Have you noticed...?

Question

that prisoners almost always "get God" when they get locked up?

My uncle was a convict all my life to the point of institutionalization. All of his cards and letters had scriptures in them. Everytime he got out he was immediatly looking for his junkie buddies and stealing anything that wasn't nailed down.
What is you'r opinion on inmates finding God in prison?... Who do you think is more often abandoned, God or the prisoner?

Answer 1

It is really hard to get a junkie fix in jail. I have always believed that faith acts almost like a drug. He was just trading one addiction for another.

Answer 2

God NEVER abandons us. NEVER. (Rom. 8)
But many times we turn from Him.
As to the first part of your question--there is a term, JAILHOUSE RELIGION that comes to mind.
There are at least a couple of reasons we see this.
After Chuck Colson embrace the Lord, he really did turn his life around, and he wasn't making loud proclamations about how he had changed. He just had. It was evident to prison officials, and ultimately he was paroled. EARLY.
This lead to a whole prison full of "conversions", all of them seeing a way out.
The second reason I see is that there isn't a lot to do, because while in prison, the warden doesn't let you out on the street at night, so you have to occupy your time, and one of the most constructive ways is to read.
There are many who minister to prisoners, and provide both reading and study materials to them.
Some make good use of that material, but when they get out, the only thing they know is the life they left, and the people they knew, so that's where they hook up.
I can read your cynicism, and I have to agree.
But then it is MY opinion, we as a society (secular) have become too soft when dealing with the consequences of crime. We want to show compassion to the offender, hoping to "reform" or "redeem" him all the while ignoring the compassion for the victim and/or society.
Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now. Struck a nerve.
(I could make Attila the Hun look like a kindergartner)

Answer 3

A prison is an isolated setting where the inmates are physically & psychologically separated from friends & relatives (if they have any) & from freedom. In this kind of setting, a tremendous depression & mental deprivation can result, making them vulnerable to conversion experiences. The isolation itself can trigger a brain reaction that may cause them to have a god-experience which has nothing to do with a supernatural but is simply a survival mechanism that the brain kicks in to help the brain & body survive. Like when you computer goes into safe mode to protect the system. In fact, all conversion experiences are brain reactions. Well-meaning fundies can take advantage of this situation to force the conversion experience in vulnerable deprived souls when all they need is company & friends, not a mythical religion forced down their throats. .

Answer 4

There's an old adage that says, "Prayer is the last refuge of the scoundrel." It means that when all else fails, wicked men "turn" to God for help, then drop Him when the trouble is over. While I don't doubt for a minute that it's possible to find God in prison, it's the convict's responsibility to KEEP Him at the forefront of their lives and be obedient to His Word and to His will, not just drop Him like an old shoe when they come out of prison.

Answer 5

This isn't really an answer to your question, but i thought i would share this with you. The difference in my situation was that I continued to seek God when I got out of jail. I am a recovering drug addict. I went to jail for stealing $10,000.00 from my work. When I was there I was very alone. And my family would talk to me on the phone, but they really didn't support me at all because they knew i was an addict. We had church services at the jail and bibles. To bury myself in those things was the only way i could keep my sanity while i was there. When I got out on a personal bond finally, after almost 2 months, I continued to be in my bible and attended church regularly. I was very addicted when i first went to jail. I would stick almost any kind of drug in my arm. But I am happy to say that since the day I got out in November of 2004 I have not touched a drug because God has helped me through every day without it because I continued to dedicate myself to him when i got out. I know that this is not what you were wanting as an answer, but I wanted to share it. I am one success story from the justice system when many are not. So I guess God is more often abandoned, not the prisoner.

Answer 6

In Prison you need friends. The quickest way to get "in" a group of friends is by accepting their value. One of the biggest groups is Christianism.

Also, many Prisons give extra time away from the cage if you state you're Christian. They will let you go to prison-church on Sundays, or give you an extra 15 minutes to pray before they turn off your light. For that, many prisoners state they believe to receive the benefits.

It's easier than shaving your head and getting a hitler tattoo, or being a mexican and getting a big scar across your chest and tattoo something on your face to gain acceptance of others.

Answer 7

You have a lot of time to think about things inside, not so much when you're back in the life and you have to contend with your demons. You also tend to "get God" when you meditate in the wild or take a vow of silence. It's not terribly prison related, people there just tend to need God badly.

Answer 8

This is what you need to understand about your uncle.....We have pressures that we are able to cope with that your uncle may not be able to.

In prison those pressures don't exist until he gets out. I think that some really find God. He left his world of comfort and stability and got lost in the pressures of the world outside of prison.

I know that deep down, I am a rotten person and I need God to teach me how to be a good person. Without him I am nothing, but with him I am everything. Just know that God loves him and knows his True heart. You and I will never Know the truth in any man's heart....as to why they are the way they are.

pray for him and love him inspite of himself.

Answer 9

Well my preacher just preached a good sermon about this topic. Basically God will take you out of one situation and put you in another situation so that you may find his salvation that way. We are all on assignment as humans to live the way God intended us to live. To seek his word and find the truth. A lot of people who have been in prison or are still in prison never knew who God was until they went in. God delivered them to prison so that they can seek and find his truth. If they had not gone to prison they likely would have never found God while still roaming the streets or they could of wound up dead. Once you die you have no chance to accept Jesus Christ salvation, you can only accept it while you are still alive in the flesh. God puts us all in certain situations and takes us out of certain situations. God works in miraculous, magnificent, and mysterious ways. But his word is True and his love is ever lasting, no matter who you are!

Answer 10

Well Muslims who are in Quantanamo, Cuba at this moment are too much abused/abandoned by the rejection of use Holy Quran and to practice Islam..
They have found the God but being prisoned do not make them to be close to Him