If Pat Robertson didn't say outrageously repugnant things, such as his recent remark that the devastating earthquake that leveled the capital of Haiti was Divine punishment for Haitians having made a pact with the Devil, two hundred and some years ago, to give them strength to break free of the bonds of slavery... well no one would remember that the old man was still alive!
Contemptible as his statement is--in the eyes of God and of all humanity--I'd just as soon dispose of it by ignoring it... let it fade out as the static it is. Except that it's not just static.
Trouble is, a fair number of people will take that attitude to Haiti and call it help. Trouble is, Protestant missionaries of Robertson's uncharitable stripe have been doing just that for a long time now. They have deliberately done, and continue to do, damage to Haitian culture and Haitian religion on the order of the Taliban blowing up those Buddha statues in Afghanistan.
As for Robertson's claiming that the old pact with the Devil was a true story -- well it is true in this limited way: when the Haitian Revolution began two hundred years ago the Haitians prayed to their gods to aid their struggle, as all religious people are wont to do on the brink of war, and their gods are not the same as whatever it is Robertson prays to.
I don't call myself a very good Christian but I think I know one when I see one, and I also think I know when I don't. As a general thing I don't believe in Hell, but after what he said about Haiti I think there must be a Hell just for Pat Robertson.
Now just look at me, all swole up with anger.
At this point I say to myself and whoever might still be listening that not all the Protestant missionaries in Haiti are like that--that many of them must be true Christians and I hope and pray that most of them are.
Then and only today I remembered that I know somebody just like that. In the middle of worrying and praying over so many people I know down in that landslide, I forgot until now about her. I will not say her name although she is wholly present to my mind as I write these lines, and I pray for her as best I can, not knowing if she is dead or alive. She was a girl in a church I attended for a few years when my daughter was of Sunday School age--a church of deep and sincere faith (and very few members, and no presence on TV or in the media). I did not know her or her family well, though I did know she was interested in Haiti and, before the church broke up and we all scattered, she went on a mission trip there. I've seen her since a time or two. She grew up and settled in Haiti, helping to run a very small orphanage on one of the hills of Port-au-Prince.
No matter what disagreements we might have had if we'd ever talked about it, she will always be for me what Haitians call moun lakay--a child of the house.
Here's what I'm guessing: she went down there (as in the case of so many Protestant evangelicals) to fight the Devil, face to face.
Here's what I know: I went down there to see God, face to face.
Here's the sad part (until maybe, Lord willing, we'll one day finally understand and rise above it)-- as much as we keep missing the point, we're both looking, face to face, at exactly the same thing.
Marcella Mroczkowski: Haiti and the Roots of America's Crazy Fake Populism: Astroturf is Nothing New
Lincoln Mitchell: Limbaugh, Robertson and Trevino on Haiti
Douglas Forbes: The Worst Kind of Suffering
Norman Lear: A Letter to Pat Robertson
YouTube - Pat Robertson Calls Quake 'blessing in Disguise'
Haiti - a nation misunderstood
Churchgoing Haitians in Miami seek solace and answers about quake
Al Sharpton calls televangelist Pat Robertson's comments on Haiti 'repulsive ...
Flame away.
So Mr. Bell...just curious....were you actually in Haiti on August 14, 1791 to verify that Satan's Pact didn't take place.
No...I did't think so.
So...in other words...your just offering up an opinion.
Another thing....if one sells their soul to the devil....who says the devil has to honor that pact with riches /forturnes.
Jesus Christ said it best about ol' scratch..... John 8 [44] - He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Excellent line:
"Trouble is, a fair number of people will take that attitude to Haiti and call it help."
That's the problem with missionaries, they know what's best, don't they?
And yes you and her,
and really everybody else,
are all looking at the very same thing:
as Camus would put it, the evidence of your own eyes.
It is what you see that makes the difference.
And most people want to see what isn't even there.
WHO?
As someone ironically pointed out, a country that made a pact with the devil would normally be expected to enjoy materialistic luxuries like big fancy cars, wide-screen TVs, and more food than you could possibly eat ... like us.
http://vagreatblueheron.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/8957/
For instance, the subcontinent of India was a 5,000 year-old bio-experiment in hybridizing an underclass. Now the state is trying to reverse this evil with affirmative action laws. But no one, save a few "untouchables," are happy about this change. It seems the stability of a caste system can be preferable to the comparative chaos of democracy.
And that brings me to what Pat Robertson and his ilk are really up to. They will come up with any belief, no matter how vile, that supplies them with answers. Seems that some people need answers—something that controls their minds—no matter what the cost.
And in this, Pat Robertson and his ilk are no friends to democracy.
But we knew that, didn't we? They see God as a King. How close to democracy is that?
evidence, they will be led astray by cocksure prophets, and it is
likely that their leaders will be either ignorant fanatics or
dishonest charlatans." Bertrand Russell
or both!
The butchery began with Columbus. "
Thank you for posting this vital (and oft forgotten) piece of history.
Question: who are you quoting/what is your source? Thanks.
"Avatar and the Genocides We Will Not See
Cameron's blockbuster half-tells a story we would all prefer to forget
by George Monbiot
Common Dreams"
A deal with the devil seems much preferable to worshiping such a god.
It is best to realize that there is no such thing as a god, no afterlife, no heaven or hell, and no devil to make deals with.
When there are problems, it is up to us to send real help, not empty mutterings to a god.
Seems to me that there lies the problem; ignoring less UNDERSTANDING more.
I see this whole thing as a cry from the past; picture this:
http://dialogic.blogspot.com/2010/01/george-monbiot-avatar-and-genocides-we.html
"Loving our foes, healing their woes...."
While I can't deny the much needed help of many missionary groups in Haiti, many are going there for all the wrong reason, which is to change a culture as if they are entitled through their own God to do so.
Voodoo is part of us Haitians, and no matter how you feel about it, rejecting its importance in Haitian history, culture and daily life is counterproductive and wrong.
As I said to Mr. Dedman, are the missionaries he describe in his article going to Haiti to help or to kill Haitians?
I would hope somehow that in this tragedy there will be a vetting process for the missionaries in Haiti because some may end up doing a lot more damage than good.
A few years ago, after the school collapsed in Haiti, many people warned of the impending disaster of an earthquake in Port-Au-Prince and people rarely paid attention and we see the consequence now. I would not be surprised if you have a religious tragedy much like Jonestown in Haiti from some American cult setting up camp there and taking advantage of the local's moment of doubt with their own faith after this disaster.
Ayibobo pou Ayiti!
But thanks for playing.
So there isn't a hell for you, just the people you don't like. Good luck with that in the afterlife. Also, don't bother calling yourself a Christian because, just like Pat Robertson, you make real Christians look bad.