Monday, March 20, 2023

It is the 20th of March 2023 Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org, I’m Dan van Voorhis.

A very happy Monday to you- and yes, sure, last Monday, I guessed that UCLA would be a one-seed, not Purdue. And then Purdue got the #1 seed only to get punched in the mouth by the 16th seed Fairleigh Dickinson University Knights!

Ok- let’s go to the mailbag. Brenda in Fargo, North Dakota, wrote- first, she wrote to CHA@1517.orgwhich is apparently a thing. Danv or CHA at 1517.org can get your question to me.

Brenda, in the most famous city in the Dakotas- you have a movie and t.v. show based in Fargo. You also have North Dakota State- a college that tricked pro teams twice, once with Carson Wentz and then Trey Lance. Also, that there are 2 Dakotas and 1 California is kind of silly. But I digress, only to answer a question about population and geography. Brenda wrote:

“I’m curious how the Bible Belt came to be so different, religiously speaking, then the rest of the United States?

Also have been wondering if you could share the music in your typical Monday through Friday introduction. It’s so soothing, and I’d like to listen to more!”

That music is an acoustic guitar rendering of Bach’s famous Unaccompanied Cello Suite #1 in G Major. Check out John Williams (not the composer, but a classical guitar player)- “John Williams Plays Bach” is a standard album for me when I’m reading or writing.

So- the Bible Belt. Why is it the way it is? What is it? It’s a term coined by H.L. Mencken- a reporter and writer who covered the famous Scopes Monkey Trial- the trial loosely covered by the play and book “Inherit the Wind”- he was a Northeastern man with a certain contempt for what he saw as the backward south.

My first answer to your question is to get back to Colin Woodward’s “American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America”- it’s a fascinating book that gives some historical reasons for what anyone who traveled across the United States knows- that is, this country is really big and very, very different. We understand that a Frenchman and an Italian will be different- like a Greek and a Spaniard- but Americans are as diverse regarding geography, culture, and cuisine…

And sometimes, in the face of derision, a culture can solidify- this, I think, is the story of the 20th century in the Bible Belt (roughly from Texas to the Carolinas and from Kentucky to Northern Florida). It is, demographically, America's most Christian- largely evangelical- population. Some 80-90% of those in the south claim that their religion is extremely important to them (in places like the pacific NorthWest, the number hovers around 50%).

The roots of this come from the 2nd Great Awakening and a fear that those on the Western Frontier in the early 1800s were especially Godless. Those ruffians who would settle the west were the target of one of the earliest massive evangelizing campaigns in American history. And it wasn’t the Presbyterians or Episcopalians who did the work here- the Baptists and the Methodists. These denominations emphasized a common culture and moral ethic over an emphasis on doctrine. These churches didn’t require you to go to a college or seminary- but could start a church when they felt led. It was a place (and still is to some extent) that is fiercely independent and freedom-oriented- this suits a non-denominational or baptist approach to Christianity- less structure, less hierarchy, and more easily spread.

So- this is what fosters the particular evangelical Christian flare of this region, and when it came under fire in the 20th century from the so-called “elite” in the North East and on the Coasts, many Southern “stereotypes” became badges of honor- and thus a self-perpetuating culture.

Of course, this isn’t everyone- but a large enough majority that it affects legislation (as a Californian, you can purchase booze whenever and wherever you want, have weed legally delivered to your house, and we find chick-fil-a’s no-Sunday policy kind of strange. Give me that godless Popeye’s any day!”). Thanks for the question, Brenda in Fargo- also its own peculiar place- but I am also assuming you look and sound like Francis McDormand from the documentary, movie (whatever) about your hometown.

The last word for today comes from Acts 9- from the story of Saul’s conversion.

17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 20th of March 2023, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who knows that in Wisconsin, restaurants can’t use margarine in place of butter unless a customer specifically requests it. He is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man whose home state invented the burrito with carne asada, guacamole, and fries- I’m Dan van Voorhis. 

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.