Evidence for God from Science

The nation's prisons are filled with more than two million prisoners. Nearly 700,000 offenders are released into society each year, and studies show that 67 percent of these offenders will commit another offense and return to prison within three years

Miracles Prisoner Ministry

Since the inception of the Miracles Prisoner Ministry in 1999, the goals of nonviolence and peace have shaped the design and activities of this Ministry. As a faith based organization, the focus of MPM is to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence within our society through the reintroduction of Spirituality to those incarcerated. MPM works to bridge the gap between the individual and their Creator, which is the source of a lack of Peace.

Without a strong spiritual foundation, there can be no Peace of Mind for any human being. This lack of Peace of Mind and the resultant acts of violence upon society contributes to the atmosphere of rage and fear throughout today's world. Society is made up of individuals. It is each individual's spirituality which needs to be addressed. This is humankind's universal problem. This problem surpasses all language barriers, religions, cultures and territorial boundaries. To aggravate an already enervating situation, most seek relief through the abusive and addictive use of both legal and illegal drugs. The results are nightmarishly devastating.

In an attempt to address this worldwide dilemma, MPM has adopted the following Mission Statement:

As a worldwide Ministry, it is our purpose to serve all those asking for help, who are incarcerated in any way.
As a Faith based organization, our Ministry is founded on the teachings of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, a 12-Step Program based on Alcoholics Anonymous and A Course in Miracles. The Miracles Prisoner Ministry provides inmates, families, communities, institutions & their staff with written literature, audio/visual tapes and CD's, as well as, on-site individualized self-help training programs.

All services and materials presented by the Miracles Prisoner Ministry seek to aid in the change of an inmate's mind from one of fostering hate and fear to one fostering forgiveness, peace, self-determination and cooperation; a process that will show every inmate that any term of incarceration can be changed from one of futility, despair, hatred and anger to an opportunity for positive, miraculous, inner self-change.

The 12-Step Community, in its entirety, is an integral part of the Miracles Prisoner Ministry Program and the reintegration of former inmates into mainstream society. Here is a real opportunity for you to personally practice your own 12th Step.

the article was cool. your poll was...i don't know.

i don't know what to say, dude. it doesn't matter what people say, but what they do. if you don't know that by now...

you know what i think you should do? lock yourself away where no one can hurt you...isolate yourself from everyone. you never know when you might be standing next to a criminal, you know? it's the only way to be safe.

what are you so afraid of? you know fear is a strong indicator that you do not have a close relationship with Christ. it is also a strong motivator for sin. maybe that's why you have so much hate in you, you're afraid.

you know what else i think you should do? find yourself a twelve-step program.

Prodigal Son wrote:the article was cool. your poll was...i don't know.

i don't know what to say, dude. it doesn't matter what people say, but what they do. if you don't know that by now...

you know what i think you should do? lock yourself away where no one can hurt you...isolate yourself from everyone. you never know when you might be standing next to a criminal, you know? it's the only way to be safe.

what are you so afraid of? you know fear is a strong indicator that you do not have a close relationship with Christ. it is also a strong motivator for sin. maybe that's why you have so much hate in you, you're afraid.

you know what else i think you should do? find yourself a twelve-step program.

PS, I can recommend so many things for you, but you probably know what they are.
It's not a bad thing for law-abiding citizens, especially Christians, to be cautious of criminals. That's why we don't allow them to do certain things once they get released from the slammer.

ocho:

no, i haven't the slightest idea what floats around in your brain (thank goodness for that!). so, feel free to enlighten me regarding your recommendations.

p.s. it's okay to be cautious. fear, as you've been displaying it, is unhealthy and unchristian.

Prodigal Son wrote:ocho:
no, i haven't the slightest idea what floats around in your brain (thank goodness for that!). so, feel free to enlighten me regarding your recommendations..

Your local pastor or priest will be able to recommend things for you I'm sure.

p.s. it's okay to be cautious. fear, as you've been displaying it, is unhealthy and unchristian

Most people probably would not feel comfortable around lawbreakers.

Just as Jesus Christ accepts me even after I sin, I accept someone even if they have done something wrong. I will forgive them seven seventy times before I just give up because that's what Jesus has told us to do.

Of course, I wouldn't jeapordize other people with my trust in that person, I wouldn't, say, want them to live near children or anything until I'm 100% sure they're Christian.

Dan wrote: Of course, I wouldn't jeapordize other people with my trust in that person, I wouldn't, say, want them to live near children or anything until I'm 100% sure they're Christian.

That might be hard to tell though. Many of them are probably cunning enough to pass under the radar of a trusting Christian.
Jail parolees don't really have a right to condemn society for judging them.

ochotseat wrote:

Dan wrote: Of course, I wouldn't jeapordize other people with my trust in that person, I wouldn't, say, want them to live near children or anything until I'm 100% sure they're Christian.

That might be hard to tell though. Many of them are probably cunning enough to pass under the radar of a trusting Christian.
Jail parolees don't really have a right to condemn society for judging them.

