The storiesemerging from Haiti following a 7.0 earthquake (and multiple aftershocks, which for a time were coming in ten minute intervals) are almost unbearable. The devastation is widespread, and Haiti, already the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, is ill-equiped to deal with the enormity of the situation.
How is it, then, that Pat Robertson, a man who purports a strong belief in God, can demonstrate such wanton disregard for humanity in its greatest time of need?
If you missed his remarks, Pat Robertson (I will not call him Reverend lest I strip away all meaning from that title), said the following about the Haiti crisis:
And you know, Kristi, something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French, you know, Napoleon the Third and whatever, and they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you'll get us free from the French.' True story. And so the devil said, 'O.K., it's a deal. You know, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other.
Astonishing. Anyone who can say that after hearing about the devastation wrecked on Haiti is a bad person. Quotes like the one above are symptomatic of a mindset which thinks that God has to be responsible for everything. If something good happens, it is because God made it happen. If something bad happens, it is because God caused it to happen. Why would God cause something bad to happen, though? Well, because whoever suffered the harm caused by God deserved it. In this case, they "deserved it" because they "swore a pact to the devil." True story. And thus the Haitians became the first people to ever resort to a pact with the devil to defeat the French. Or "whatever."
The good people of Haiti are suffering tremendously right now, and they cannot deal with this crisis without help. So pray for them, and pray to a God more merciful and loving than the one preached by Robertson. They certainly need the help of divinity right now. But don't stop there. In the words of another religious leader, Brigham Young, responding to the need of pioneers stranded on their trip to Utah over the cold plains:
You know that I would give more for a dish of pudding and milk, or a baked potato and salt, were I in the situation of those persons who have just come in, than I would for all your prayers, though you were to stay here all the afternoon and pray. Prayer is good, but when baked potatoes and pudding and milk are needed, prayer will not supply their place on this occasion; give every duty its proper time and place.
So pray for Haiti. But then please donate. Help those in need.
http://www.thefourthbranch.com