We have all seen it on several occasions. When people hurt each other and/or commit crimes it is not uncommon that they look at the sky (figuratively speaking) and ask God for forgiveness. This is perfectly understandable since they want to find peace with their Lord - They disobeyed Him and His laws, and ask Him to overlook their missteps.

Everything seems fine this far: The regretting individuals hope that God has forgiven them and may continue on with their lives, also hoping that they won't make the same mistakes again. But one has to ask onself this question: Does this method of dealing with your 'missteps' really put you in a better position? And does it really serve any positive purpose (from a religious perspective, not mental) at all? I mean, the individuals that has been negatively affected by these sinners still have their 'wounds', correct? So why would you turn to God and say: "Look, I know that I treated those people badly and I sincerely regret it, please forgive me." When God is not the one being hurt? Sure, He may be 'hurt' from the point where He deeply trusted you to make the right decisions, but other than that He is not the one affected by those actions.

Point being, as long as you ask the actual victim for forgiveness, there is no need to tell God how much you regret doing your shit. It's not like God cannot read your mind to see if you actually do regret your actions. And when you turn to God to overlook your missteps, you only do so to avoid confronting your mistakes.

The only cases in which asking God for forgiveness makes sense (again, from a religious perspective) would be when you have broken His laws which does not regard hurting someone. For instance: Gay people regretting their sexual feelings, people feeling sorry for forgetting their morning prayers and something as simple as regretting having doubts about God's existence. Of course though, these examples always vary depending on the individuals beliefs, but in all cases the sole purpose of asking for forgiveness is to show respect towards the demanding God.

I know that this is not some revolutionay thoughts that I present, but I thought it may be worth discussing (whether or not remains to be seen): God don't care if you ask Him for forgiveness after hurting someone. In fact, He despise it in some cases.

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." - Matthew 25:40

It works for some and they peace within their soul while other might not. Same religion or spirituality is interpreted very differently from individual to individual. There is no definitive answer to questions like this.

So that god will forgive their souls and let them through the pearly gates, of course.

Exactly, but it's not like you need to ask for Him to forgive you in order for Him to be aware that you sincerely are sorry. And if you in the meantime do nothing to help 'heal your victims wounds', my point remains: Asking for forgiveness serves no purpose (well, other than escaping from the shit you've caused). In God's eyes, an Atheist ending up helping his victims is alway better than a religious person doing nothing but asking God to forgive him.

To make themselves feel more secure. People will always use what they have at their disposal to make themselves feel better. It's human nature.

I know, but it still doesn't serve a religious purpose as in getting you closer to heaven or being appreciated by God, who'd much rather see you try to heal your victims wounds.

Are you suggesting that an atheist who show their regret by saying sorry to their victims is still worse than a religious person who, instead, turns to God? And that as long as you don't believe in God, all your good deeds are of no value?

Or maybe I just missed your point?

You must be seriously bored.

People ask god for forgiveness because it is what the bible say they must do if the break biblical law.

I am sure you knew that.

The biblical law also says that certain lawbreakers should be stoned to death, and that homosexuality is a sin.

There is nothing wrong in questioning how reasonable these biblical laws are or if they make any sense, religious people do that all the time.

@Spurgeonryan  That answer is exactly what I feared. You're saying that God don't care if an atheist do good deeds, and that a religious person who does far less good deeds are more likely to go to heaven.