Finding Jesus, One Criminal Act at a Time

- Daniel

Dog-murdering hero Michael Vick, Atlanta Falcon quarterback, last month after his plea bargain, announced his conversion to Christianity. "I found Jesus and turned my life over to God. I think that's the right thing to do as of now."

It seems like the tradition in the South is to claim personal reformation in the form of Christianity to exempt yourself from further responsibility. Vick gets to join a list of other criminal converts this year, including Ashley Miller and Heather Johnston, who, back in March robbed a bank in Acworth, Georgia. Seen on security cameras laughing and chatting as they pulled off their heist, they were dubbed the "Barbie Bandits" by some news outlets. A few days after they were caught, they claimed to have found Christ. Of course this penitent life-changing event didn't occur until after they got their nails done, topped off with an old-fashioned car chase with police officers.

I suppose if hiding behind Jesus gets you less jail time, it's only natural to go that route. But the whole thing about Christianity is it demands reconciliation. And that may require facing jail time for violations of society's laws, no matter how good of an athlete you are or how much you love Jesus.

In his attempt to prove to the world his change of heart, this week, Vick failed his drug test.

Too bad Jesus doesn't condone marijuana use. The judge is going to throw the book at him, and this time it won't be the Bible.