Divine Love breaks the cycle of crime

with contributions from James Warren

The man running down the street was fleeing from a crime he had just committed. He had assaulted a couple, and now he was being chased by about a dozen angry citizens. He heard the getaway car start, and he knew he could make it. After about eighteen years of crime, he had recently become an enforcer for a criminal gang in California.

In an instant just before he reached the car, a question came to his thought: "Is this what I really want?" The vivid answer, silent but powerful, began a transformation of his life that over a period of ten years has turned him into a loving husband and father, a Sunday School teacher, a successful and sought-after executive, an articulate leader who now helps people build character and meaning into their own lives. In September 1986 his petition to the state of California for a full pardon was granted—ten years after his arrest and conviction on felony charges. The Sentinel asked James Warren to talk about the rebirth he has experienced.

Jim, you have said that when you heard the answer to that dramatic question while you were fleeing, you heard it as "words, but no voice." What was the answer to your mental plea?

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