We can judge them by their actions and through the holy spirit, God will reveal to us their intentions, we just have to have faith.

You're right, they don't have that right, but we have to give them mercy just like Christ gives us mercy.

I have no trouble trusting a former inmate. I know that at least once a former inmate has been invited to my church by someone from our regular prison ministry -- and actually showed up. I always hear of this after the fact, but it happens.

I remember going on the Bill Glass prison ministry. Our prison was pretty minimum security, but there were still guys there for anywhere from 2 weeks to life. The only thing that made me uncomfortable was that it was their home and not mine, so I felt kind of out of place. Quite a few times I'd actually be standing there, all by myself, in the middle of a bunch of inmates. I felt a lot of things, but "in danger" wasn't one of them.

It also helps to keep in perspective that I'm responsible for worse stuff than most of them did to get in there. My "crimes" just happen to not be punishable under US law.

There was one thing I wasn't comfortable with, I must admit, but it had nothing to do with the prisoners. Have you ever seen one of those "4 Spiritual Laws" tracts? Anything that begins with "God has a wonderful purpose for your life" just puts me on end. It's like...saying Christianity is all fluffy bunnies and sunshine, which can only lead to disappointment. My personal favorite approach is the "Repent! The kingdom of Heaven can be yours!" approach. It addresses both sin, and eternal rewards, but doesn't promise any kind of easy here and now.

Personally, I reversed steps 1 & 2(Sin separates us from God), and then explained them in terms of Way of the Master. Explaining exactly what sin is, going through the 10 Commandments, and even sharing a couple ways that I had personally broken those commandments(particularly the one on murder). Then, of course, I explained that "wonderful plan" didn't mean Christianity would make life easy, but rather that the plan is wonderful even when it means we must go through hardships and stuff.

Er...back to topic. No problem trusting former inmates under most circumstances. If Christ can trust me so much, surely I can trust a former inmate who didn't do anything near as bad as me a little bit.

Dan wrote:Just as Jesus Christ accepts me even after I sin, I accept someone even if they have done something wrong. I will forgive them seven seventy times before I just give up because that's what Jesus has told us to do.

Absolutely.

Dan wrote:You're right, they don't have that right, but we have to give them mercy just like Christ gives us mercy.

Agreed; that's the manifestation of God's love. It is our calling as Christians.

1 John 4:7-12

1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

LittleShepherd wrote:I have no trouble trusting a former inmate. .

Even if it's someone like Osama Bin Laden or Charles Manson? Even with leaving them alone with your child?
I don't think there's anything wrong with us Christians being chary with people like that even if they are born-again.

ochotseat wrote:Even if it's someone like Osama Bin Laden or Charles Manson? Even with leaving them alone with your child?
I don't think there's anything wrong with us Christians being chary with people like that even if they are born-again.

Please try to exercise some common sense. And read the entirety of my post before commenting on one tiny part of it, ok. In the last paragraph, I said "under most circumstances," which does allow for some exceptions. But to address your two examples:

Osama bin Ladin - A glance at his attitudes and beliefs show one thing to be quite common sense. He'd never claim to be born again Christian in the first place, except in one circumstance -- that it was true. Does Islam encourage lying to infidels? Yes, but not by denying Allah. If Osama Bin Ladin was to ever claim to be a Christian, I'd believe him with no problems doing so.

Charles Manson - The fact that he's an inmate has nothing to do with why I'd have problems trusting him. I...actually don't know much about him, but seem to recall that he was a psychopath. Which means that even if he were a Christian, it might be beyond his own ability to control certain impulses simply because he's not wired quite right. So it wouldn't be so much that I didn't believe his claims, but rather that I didn't trust his wiring to work properly. A problem with the raw materials, not the person trying to use them.

I think it's safe to say that the overwhelming majority of inmates don't fall into either of those categories.

LittleShepherd wrote: I think it's safe to say that the overwhelming majority of inmates don't fall into either of those categories.

I wonder why most of them commit the same crimes over again.
Unfortunately, bleeding hearts such as yourself are trying to hijack Christianity. Thank God for the more conservative Christian voices.

Charles Manson - The fact that he's an inmate has nothing to do with why I'd have problems trusting him. I...actually don't know much about him, but seem to recall that he was a psychopath. Which means that even if he were a Christian, it might be beyond his own ability to control certain impulses simply because he's not wired quite right. So it wouldn't be so much that I didn't believe his claims, but rather that I didn't trust his wiring to work properly. A problem with the raw materials, not the person trying to use them.

God can do anything with any raw material, why, didn't Christ say that God could raise children of Abraham from stones?

Ochot, your stand-point might be tolerable from a non-christian, but hardened hearts aren't Christ's.

ochotseat wrote:

LittleShepherd wrote: I think it's safe to say that the overwhelming majority of inmates don't fall into either of those categories.

I wonder why most of them commit the same crimes over again.
Unfortunately, bleeding hearts such as yourself are trying to hijack Christianity. Thank God for the more conservative Christian voices.

Exactly what do you think christianity is ?