Son of Sam to Son of God

There was an article in the newspaper recently about a man who has become a pen pal to David Berkowitz, the infamous Son of Sam. Who would want to correspond with him? In case you don't know, let me tell you some things the newspaper does not about how the Son of Sam became a son of God.

In 1976-1977, David Berkowitz killed at least six people and shot several more. He claimed he was possessed by demons and ordered by his neighbor's black Labrador retriever to kill. When he was caught and tried, he was sentenced to six life sentences. He is now in the Sullivan Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison, in New York.

Berkowitz says he sought out demonic entities to worship in order to receive their powers. He says he was in the most literal sense a "servant and soldier for Satan." In 1987, when he had been in prison 10 years, he was walking one night in the prison yard. Another inmate named Rick began to talk to him. He and Rick became friends, and over time Rick told him about the love of God and His saving power. Berkowitz was not convinced -- he was too evil. Besides, he was a Jew. One day, Rick gave him a little Gideon New Testament containing Psalms and Proverbs and told him to read the Psalms. And the Son of Sam read. One night, he read Psalm 34: "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles." David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam, filled with remorse, knelt down by his bunk. He says, "I began to pray, to talk with God as if He were right there in the cell with me. I asked Him to forgive me for everything I had done. I told Him how sorry I was and threw myself at the mercy of Jesus Christ." David Berkowitz, the child of God, arose from that bunk.

David's life continues to show that his was not the typical "jailhouse conversion." The newspaper article I mentioned earlier details his relationship with Andy Kahan, a man who has dedicated himself to seeing that infamous killers do not profit from their crimes through the sale of so-called "murderabilia." "He has been an invaluable asset for me . . ." Kahan says of Berkowitz. Berkowitz says of the sale of items related to his murders, "I am very bothered and troubled by what these auction sites are doing." He has signed affidavits disavowing any connection at all to the sales.

Does God still perform miracles? You bet He does!

"His pen pal is 'Son of Sam.'" The Dallas Morning News; June 30, 2009; p. 5B.