Posted on 11/14/2025 4:24:59 PM PST by daniel1212
You know, I've stood in front of cameras for most of my life. I've played gunslingers, cops, cowboys, outlaws. I've directed stories about heroes and villains, about redemption and revenge. But I've never been more nervous than I am right now standing here to talk about something that's more real than anything I've ever put on screen. I'm here to tell you about the day I gave my life to Jesus Christ. and more importantly, why he's the only way.
Now, I know what some of you might be thinking. Clint Eastwood, the guy who played the man with no name, the guy who squinted through spaghetti westerns and made go ahead make my day a household phrase. Yeah, that guy.
And I'll tell you something, for most of my life, I thought I had it all figured out. I was self-made, self-reliant. I pulled myself up, worked hard, made a name for myself in this town when nobody thought I could. I thought strength meant standing alone. I thought wisdom meant trusting yourself above all else, but I was wrong.
See, Hollywood teaches you to believe in yourself and the world teaches you to be your own god. And for decades, I bought into that. I was spiritual. Sure. I appreciated nature, appreciated the mystery of existence. I had my own personal philosophy cobbled together from bits and pieces of different ideas. I thought that was enough. I thought being a good person, working hard, treating people fairly, I thought that was the whole ball game.
But there was something missing. There was this emptiness I couldn't quite name, couldn't quite fill. I'd filled it with work, with success, with relationships, with projects. And don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for all of it, but none of it satisfied that deep hunger in my soul. None of it answered the fundamental questions. Why am I here? What happens when this is all over? Is there really such a thing as right and wrong? Or are we all just making it up as we go along?
I was in my workshop one evening. I like to work with my hands, build things, you know, and I was alone with my thoughts. And in that silence, I felt the weight of my own mortality in a way I never had before. I started thinking about all the characters I'd played who dealt with death, who faced their own end. But this wasn't a character. This was me, Clint Eastwood. And I realized that all my toughness, all my self-reliance, all my accomplishments, none of it would matter when I drew my last breath.
I thought about the men I'd played who sought redemption. William Money and Unforgiven. A man haunted by his past. Frankie Dunn in Million-Dollar Baby looking for meaning in a broken world. Walt Kowalsski in Grand Torino trying to make peace with his demons. I'd spent my career exploring these themes of guilt, redemption, and sacrifice, but I'd never truly understood them. I'd never truly experienced them.
A friend of mine, I won't name names, but someone who'd known me for years, had been gently, persistently talking to me about Jesus. Not in a preachy way, not in a way that made me feel judged or cornered, just in a way that made me curious. He changed, I could see it. There was a peace in him, a purpose that went beyond success or failure. And one day I asked him straight out,
"What's different about you?" And yes he told me, he told me about the gospel. Not the cultural Christianity I'd seen, not the religiosity, not the politics, but the simple, profound truth that God loved the world so much that he sent his only son. that Jesus Christ came not for the righteous but for sinners. That he lived the perfect life I could never live, died the death I deserved, and rose again to offer me, to offer all of us, eternal life.
I'll be honest, my first reaction was skepticism. I'm a logical guy. I like evidence. I like things I can see and touch and understand. But my friend said something that stuck with me.
He said, "Clint, you've made a career out of telling stories. You know that the best stories reveal truth. What if the greatest story ever told is actually true?"
That got me thinking. I started reading the Bible, really reading it, not just the bits and pieces I'd heard over the years. I started with the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and, I found something I didn't expect. I found Jesus. Not the Jesus of stained glass windows or political talking points. Not the Jesus who's used to sell books or justify people's pet causes. But the real Jesus, the one who spoke with authority and compassion. The one who called out hypocrisy but showed mercy to broken people. The one who claimed to be the way, the truth, and the life and backed it up with his actions, his death, and his resurrection.
And I realized something. Every hero I'd ever played, every story of redemption I'd ever told, every sacrifice I'd portrayed on screen, they were all shadows of this one true story. They resonated because they echoed something real, something ultimate, the story of a God who would rather die than live without us.
I wrestled with it. I'm not someone who makes decisions lightly. I asked hard questions. Yes, I looked at the evidence, the historical evidence for the resurrection, the testimony of the apostles, the transformation of lives throughout history. I looked at the philosophical arguments. I looked at my own life, my own emptiness, my own inability to save myself.
And one night alone in my home, I got down on my knees, me who'd played men who never knelt to anyone, and I prayed. I said, "God, if you're real, if Jesus is who he says he is, I need you. I can't do this on my own anymore. I've tried. I've failed. Forgive me. Save me. Make me yours."
