.

😉

@KKGator And the bartender says. Sorry we don't serve spirits in here.

@Fernapple Ba-da-bum!
LOL

@KKGator Bigfoot turns to the Unicorn and says "I don't believe in you." Unicorn replies "Well, I don't believe in you either." They both turn to God and God says "Be careful what you say next or I'll send you both to Hell forever." Bigfoot says to the Unicorn "We better believe in him just in case." Unicorn agrees and they both turn to God and procliam "Praise the Holy Father!" God replies "And be sure to tithe me 10% of your income or I'll still fuck you up."

@Sgt_Spanky And that's why fear conquers reason in far too many people.
Bunch of fucking chickenshits.

@KKGator You got it.

4

I know it is anecdotal, however, 99% of prisoners believe in some god. Thus, I would say: If you are a god believer, there is a better chance you will commit more crime.

That is an amazing statistic . Is god the last resort?

@Beowulfsfriend, 99% of prisoners claim to believe in god. Looked at closely it seems to be a self protection device. Atheists are frowned upon by all society and would not be well received in prison. On the flip side if 99% of prisoners believe in god then atheists have better moral character and commit fewer crimes.

@freeofgod even my "argument" statement is highly flawed.

I believe 99% of prisoners may SAY that they believe in God ...this is only to make sure they get paroled because those that say they do not believe in God at parole hearing find out they may be denied

3

Bind them and toss them into a lake. If they float, thou is a real covert. If they sink and drown, thou was not a real convert. 😆

3

For preachers like Jimmy Swaggart who gets caught in an affair with a prostitute, or Jim Bakker who is arrested for mail fraud, or Ted haggard who frequented a male prostitute. All they have to do is appear before their congregations with fake tears in their eyes and claim that the devil got his hooks in them, and beg forgiveness. The prayers and dollars come pouring in like rain.

And Jerry Falwell, Jr. Who recently seems to have had a swinging relationship going on with his wife & the poolboy.

I'll agree to Jim Bakker getting nailed by the law. But when it comes to the private sex lives of people, let them have their fun. This is assuming consent by all participants.

@PadraicM
I completely agree, but the men I mentioned were the very ones who publicly and loudly condemn the very things they were engaged in. I think it's sick to be so two faced.

3

Holy crap I'm going to hell

I am absolutely stealing this.
Please and thank you!

3

I would think that it is an automatic statement of guilt

2

My last boyfriend prided himself on being a pagan until he was arrested for child porn. Then, all of a sudden, he was an upstanding Christian. He still got six years prison.

My third husband converted to Mormonism because they gave him money.

(For me), when I hear someone say they've been "born again", my first thought is what is it they're wanting. But that's just me.

2

"I was bad but now I'm good! I promise. Until I'm bad again."
Since both bad and good are relative, the whole idea is nonsense.
"I have put some genuine thought into what I did and now I am truly remorseful." That is on me. What I can't insist upon is how others respond to my remorse. They may or may not forgive me. They may or may not want to have anything to do with me. Their treatment of me will likely be based on my past actions.
If "get out of jail" is figurative, then I would hope someone might give me a chance based on my current understanding of my previous wrong doing.
If it is literal, I would understand that the consequences for my actions were set and I must serve my penance. That I come out the other end a better person was kind of the point in the first place.
If it refers to my relationship with the magical sky pixie, by the rules, it does mean that I get to go to the bocci field in the sky.
But I think the human ego gets in the way of reality. Many who have "found god" have really just memorized some magic words they think will fool the sky fairies, because, frankly, they think the sky fairies and humans are equally stupid.
If there really were such a thing as heaven and hell, I'd bet a LOT of folks would be rudely surprised at their final destination.

EXCELLENT, thank you! In my experience, "finding god" is typically more like "finding a group of other humans who believe/tolerate my stories (for theirs are similar) and will let me off the integrity hook to hang out with them if I follow the rules, do the dance, drink the kool-aid, and offer cash".

2

If they have truly found "god" then they will be willing to do their time as they would know the benefits of penitence, showing remorse and making amends for the ills they have done. If they feel they should not be jailed then they do not believe and should be jailed. Quite simple really jail if that is what the law says is the punishment for their crime.

2

" The devil made me do it"
Another irresponsible excuse

The Devil made me do it. . .

