Paris Hilton: Has She Found God?

[Suzanne Sutton]

Paris Hilton: Has She Found God?

Several weeks ago, while preparing to go to jail, she sauntered out of her front door with a Bible tucked under her arm--facing outward so the cover would be clearly visible. so it wasn't a shock that it took just 3 days in prison before Paris found God. She told Barbara Walters that she had "become more spiritual" and that God had given her a second chance.

There's quite a tradition of jailhouse conversions; many are temporary, aimed at gaining leniency from judges, while others seem genuine. Malcolm X discovered Islam while in a Massachusetts state prison. Oklahoma-bomb conspirator Terry Nichols claimed to have worn out 4 Bibles during his trial, and serial killer David Berkowitz--Son of Sam--converted from Judaism after an inmate told him Jesus Christ loved him and was willing to forgive him. Cuuck Colson, special counsel to President Richard Nixon, once described as the "evil genius of an evil administration," was facing arrest over Watergate charges when he read C.S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity." He converted befroe he went to prison, then went on to create Prison Fellowship, a volunteer ministry in more than 1,600 U.S. prisons that aims to help inmates "transform their lives through Christ."

What is it about being behind bars? "I discovered that prison is an incubator for new believers because everything else is stripped away, so you think about what really matters in life," Colson noted. As Samuel Johnson said, The hangman's noose marvelously concentrates the mind. John A. Thompson Jr., executive director of Kairos Prison Ministry International, an outreach program in 300 prisons, believes it's the isolation: "You have to be in prison around inmates to understand how disillusioned and rudderless they feel." What changes them, he says, is when they "begin to understand that there are people out there who care about them. Maybe there's a God who actually cares about them."

How can we tell if Paris' conversion is real? With 30 years of working with prisoners, Mark Earley, president of Prison Fellowship, has identified 3 things that indicate a genuine change of heart: "humility, accountability and involvement in local faith communities over tiem." Could humble churchgoing to the "in thing"? Colson--who faced much skepticism about his own conversion--hopes so: "If she's serious about it, she could do a lot of good with her life." --adapted from Newsweek, June 25, 2007.

Comment: Chuck Colson's conversion is real and quite impressive. I have read several of his books and am thrilled to see the way the Lord is working with and through him. To God be the glory!

Suzanne

[aldona]

I guess we won't really know whether the conversion is genuine until Ms Hilton gets out of jail and we see what direction her life takes.

We should always use extreme caution when trying to determine whether someone else's spiritual walk is "genuine" or not, because we do not have access to the secret things in their heart.

One thing we can be pretty sure of, though...is that this is probably the first time that the lady has had this much time alone by herself just to think.

aldona

[Amelia]

Quote:

One thing we can be pretty sure of, though...is that this is probably the first time that the lady has had this much time alone by herself just to think.

That right there could be one of the reasons Ms Hilton was in such emotional turmoil. It can be a very terrifying prospect to be shut away from others with only your thoughts to keep you company. Mabye she felt the need to have people around her justifying her life? Just who are you when you don't have that?

[olger]

I hope so. "If it's genuine, it ought to happen!" to quote Ravi Zacharius.