February 1, 2002

BABY FACES

They look more like young Army recruits fresh out of high school and just getting ready to begin basic training than convicted felons facing long prison sentences.

Yet this is the type of inmate I am seeing more and more of behind these walls. They look angry and bewildered at the same time. In the neighborhoods each of them grew up in, they lived by a code of violence, and yet they seem to have retained some of their childhood innocence and naivtey.

This younger generation of baby face criminals seems so out of place in here.

However this is a different generation than the one I was a part of. But I can relate to them Because they're travelling down the same road I had travelled on more than two decades earlier. This is the road of sin, sickness, sorrow, misery, and ultimately death.

The Bible says, "There is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9). So it is of no surprise then that the road I took is still well travelled.

If I may say so, this well trekked road of ruin is the broad highway which Jesus spoke of that eventually ends at the mouth of Hell.

The Lord Jesus said, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it (Matthew 7:13,14).

David Berkowitz

February 2, 2002

YOUNG PEOPLE AND GUNS

Several years ago I was watching a TV program that was discussing youth violence. There's been a great deal of focus on this subject ever since the Columbine High School shooting back in 1999.

Anyhow, the "experts" were sharing their various theories as to why kids carry guns. While watching the program I pulled out a pen and paper and jotted down a few of their ideas, and I put down a few of my own.

Today I believe that there are generally four main reasons why young people carry guns or other weapons: 1) protection, 2) Power, 3) Self-respect, 4) Criminal Intent.

From what I know by being in prison for the past 25 years, and by talking to so many men from all walks of life, expecially younger men who seem to be the ones who are committing a bulk of today's violent crimes, most of them grew up in neighborhoods that were filled with violence. There were lots of weapons around, too.

For most of these men, carrying a gun or some other kind of potentially lethal weapon was considered normal behavior.

And while they all knew it is illegal to carry such things, all felt that a weapon of some kind was necessary.

In areas of the country where there is so much violence, carrying a weapon gives one a sense of protection. Some felt power knowing that they were carrying an implement that can, if need be, end the life of another person like a real or imagined enemy.

For others, carrying a weapon was a statement of personhood, and individuality. Lastly is criminal intent, when a man or woman carries a weapon wilth the deliberat purpose of robbing or hurting someone.

David Berkowitz

February 3, 2002

MORE ON YOUTH VIOLENCE

Today I feel led to continue to discuss youth violence and crimes by young persons.

I believe that teenagers, for example, do not have the professional training, self-discipline, maturity or common sense as to how and when to use a firearm or other weapon. So during a time of anger, frustration or daring bravado, they act out their false sense of masculinity--the warped idea that a man proves his worth by doing acts of violence and by striking out at others.

I believe that when a teenager pulls out his gun and shoots someone, he is acting both as an adult and as a child. He's at an age where he is grown-up enough to be held responsible for his actions. Yet he is not mature enough nor is he emotionally developed enough to fully grasp the long term impact and the consequences of his actions.

Simply knowing right from wrong is usually not enough of a check to stop a young man from committing a crime of violence. Furthermore, he has little abililty to fully comprehend what a "life sentence" means or even the death penalty: the full and final end of his life, forever.

A teenager really hasn't lived long enough on this earth to get a sense of what 25, 50 or more years are as a future prison sentence. These years are beyond his ability to measure in the limited time frame of his own life.

This is a sad and tragic situation. Most prosecutors and other law enforcement personnel see the "lock them up and throw away the key" concept as the main "no nonsense" way to get a violent teenager off the streets and away from society for as long as possible.

I do not blame them for thinking like this because it is, on the surface, the most basic of reactions to this frustrating poroblem. However, as a Christian, I believe that this is more of a spiritual problem. So it requires a spiritual response and solution.

There are no simple anwers. Yet we Christians should realize that the gospel we're supposed to be sharing with others is powerful. We are the ones who must take the Word of God to this lost generation.

I know that the Lord can rescue young people from their self-destructive ways and their out-of-control behaviors. Jesus can make the difference in a person's life.

So I believe that, in the times we're now living in, the church needs a new vision, a deeper hunger, and a fresh call to reach out to people from all walks of life.

We can have a positive impact on so many kinds, keeping them from ruin. Not that the church can reach all of them, for we may never accomplish this.

However, maybe by helping some of these youth to lead better lives and hopefully stay out of prison we can even prevent others from being their future victims.

And while not everyone will respond in a positive way to Christ's message of salvation, we can be faithful to His mandate to "go into all the world." We need to share the love of Jesus with as many as we can.

David Berkowitz

February 11, 2002

THREE MUSLIMS

It is oftentimes a difficult and risky thing to talk about Jesus Christ with the prisoners who are Muslims. In here the number of Muslim men outnumber those of us who are born again Christians.

But in any event, this month the Lord has allowed me to share about Jesus with him for now. He's been sharing many things about his life, expecially his struggles and dissappointments. I'll call him "Talmeek". He's been in prison for ten years, with a long time to go.

Talmeek seldom hears from his family anymore. He had been lamenting about this, feeling that he's a forgotten man. I know without a doubt that it is the light of Jesus Christ in me that is drawing him in my direction.

He said he finds it so amazing that I am at peace and have such joy as well as an easy going attitude, even after being locked up for almost a quarter of a century. He knows that bitterness has been poisoning his soul. He's admitted this to me. Yet he has been mentally contrasting my life with his, and I know he feels very confused and unsettled right now.

I told Talmeek in no uncertain terms that it is Christ who gives me inner peace as well as a reason to live. I've been showing him some of my photos from Africa. Talmeek has been amazed. He finds it surprising that a white man who's in prison would have so many friends in Africa.

I explained that Christians are really one big family, that our love transcends all human boundaries and colors. We are one body in Christ.

David Berkowitz

February 12, 2002

SHARING WITH MUSLIMS

Yesterday I shared about my Muslim neighbor, Taleek*, and how the Lord has allowed he and I to become friends.

I was also encouraged when, earlier this month, another Muslim inmate, Abdul,* sat next to me in the class I attend on weekday afternoons. He began asking me about the book I had on my desk, MORE THAN A CARPENTER by Josh McDowell. This is a "classic" work well known to many Christians. Josh McDowell specializes in the field of "apologetics", where he vigorously explains and defends the life and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I felt led by the Holy Spirit to ask Abdul if he would like the book. We had been whispering. I saw him look around the room to see if anyone was watching us. When he was satisfied that no other prisoners were paying us any mind, he told me yes. I gave him this little book which he quickly stuffed into his school bag.

I know Abdul will be reading this in secret, and God is going to speak to this man's mind and heart. A seed will be planted.

And still another Muslim, Hameed*, came to me and started asking questions about what I believe in. We had a good conversation. My heart was pleased when he told me that his sister attends a large evangelistic church in Brooklyn. I know she has been praying for him and his heart is already being softened, although he doesn't know it.

*The names of these thee men are fictitious in order to protect them from any retaliation from other Muslims.

David Berkowitz