Most people don't have the gall to fill a dead preachers shoes.....so the call goes out to find a huckster willing to relocate.....some bible colleges are mere qonset huts like Bryan memorial creationist camp in Dayton Tennessee brainwashing students to imitate William Jennings Bryan dead days after Darrow made a monkey out of him on live tadio 1925 just 7 years after Spanish Flu
Sorry, but I refuse to be saddened by the lack of intellect in the heartland. They want to be fiercely independent in a global society, there is a price to pay.
It is highly possible that, if this crises lasts long enough, the result could be another great shift in theist understanding similar to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Great awakenings. Of course many religionists will simply double down on their traditional beliefs but many will peel off as well. The previous "Great Awakenings" were largely the result of devastating wars. When people experience for themselves that prayer alone does not produce the desired results, such as saving loved ones, they will naturally begin to ask themselves or their God why? There are only three conclusions they can reach. There is no God or, there is some sort of God but my understanding is wrong or I didn't worship the right way (or hard enough) and God is angry. Of course there will always be those who choose the third option. As Jesus said, the poor will always be with us. Just like the poor, the ignorant will always be with us as well. It's easy to ridicule or hold contempt for this third group but, they should be viewed as objects of pity. Of course its hard to have compassion for them because they ridicule people of higher intelligence due to their own lack of understanding. I would argue, however that its more noble to hold compassion for those who offend us than it is for those we agree with or who demonstrate humility. It's easy to Love a friendly puppy, isn"t it.
One can only conclude the Lard Gwad enjoys the company of stubborn Morons an is gathering them a all home to his booze-um
As in fuzzy logic, the so called Bible Belt has no defined boundaries but extends across the entire country. I note that the article speaks of Chicago and California as well as Virginia and Louisiana.
That’s how evolution works; slowly but surely.