Pridmore / Watts Gangster's Guide to God

1. Auflage 2012
ISBN: 978-0-9567021-2-8
Verlag: Morning Star Puclications
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 200 Seiten

John Pridmore searched for happiness in money, power, drugs and sex and found none. In this book he demolishes these worldly illusions and presents his truth. Pridmore was a vicious and dangerous gangster of London's East End. He left his former life on a quest for truth and found it in God. In Gangster's Guide to God, Pridmore speaks bluntly about the deception of the world he was in and openly of his journey and the foundations of his new life. John Pridmore is the author of best-selling life story From Gangland to Promised Land and over the last ten years has given inspiring lifechanging talks in Europe and America to over 4 million people

Autoren/Hrsg.

Pridmore, John

Watts, Greg

Leseproben

Chapter 1 

The Guv’nor  
I always thought that God was a fairy tale, made up to keep people from doing bad things. But that all changed in the summer of 1991, in Central London, after I nearly killed a guy outside a bar owned by a firm I was heavily involved with.   It started when a rowdy group of drinkers in their twenties refused to leave at closing time. This was a common problem when you were working the doors. Myself and several other doormen had managed to get the group out of the bar, but they clearly weren’t happy. When one of them tried to push past me to get back in, I slipped on my knuckle-duster and drove my fist into his face. As his head hit the pavement it exploded, splattering blood everywhere. I stood motionless, not knowing what to do. Someone ran into the office to call an ambulance.   ‘He’s dead! He’s dead!’ screamed a girl.   The next moment, I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder. ‘Come on son, you’ve killed him.’   It was my mate Bulldog, who had come over from East London to have a drink with me.   ‘Give me your car keys, John. I’ll take your car back and you can get a cab outside Cairos.’   I hurried back into the bar, ran down into the basement, disappeared out the back door, and made my way to Cairos, a club in the next street. Bulldog was waiting there, sitting in my car. I decided not to get a cab, preferring to drive home myself.   ‘You’ve killed the bloke, John. You’ve got to think about what you’re going to do,’ said Bulldog, as we drove into the West End traffic. He was a top face in the East End and no stranger to this sort of thing.   ‘Is anyone at the pub going to give the Old Bill your full name?’ he asked.   ‘No. No one will say anything,’ I replied, still replaying the incident in my mind.   ‘Good. Now, do you want some money to go abroad to Spain or somewhere?’   ‘I’ve got money, Bulldog,’ I answered with a shrug of the shoulders.   ‘There’s no problem. Don’t worry. I can handle it.’   Not long after this, I was sitting alone one night in my flat in Leyton, thinking what a mess I’d made of my life. The man I’d hit didn’t die. But I’d been arrested and charged with GBH. I was now facing a trial. If I was convicted, I wouldn’t get away with a fine; I’d be sent down.   My problems had started when my parents got divorced. That event shattered my world. I quickly lost interest at school and drifted into petty crime. By my late teens, I’d already served time in a detention centre and a youth prison. But they failed to change me.   When I began doing backstage security work at pop concerts, I was introduced to a world of easy money, violence, drugs and women.   It wasn’t long before I was dealing drugs and then setting up drug deals. The further I got into the underworld the more violent I became. I was 6’4”, strong and knew how to handle myself. But I carried a machete and ammonia in my jacket pocket as extra protection. By the age of twenty-seven, I was driving flashy cars, running a luxury penthouse flat, and had more money in my pockets than I knew what to do with.   Something happened as I sat in my flat that night, and it changed my life forever. All of a sudden, I heard what I can only describe as a voice. It told me about all the worst things I’d done in my life. Thinking it must be the TV, I got up and turned it off.   But I still heard the voice. I realised it was the voice of my conscience. I felt the breath going out of me, and an incredible fear gripped me.   ‘I’m going to hell,’ I thought.   I fell to my knees, my eyes filled with tears, and I cried out,   ‘Give me another chance!’   Suddenly, I felt as if someone’s hands were on my shoulders and I was being lifted up.   An incredible warmth filled me and the fear disappeared. At that moment I knew – really knew, not just believed – that God was real.   From that point on my life began to change radically. To my relief, the GBH charge I faced was thrown out of court. I began praying, reading the Bible and going to Mass. Although I’d been baptised as a Catholic, it had meant nothing to me up until then.   Fifteen years later, I now want to bring others to an experience of God. I want to show that Christ can transform lives, no matter how broken or messed up, like mine was. The mercy, forgiveness and freedom that I’ve experienced is available to everyone. All you have to do is ask God into your life and trust in him.   But a lot of people nowadays say they’re not sure if they believe in God. It’s become almost fashionable. I didn’t want God to be real. If God was real, that meant I’d be judged about the things I’d done in my life and end up in hell.   We often want to be God and we feel that we don’t need God. Many people live today by their own rules, not the laws of God. It’s often pride that blocks our relationship with God. I once had a conversation with an old man who was adamant that God didn’t exist.   I said, ‘Well, why don’t you ask God if ...