2

Obviously try and get them to kill their first born on an altar to said god and then just as they’re about to plunge the knife say, it’s ok, just testing 😉

2

Bullshit is bullshit.

2
2

There is no such thing as a genuine conversion there are those who proclaim a conversion who are deluding themselves and those who proclaim a conversion with the intent of deluding others.

2

If they really think that they have found god, then they believe that they will be rewarded by god with less time in purgatory, or what ever silliness they subscribe to. Therefore they have got their reward for converting, there is no need for earthly law to give them a second one.

2

So believers have their sentence shortened ? In the case of Muslim fundamentalists I think the sentence should be lengthened

Lengthen it for ALL of them, not just the muslims.

@KKGator The reason for my comment was that the perpetrator of the recent terrorist attack in London who had been imprisoned for terrorism persuaded the authorities that he had been "deradicalised". Obviously he hadn't. Besides that there are far too many people in prison. The USA has the largest prison population in the world and the UK has the largest in Western Europe.
For minor offences there must be a better way than locking people up.

@Moravian Agreed. For starters, I think all drugs should be legalized. Just by doing that they'd be eliminating close to half of the prison population.

@KKGator Or at least decriminalised. Portugal decriminalised possesion a few years ago and now have one of the smallest drug problems in Europe whereas Scotland has one of the highest death rates in Europe.

@Moravian I've always contended that after the initial "die-off", things would calm down, and the "novelty" would cease to exist.
There will always be people who are easily addicted, and will do things to get themselves killed.
I don't think we should be trying to protect them from themselves.
However, putting a 19 year-old kid in prison for 30 years for selling
marijuana is just plain fucking stupid.
It's also really hypocritical of a government that allows Big Pharma to manufacture the prescription drugs that kill MORE people on a daily
basis than ALL the illegal drugs (combined) do.
The "war on drugs" has also been a war on people of color and the young.
I have no doubt that was completely by design.

@KKGator One thing puzzles me. Under federal law cannabis possession is still illegal but several states have legalised it's use. I would have thought that federal law would over rule state law. Is this the case ?

@Moravian Federal law does supersede state law, which is a big stumbling block to making cannabis-based businesses completely legitimate. Most banks refuse do to business with them.
So far, the fed's haven't taken the individual states to court. YET.
As more states legalize, it'll be that much harder for the feds to do that.
The states are generating revenue which the feds can't compete with. Money talks.
It's just a matter of time.
Unfortunately, Big Pharma and law enforcement are the two biggest obstacles still preventing legalization.

2

uh, NO

Not understanding WHY Jeffery Dhammer, kidnapped, zombified into sex slaves, killed and ate 17 people does not make it ok that he did that does it?
To me something was quite broken in that human, right?

Yet Jeffery was a Born Again Christian before he died, forgiven and washed clean in the blood of the lamb. However the 17 victims never got that chance for redemption from the very same God, cause ole Jeff ate them.
Which would make them getting kidnapped, zombified into sex slaves, killed and eaten, all part of God's plan too, so he could save Jeff.

We can EASILY see that as WRONG, morally wrong, ethically wrong, but if you try and say "it's God's Mercy" they you are disavowing the lack of Mercy for the victims, who went through hell form ole Jeff and then get to go to hell itself.
Which would make that God evil.

Mercy and Justice are incompatible ...there's no such thing. God is in immoral Thug who gives infinite punishment for finite crimes. Mercy is a suspension of justice so God is Not Just... he's a dick... especially if he lets a Jeffrey Dahmer off the hook

2

No, I wouldn’t. If a person could not distinguish right from wrong prior to their prison sentence, claiming they’ve ‘found a god’ is not proof of growth. If anything, it’s confirmation they’re still lost.

Varn Level 8 Dec 10, 2019
2

If it were up to me, which unfortunately it isn't, claiming "conversion" or "finding jesus", wouldn't earn anyone a pass for anything.
It wouldn't matter if it's genuine or false.

There is nothing which would "confirm authenticity".
The individual claiming belief is either straight-up lying, or they've completely
descended into mental illness.
Either way, whatever they're trying to achieve should be rejected outright.

2

Slap them in the face, if they turn the other cheek; they truly believe in the teachings of Jesus.

JimG Level 8 Dec 10, 2019
1

I would demand objective evidence that I could test that a god was real.

1

I don't think it should mean the same, though i am sure that the religious use it that way.

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