Nothing dramatic happened. No lightning, no voices from heaven. But something changed in my heart. It was like a weight I had been carrying my whole life suddenly lifted. It was like coming home after being lost for decades. That was the day I gave my life to Christ and I've never been the same.
Now, let me tell you what that means because I think there's a lot of confusion about what it means to be a Christian. It doesn't mean I suddenly became perfect. It doesn't mean I don't struggle. It doesn't mean I have all the answers. What it means is that I finally stopped trying to be my own savior and accepted the savior God provided.
The impact on my life has been profound. First, I have peace. Real peace. Not the absence of problems, but the presence of someone greater than my problem. I don't lie awake at night tormented by my failures anymore because I know they're forgiven. I don't face the future with dread because I know who holds the future.
Second, I have purpose. My life isn't about building a legacy anymore. It's about serving the one who gave his life for me. Everything I do now, I try to do for his glory. My work, my relationships, my resources, they're not mine, they're his. And that's liberating. It takes the pressure off. I don't have to prove myself. I don't have to earn love or acceptance. I already have it in Christ.
Third, I've experienced real transformation. The things that used to control me, pride, anger, lust, the need for approval, they're losing their grip. Not because I'm strong, but because his spirit is at work in me.
The Bible talks about being a new creation. And that's what I am. The old Clint, the self-reliant, self-made man, is dying. The new Clint, the one being formed in Christ's image, is being born. Fourth, I have hope. When you've lived as long as I have, you've seen enough to know that this world is broken. There's injustice, suffering, death, and without God, that's all there is. But with Christ, there's hope. Hope that this isn't all there is. Hope that evil doesn't get the last word. Hope that death isn't the end. hope that one day every wrong will be made right, every tear will be wiped away, and we'll see him face to face.
Now, let me address the elephant in the room. I said that Christ is the only way. And I know that's offensive to a lot of people in our culture. We're told that all paths lead to God, that it's arrogant to claim one religion is true. But here's the thing. I didn't make that claim. Jesus did. In John 14-6, Jesus says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Now, either that's true or it's not. Either Jesus is who he says he is, God in flesh, the only mediator between God and man, or he's a liar or a lunatic. There's no middle ground. CS Lewis made that argument, and it's one that stuck with me.
And when I look at the evidence, the historical evidence, the philosophical arguments, the testimony of transformed lives, and most importantly, my own experience, I'm convinced Jesus is telling the truth. He is the only way. Not because I'm narrow-minded, but because that's the reality.
Think about it logically. If we're separated from God by our sin, and we are all of us, then we need a bridge back to him. But we can't build that bridge ourselves. No amount of good works, religious rituals, or sincere belief in our own ideas can erase our guilt or overcome our fundamental problem. We're rebels who've turned away from our creator. We need someone who's both fully God and fully man. Someone who can represent us before God and represent God to us. Someone who can live the perfect life we should have lived and die the death we deserve to die. That's Jesus. That's why he's the only way. Not because God is exclusive or arbitrary, but because he's provided the one way that actually works.
Other religions tell you to climb the ladder to God, be good enough, do enough, know enough. Christianity tells you that God climbed down the ladder to you. That's grace. That's the gospel. That's why it's different from every other religious system in the world.
I know some of you are thinking, "But what about all the good people who never heard about Jesus? What about people in other religions who are sincere? Those are fair questions and they're worth wrestling with. What I can tell you is this. God is just and God is loving. He'll judge every person fairly taking into account what they knew and what they did with what they knew. But I also know this. If you've heard the gospel, if you know about Jesus, you're accountable for that knowledge. You can't unhear it. You have to decide what you'll do with it.
And here's what I want you to understand. God isn't trying to keep people out of heaven. He's trying to get people in. That's why he sent Jesus. That's why he sent people to tell others about Jesus. That's why I'm standing here tonight risking my reputation to tell you there is a God who loves you, who made you, who wants a relationship with you. And he's made a way for that to happen through his son.
Some of you are carrying guilt. You've done things you're ashamed of. You think you're too far gone, that God could never forgive you or accept you. Let me tell you something. I've played some dark characters. I've explored the depths of human depravity in my films. But none of that compares to the darkness in my own heart that I've had to face. And yet, God forgave me. Not because I earned it, but because Jesus paid for it.
The thief on the cross next to Jesus, he'd lived a wasted life. He was dying for his crimes. But in his last moments, he turned to Jesus and said, "Remember me." And Jesus said, "Today you will be with me in paradise." If there's hope for him, there's hope for anyone, there's hope for you.
