As a true crime fan I am always impressed, but never surprised, at how often murderers are the most devout Christians. My latest read, "Love Hurts" by Keith Elliot Greenberg features the Caffey family in Texas (where else?) a churchgoing, fundamentalist unit of true believers. Of course being highly religious, ergo: judgemental as hell, they wouldn't let their teen-age daughter Erin date her newest boyfriend, Charlie James Wilkinson. Spurning the "honor your father and mother" clause in the bible, Erin, Charlie and a two other Christian friends came to the Caffey House with guns and swords (yes, swords) and shot Mr. and Mrs. Caffey, shot and stabbed their two young sons and set fire to the house. All died except for Mr. Caffey,who, despite his wounds was able to escape through a window, crawl to a neighbor and notify the police. Those madcap Christian kids were rounded up right away and before you could say "Thou shalt not kill" they were sentenced to from 40 years to life. Now Mr. Caffey, as you can imagine, was depressed about having his family slaughtered and his house burned to the ground. But in true Christian fashion he did not blame the lord for giving him these Job-like problems to deal with and while he briefly considered suicide, he changed his mind because as he said, "That wouldn't be honoring the God who saved my life."
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