Why The South Is The Most Dangerous Place To Live On Earth

The final vestiges of Christendom reside here. That's why they call it "The Bible Belt."

At a physical level, the most dangerous places to live are probably Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, North Korea, or any inner city of the United States. However, if we're talking about spiritual danger, then the southern U.S.A. has got to be the most dangerous. That's because it's one of the few locations on earth where it's still more socially advantageous to be a Christian than not be.

Persecution, while unpleasant to say the least, has a way of purifying the church. It separates the wheat from the chaff. When trial comes, those who aren't truly in Christ bail out quickly. This type of thing is happening increasingly across the United States (albeit to much smaller degree than the persecutions many of our brothers and sisters in Christ face overseas). The South remains different, at least for now. Many folks continue to have some sort of vague connection to both the term "Christian" and an institutional church of some type. They may even be a "local church member."

As most of you know, I call Savannah, Georgia my home. I was raised in Western New York State, so I know what life is like outside of the Bible Belt. When I was about twenty-five, Alice and I moved south. I soon realized that almost everybody called somewhere church. The odd folks were the ones with no church home. This despite the fact that many only "went to church" on Easter and Christmas.

Things are changing. As our culture in general becomes increasingly secular, the South does as well. It's just that the South is, in my opinion, two to three generations behind the rest of the country in its movement away from Christendom. Because of this, many Southerners continue to believe they are fine spiritually despite the lack of fruit (evidence) in their lives.

And that's what makes the South so incredibly dangerous. A person who thinks he is in Christ but who is not is in a more dangerous place than a person who knows he is not in Christ. A false sense of salvation is a terrible place to be. This type of person sees no reason to repent and believe because he thinks he's already fine. However, Jesus made it clear that His followers will bear fruit. No fruit = no salvation.

I love living in the South. However, it is an odd place. I'd bet that no other spot on earth has such a high percentage of cultural Christians. This is a tragedy because they think they are fine but are in fact doomed. Some persecution might do them some good. Persecution is coming; however, since it's still a few years away it might be too late for them.

The South is indeed a dangerous place.