Some of you are self-sufficient. You've made it on your own. You're successful, respected, accomplished. You think you don't need God. I understand I was you. But let me ask you, what happens when your strength fails? What happens when your money can't buy what you need? What happens when you're facing death and all your accomplishments mean nothing? You need something, someone greater than yourself?
Some of you are spiritual but not religious. You believe in something, but you're not ready to commit to Christianity. I get it. I was there, too. But at some point, you have to stop shopping for spiritual truths and start embracing the truth. Jesus isn't one option among many. He's the culmination of all our spiritual searching. He's the answer to the question we've all been asking.
Let me close with this. I've lived a long life. I've had success and failure. I've experienced highs and lows. I've been celebrated and criticized. And I can tell you with absolute certainty that nothing nothing compares to knowing Jesus Christ. Not wealth, not fame, not accomplishment, not even the love of family, as precious as that is, because everything else is temporary. Everything else fails. Everything else leaves you empty. But Christ is eternal. Christ is sufficient. Christ is real.
I'm not asking you to check your brain at the door. I'm not asking you to accept something irrational. I'm asking you to consider the evidence. Read the Gospels. Look at the historical case for the resurrection. Examine the logical arguments. But most importantly, examine your own heart. Are you satisfied? Do you have peace? Do you know where you're going when you die? If not, I'm telling you, there's an answer. His name is Jesus. He died for you. He rose for you. He's calling you to himself. Not to religion, not to rules, not to some cultural identity, but to a relationship, a relationship with the God who made you and loves you and wants you to know him.
I gave my life to Christ because I finally realized I couldn't save myself. And he's transformed my life because he's real and he's powerful and he's faithful. He's the only way. because he's the only one who can bridge the gap between holy God and sinful humanity.
I don't know where you are in your spiritual journey. Maybe you're a skeptic. Maybe you're searching. Maybe you're close but haven't taken that final step. Wherever you are, I'm asking you to take Jesus seriously.
Don't dismiss him. Don't reduce him to a good teacher or a nice idea. deal with him as he presents himself as Lord and Savior, as God and man, as the only way to the father.
My life has meaning now because of Christ. My past is forgiven. My present has purpose. My future is secure. Not because of anything I've done, but because of everything he's done.
That's my testimony. That's my story. And my prayer is that it becomes your story, too. Thank you.
Image: The New Yorker
YouTube: For the spoken version of this testimony.
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THAT excerpt is not in the link you posted. That voice is talking about Clint - saying “Clint” and Clint would not have referred to himself as “Clint”, would he? That is a voice with an accent - not the voice of Clint Eastwood. Where is the link that is in your excerpt?
Likely not. Eastwood fathered a half dozen children by about as many women. A pathological womanizer, he clearly has contempt for women, and hasn't even acknowledged some of his children.
I never did like him, but his "conversion", as well as his sins, are between him and God.
We all answer, some Day.
For comparision. finding a video of him actually speaking with his voice at 95 (vid and text are dated at Oct. 2025) has been futile, though for late 94 I found this here And this one is from 5 years ago.
I do not want to spend much time on this, suffice to say that if the voice in video is AI generated (I hope not), that is alarming. Actual interview of Eastwood confirming his conversion from a reputable source is needed. a
Keith was a personal friend of mine when I lived in So Cal back in the late 70’s. He was a beautiful Christian brother, and genuinely funny at times. But he took himself too seriously sometimes almost to the point of anxiety, probably because he was influenced heavily by Charles Finney. I hadn’t seen him in a couple of years prior to his death. It was a total shock to me, specially since two of the children died with him. It took Melody a while to start moving forward, but God is gracious and merciful.
He was doing something, when he said that. 😜
I went to Keiths’ concert shortly after his Death. His Wife made it a Memorial at the San Diego Sports Arena. His music stayed with me as did The Lord all these years. “The Sheep and the Goats” song is something He made His Own! Last Days Ministries is still around, I think .
His Testimony I Refered to was
Huntley Street or some such and stuck with Me Also.
Maranatha Amigo !
Yep, a civilized one, wearing an Abe Lincoln top hat. Howdy.
God bless.
“The water’s fine.”
Below is a 14 minute video told in story format (Mr. Ballen). It is really interesting and amazing. And true. He doesn’t say who it is until the very end, but....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pECd0uXB0RI&t=2s
He sure was - the H.O.G.!
Thanks for pointing out this rabbit hole to me!
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