Lawbreaking

QUESTION: Today's comes from VL:
"How can someone be a Christian and yet secretly do something that's obviously illegal? Someone in our church was convicted of embezzlement recently, and now she's headed for prison. How could she do this but still go to church every week? "

IRRELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE:
I can understand your bewilderment. You are obviously under the misapprehension that people who go to church are "good" people, and those that don't are not. There have never been any crime statistics gathered to support this fallacy, and hence is one of the great furphies of religion. There are just as many people leading decent law-abiding lives outside of religion as inside it. There are just as many scoundrels outside of religion as in it. We are all capable of breaking the law and will do so if we can justify it to ourselves. Who wouldn't steal if their loved ones were starving? The presence of a deity supposedly hovering over us makes no difference.
I have been to church and observed everyone acting holier than thou, but reverting to their normal persona for the rest of the week. Maybe they think anything is okay because they will be forgiven? The weekly rituals of religion are actually a distraction. People attend church, sing, recite prayers, and participate in a ceremony and come away thinking that they are somehow holy and cleansed. They would have been better off doing something character building.

BILLY GRAHAM'S ANSWER:
http://www.billygraham.org/MyAnswer_Article.asp?ArticleId=6345