The Unusual Suspect

July 10, 2006
As the youngest son of six children, at the tail end of the (in)famous Baldwin brothers acting family, Stephen Baldwin has never done anything by halves. In this exhausting autobiographical report, Baldwin depicts himself as a wild, fun-loving extremist who mended his ways after making a personal commitment to Christ a few years back. Faced with his boldness bordering on fanaticism, readers will either love or hate Baldwin's take on the Christian life. At the outset, some may cringe at his recollections at being invited to the Playboy mansion, and his former caveman mentality toward women will likely cause some ire. Yet despite the audacious talk, Baldwin pointedly admits with some measure of humility his current struggles to "live out" a genuine God-honoring faith. He discusses how his new faith has affected his family, details the life events that brought him to Christ and offers randomly presented musings on marriage, prayer, purity, divine intervention and evangelism. If Baldwin's intent is to rev up the blood pressure of Christian readers while simultaneously challenging them to more courageous, faith-guided living, the venture succeeds. But be warned: this is not a gentle chronicle but an almost spastic spiritual memoir by someone on perpetual fast-forward.