Convicted?

[lovelavender]

Recently I was on another forum where there are many different denominations of Christianity. I keep seeing the word “convicted” as in “I am convicted that that is wrong, I am convicted that I should stop doing (whatever)”. Does anyone know what that means? When I hear convicted I think of prison. I guess it means convinced? Why do people say that?

 

[renee1258]

from dictionary.com

·vict cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/JPG/pron.jpg ( P ) Pronunciation Key (khttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/schwa.gifn-vhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/ibreve.gifkthttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/prime.gif)
v. con·vict·ed, con·vict·ing, **con·victs **
v. tr.

1. 
   *]Law. To find or prove (someone) guilty of an offense or crime, especially by the verdict of a court: The jury convicted the defendant of manslaughter.
   *]To show or declare to be blameworthy; condemn: His remarks convicted him of a lack of sensitivity.
   *]To make aware of one’s sinfulness or guilt.
   
   v. intr.
   
   To return a verdict of guilty in a court: “We need jurors… who will not convict merely because they are suspicious” (Scott Turow).
   n. Law (khttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/obreve.gifnhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/prime.gifvhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/ibreve.gifkthttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/lprime.gif)
   
   1. 
      *]A person found or declared guilty of an offense or crime.
      *]A person serving a sentence of imprisonment.
      
      adj. Archaic
      
      Found guilty; convicted.

 

[Malachi4U]

I don’t know but it sounds like you may have enterred the poor grammer zone. I think that maybe the posters meant to use the word convinced:

From Merriam- Websters:
Main Entry: con·vince [m-w.com/images/audio.gif](javascriptopWin(’/cgi-bin/audio.pl?convin01.wav=convince’))
Pronunciation: k&n-'vin(t)s
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): con·vinced; con·vinc·ing
Etymology: Latin *convincere *to refute, convict, prove, from *com- + vincere *to conquer – more at VICTOR
1 obsolete a : to overcome by argument b : OVERPOWER, OVERCOME
2 obsolete : DEMONSTRATE, PROVE
3 : to bring (as by argument) to belief, consent, or a course of action : PERSUADE <*convinced *himself that she was all right – William Faulkner> <something I could never convince him to read – John Lahr>

…

So they should have said “I am CONVICED that this is wrong” etc…

Just another example of the need for more English majors?

 

[mercygate]

That is a common evangelical way of saying: I believe God has placed this belief in my heart and I need to pay attention!

I believe it derives and extends from an earlier usage regarding coming to an awareness of sin and being “convicted” by one’s conscience.

The Oxford English Dictionary notes a U. S. Origin:

3. Convinced of sin; converted. (Cf. CONVICT v. 4.) U.S.

1822 M. B. SMITH Let. 12 Oct. in 40 Yrs. Washington Soc. (1906) 159 The groans and sobs of the newly converted, or convicted as they call them. 1846 J. J. HOOPER Adv. Simon Suggs (1851) x. 124 By this time it had come to be generally known that the ‘convicted’ old man was Captain Simon Suggs the very ‘chief of sinners’ in all that region. 1885 ‘C. E. CRADDOCK’ Prophet Gt. Smoky Mts. 5 ‘The boys are convicted, then?’ he asked… ‘The boys hev got thar religion, too,’ she faltered.

 

[Chris_W]

I’m guilty of using (or mis-using, as the case may be) that word…though not very often. I guess I use it to mean something ever so slightly different that convinced. Convinced leaves the door open to the possibility of change. Convicted feels a bit more absolute to me.

I did find the following definition in the “Brainy Dictionary” (hey, maybe I’m brainy ):

Self-convicted
(a.) Convicted by one’s own consciousness, knowledge, avowal, or acts.

Obvoiusly the truths I believe are not a prison for me, but they are something from which I cannot escape. It is the inseparability of the knower and the known.

Nevertheless, I will use the word less now that I know it detracts from the dialogue.

 

[Malachi4U]

Chris W,

Great point!!

Well taken and good job!:clapping:

 

[lovelavender]

Thanks for the answers. I thought it was a mistake in grammer also until I kept seeing it over and over. I thought I was just behind on modern English (which I often am).