If Jesus is the only thing that stands between you and "appalling acts"?

Question

why are atheists so underrepresented in U.S. prisons?

Ent: every source I can find says that Dahlmer was a Christian, specifically a Baptist.

... and i cannot find that quote anywhere. did you get it off a fraudulent xian Web site?

Answer 1

Because atheists have an independent moral code which they live by, and profound sense of what is right and wrong. Theists generally define their morality by 'what will get me into Heaven'. Also, Christianity preaches that you can do all the bad things you want, but accept Jesus and you will be saved. This leads to crime.

Answer 2

Is it really neccessary to keep score?

For the record, Dahmer was raised in the Church of Christ, but was not especially religious in his adult life. Neither was he an atheist. He believed in the existence of Satan and the truth of the Bible. He became more devout while in prison, requesting and recieving Christian baptism during that time. After much searching, I can't find the above quote anywhere (including the two references provided), and it seems unlikely that Dahmer actually said that. Dahmer said repeatedly that he felt remorse for what he did but felt like he was under compulsion to do it.

I'm not sure what the Manson quote has to do with anything. Manson was not an atheist. Manson fully believed in the occultism of Aleister Crowley's "Book of Law". His "Family" was, itself, a cult religion, with Manson figured as both God and Satan.

Stalin and Mao were both atheists. Ho Chi Minh was a Confucianist. Pol Pot was a Buddhist. Kim Jong Il appears to be an atheist, but the jury's still out. Hitler, Mussolini, Torquemada, Pavelić, and Milosevic were all Christians. Tokugawa Ieyasu was Shinto. Mehmed Talat Pasha, Agha Khan, and Saddam Hussien were Muslims.

The point is that a person's religious affiliations don't necessarily make them good or evil. The fact that Dahmer was a Christian (at least before he died) is no more relevant than the fact that he was a tropical fish enthusiast. Every human (except for the severly ill) is vested with the ability to make decisions and act on them. We decide whether to be good or evil every second of every day. We do good things because they are the right thing to do, and we do bad things simply because we want to do them. Religious beliefs play only a very small part in those intuitive decisions.

In answer to your original question (finally!), is likely to be the same reason that Blacks are overrepresented in prisons: economic distribution. The two best predictors for atheism are education and travel. Generally speaking, the more educated and better traveled a person is, the more likely they are to be an atheist. This places a disproportionate number of atheists in the higher socioeconomic strata, ie. the people who are least likely to go to prison. I don't believe that atheists are underrepresented in US prisons because they are inherently more moral. They are simply underreprented among the socionomic sectors that make up the bulk of the prison population.

Answer 3

"why are atheists so underrepresented in U.S. prisons?"

I doubt they are. Being an atheist simply means not believing in God, and I'm sure many prisoners aren't particularly religious. Some of them find religion in prison, some of them pretend to find religion hoping to get an early parole. I once heard a piece on NPR* about a prisoner who admitted he "converted" to Judaism in prison just for the Kosher meals.

Jeffery Dahmer was a Baptist last time you checked? Ah, so all Christians are evil because of him. Good logic.

Last time I checked:

Mao Tse Dung, Pohl Pot, Joseph Stalin, Kim Jong Il (and his father before him), Ho Chi Minh, were all atheists. 100 million people have died as a result of communism.

OK, Christians, Dahmer didn't kill as many people as the atheists, so we have a lot of catch up killing to do, so come on! Let's get busy killing people!

*[Yes, I listened to NPR, but don't worry, the radio dial was stuck, atheists. I don't want to shatter your steretypes. Resume thinking we're all murdering hillbillies. Don't panic! LOL!]

Answer 4

Firstly, Atheism relies on an absolute statement "there is no God". Since people do not know everything about everything, people who 'believe there is no God' are known as Agnostics.

Secondly, how do you know that a person who has been incarcerated discovered the truth about the Bible and Yeshua (Jesus Christ); after being in prison?

My father is a pastor at a prison. There have been many, who decide that having faith in Yahweh (God) and Yeshua; is a lot better than living their life the way they did before being in prison. And my dad has seen a drastic change in their personality.

If believing in Yahweh and Yeshua, can make a hardened criminal become a better person; what do you think that faith can do for you?

Or do you think your 'too good' to have faith in Yahweh and Yeshua?

Answer 5

1) Jesus is NOT the only thing that stands between me and 'appalling acts'...that is, i believe, one of the more common misconceptions about Christians
2) I'm guessing that there are more atheists in prison than you would believe...i have seen in my life that there are FAR more people claiming to be Christians than ACTUAL Christians...i could proclaim all day long to be a biscuit, but that doesn't get me in the oven...
3) there are a lot of inmates who had no faith going IN, but discovered Christ while inside prison...prison ministries have a long tradition, dating back to when the 'rational' powers that be used to lock Christians up for the crime of believing, and occasionally toss them to the lions...must have been the 'good old days' for atheists (just a little joke, atheists, no need to haul me to court)

Answer 6

If they had turned to Christ and lived His commandments to love God and their neighbor they would not be in prison in the first place,it is now a common joke about prisoners seeing the light and being born again while in prison, but although some may in fact pretend this there are many who had genuine conversions,perhaps it really takes a person to hit their lowest point in life to see the light.

Answer 7

Because, once in prison, using the "I found God" excuse, gets them out faster. Isn't that funny. Whatever they did to be in there, didn't include a god, but once in the slammer, they all of a sudden "find" god. Athiests are under represented, because they don't need to find a god, therefore, the excuse can't help.

Answer 8

"If there were no God, there would be no atheists"
--GK Chesterton, Where All Roads Lead

Asked why he committed such brutal murders, Jeffrey Dahlmer said: "I didn't believe in God, therefore, I didn't believe I would be held accountable for what I did."

"If God does not exist, all things are permissible."
-- Dostoyevsky

“Who are you to judge me, I did what I thought was right.”
--Charles Manson


EDIT- Sorry spelled his name wrong up there, it's Dahmer. Quote from Jeffery was found on the following two websites:
http://www.discipleshipresourcecenter.com/Articles/General/Worldviews_in_Conflict/
http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/topic/atheism.html

And thank you Zoom Zoom.

Answer 9

Choice my friend. Jesus cant stand between those who dont believe in him. They are not atheist in prisons but they are non believers, same thing being synomonous.

Answer 10

once one is convicted of a crime and has all that extra free time. they start to think, and most want to change. its no fun being locked up (for most). and the best way to change is to open the bible, the book so many people with happiness like to reference. and when these people open their hearts to God, he comes right in and claims them.

God bless