GOD & TEXAS: Unholy Gunslingers

In the late 19th Century, Texas was a haven for outlaws. And there were plenty of flashpoints to stir tension. From family feuds and post-Civil War rivalries to land rights disputes and gambling conflicts, law and order was stretched beyond capabilities.

Ruthless gangs rustled cattle and robbed banks with impunity. Bandits like Bill Longley, Sam Bass, Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, and John “King” Fisher became legendary for their greed and sinister passion. Businesses and private citizens lived in fear with these criminals prowling the countryside. 

Deeper research into some of these crooks presents an interesting conundrum. Many of them were born into church-going families! How can a church-kid become a vicious delinquent?

Rev. Robert Sallee James was the father of the infamous gang leader Jesse James. Robert was a circuit-riding Baptist preacher who established churches throughout Missouri, and was known as a sincere Christian and a cultivated scholar. He was a founding trustee of what became William Jewell College in 1849. And yet, some of his sons were gang leaders in several states, including Texas.

The father of John Wesley Hardin was a Methodist circuit-riding preacher, schoolteacher, and respected lawyer. Even with the advantages of a churched family, young Hardin became one of the most violent and feared desperados in Texas. 

Myra Shirley (Belle) Starr, known as the Bandit Queen, was shot to death in 1889 at age 40. She had led a life of crime with notorious thugs and criminals living on her ranch in Scyene, Texas. Yet, historians report that Belle loved to teach children in Sunday school and led them in singing with her guitar. Her favorite songs were “Jesus Lover of My Soul,” and “There Is a Fountain Filled With Blood.”

And then there was Deacon Jim Miller. Growing up in Evant, Texas, Deacon Jim was a faithful member of the Methodist church, and he did not smoke, drink or swear. He read his Bible daily and was always dressed in a white shirt, long black coat, and diamond ring. But Deacon Jim was a professional assassin who bragged before he was hanged in 1909, that he had killed 51 people.

How can someone who appeared religious become so violent? We can blame the church, but humans fail. We may grow up in church and learn the “lingo,” but never make a personal commitment to Christ. Some rely on the faith and works of others but remain themselves an empty spiritual shell.

Christ alone is our standard of perfection for daily living. The only hope for a better life is knowing Christ personally. The path of life is an individual choice. Adam and Eve lived in the perfect environment but still chose sin. Son Cain failed God, but his brother Abel pleased God. Personal choice.

Jesus said in John 14:23 ESV, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” Choose wisely.

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