Gospel according to Stephen Baldwin

Actor Stephen Baldwin (youngest of the acting Baldwin brothers) has become an impassioned Christian after living the wild Hollywood lifestyle. In his New York Times best-selling book, "The Unusual Suspect: My Calling to the New Hardcore Movement of Faith" (September 2006), he explains how his life turned around.

Question: In the book, you are very chatty with God. Since you don't actually hear him, how do you know it is him?

Answer: Well, there are two responses to that. One can actually hear him; that is possible. There are people who have audibly heard a voice. Probably more relative to, I think, your question is there are thoughts that come into your mind. They can sometimes be discerned as thoughts that are not your own. Does that make any sense?

Question: But how do you know it's God?

Answer: I'll give you an example. Like if I've been praying to God to reveal something to me about a particular issue and then all of a sudden a total stranger on an airplane says to me, "Hey, guess what? This thing just happened in my life, and here's the solution that I came to about it." And it's totally, exactly parallel to what you've been praying about — that could be God.

Question: Do you think it is easier for you to embrace this new Christian life because you've already lived a worldly, sinful life?

Answer: Not really, because if the experience that I'm having is real, then it's one that's motivated by the spiritual realm. If you are representing the side of good, then the side of evil is warring against you that much more powerfully. So, no, it's harder to be doing what I'm doing than living in the world. See, most of the people living in the world don't even know that Satan is controlling their life.

Question: So, how can they be doing wrong if they don't know they are being controlled?

Answer: Well, this is where it starts to get into that gray area of free will and all of that. From my perspective, anybody that knows about God but chooses to live their life without him — then they are doing wrong and choosing to ignore it.

Question: OK, here's a question I know you've heard before. If Jesus is the true Savior, what happens to the souls of good Jews, Muslims, Hindus, etc.?