6.- RIESGO REPUTACIONAL

The second theme that emerged from the discussions was the view of Christianity from each participant prior to their conversion while in prison. Although some of the participants had experience of church being committing a crime and going to prison, none of them made a personal decision to surrender to Christ and adopt a Christian worldview and lifestyle.

Subtheme 2.1: Negative view of Christians. The participants had a negative

view of Christians, which heavily influenced their outlook on Christianity in general. P1 was not opposed to Christianity, but his Christian influence was not strong enough for him to commit to it. He stated, “I just never had subjected myself as submitted to it. So,

you know, I thought it was good. I just didn't think it was for me during the times that I was, you know, doing what I was doing.” P2 had a severely negative view on Christians

and Christianity, stating, “I thought… Christians were a bunch of weak people and they

didn't know what they [were] talking about. I mean, I didn't believe, I didn't believe in Jesus Christ. I thought religion was a form of control, you know, controlling people, you know, and all those different types of things.” P3 respected the “church mothers” based on his experience prior to becoming a Christian. However, his view what he saw from the males was alarming, stating, “I never saw too many, uh, men that was so-called

Christians, but they would say they was Christian, but they were still living the same lifestyle that we was living.”

P4 was exposed to Christianity as a child, but it did not influence him positively to believe in the faith. In fact, he became an agnostic, stating, “I kinda went off on my own… started living my life on my own… I thought it was a scam. I thought it was a crutch. I thought it was something that was just, uh, in place to, to kind of… control people, control the masses, control the weak, and, uh, everything I seem to listen to at the time, music, uh, arts, stuff like that was, um, very blasphemous in nature. I was, uh, I was an agnostic. I mean [a] borderline atheist, but at the same time I was very angry at a, God I thought didn't exist.” P5 stated, “so my grandmother was a Pentecostal preacher and everyone in my family claimed to be Christian. So, there was a lot of, uh, we'll say tongue talking and things like that going on around. I would say that there was a part of me that was maybe believed it in another part that didn't believe it. Another part of it was very skeptical of it.”

Subtheme 2.2: Personal carnal desires. Each participant, whether exposed to

the Christian faith before their conversion or not, each stated that their personal carnal desires led them to a state of committing poor behavior, which led them to prison. P1

stated that he was “chasing a lot of things that had no capability to give me fulfillment

involved with, you know, criminal activity and drugs and things of that nature.” P2 stated, “I had got convicted on a robbery, uh, armed robbery case at a young age.” P3

stated that he “ended up on drugs real bad… I mean real bad. I, I had a habit like from 500 to a thousand dollars a day, snort cocaine, smoking crack, uh, smoking heroin.” P4 stated, “I went to prison for drug charges… and was pushing dope… I was involved in

the drug trade, illegal drug trade trafficking.” P5 stated, “I was a very selfish man. I was a very violent man. I was a man that wanted to be loved, but I didn't know how to love. I wanted to be respected, but it didn't respect people. It was like all the things that I wanted. I didn't know how to even give it myself.”

Subtheme 2.3: Bad example from other Christians. Another subtheme that

emerged from the participant’s’ view of Christianity before they were incarcerated was

the bad example of other Christians they came in contact with or had a relationship with. P1 was affected by his church experience never getting him to have a genuine

relationship with God, stating, “I grew up, you know, in church and so I didn't necessarily

have a relationship with God. I had a relationship with church.” P2 stated that although he knew the right way, he held a lot of resentment in his heart towards his parents, stating, “I held a lot of resentment toward my mom and dad, the way they were raised

me… I know the right way, but I still held this resentment in my heart. I felt like I didn't have to go through all of what I went through to get to Christ.” P3 reflected on how the Christian men created a sour impression towards Christianity, stating, “I didn't have that

we're not going in the house of God if we're not… And to see men come out and do the same thing we're doing. It was kind of, no, I don't want that.”

P4 reflected on how his mother was a devout Christian, but when she was diagnosed with bipolar schizophrenia, support from the church was not there for her. He stated, “she succumbed to a nervous breakdown and was diagnosed with bipolar

schizophrenia. And when healing didn't come and when support from the church didn't pull through when she needed it most, um, that's when I really started believing it was all a scam.” P5 reflected on his experience of Christians talking about others and sinful things, which caused him to reject it, stating, “There was nothing like someone tongue-

talking and saying they're filled with the Holy Ghost and the next instance they're talking behind some sisters so-and-so's back and, you know, doing violent things or doing drugs and stuff like that. So… I thought if Christianity was true, the people that I was

witnessing and experiencing didn't have the true Holy Spirit that they profess to have or they did.”