Pat Robertson has put his foot in it again. Last Wednesday he opined on his television show in a very casual way—as an aside, really—that the Haitians were only getting the devastation they deserved with the recent earthquake. In his opinion they were being punished by God for entering into a pact with the devil when the slave rebellion was beginning in 1791. Mr. Robertson has ventured other opinions in the past on what he is sure are divine retributions for human sin. He is also not shy about major prophecies—he predicted that a huge tsunami would hit the United States in 2006 and that there would be a major terrorist attack in 2007. Neither happened, of course. He and his television program have been heaped with scorn.
Blaming the earthquake on the slaves in 1791 reminds me of how for generations white Christians spoke somewhat recklessly about the “Curse of Ham” (Genesis 9:25). According to those notions, the Hamites, most numerous of which were the black-skinned ones from Africa, were destined for all time to be servants and slaves of paler folks. Terrible Biblical interpretation. The curse Noah uttered was in fact spoken upon Canaan, but the damage was done. Genesis 9 became part of the sham “Biblical” underpinning justifying slavery of Africans.
Well, is there anything to Mr. Robertson’s comments about Haiti? There is some truth in what he said. One of the chief organizers of the Haitian rebellion was an African named Dutty, brought to Jamaica from Dahomey (called Benin today). Somehow he managed to become literate and so received the nickname “Bookman.” He was sold to plantation masters in Haiti, where his name appeared as Dutty Boukman. He was a voodoo priest of sorts and is said to have led a voodoo ceremony in the Bois Caïman involving the sacrifice of a pig and prayers to the voodoo god(s) for the rebellion’s success. He was killed by the French soon after the rebellion began, but his leadership is part of the national story of Haiti’s freedom.
Mr. Robertson’s judgment, however, seems pretty harsh. There is no evidence that the leaders of the slave rebellion were able to communicate with Satan or had the authority to hand their half of the island over to him. ‘Tis true that perhaps half of all Haitians today believe in some aspects of voodoo, but American Christians should be a little cautious in claiming to see what God is doing with his curses and blessings.
Voodoo is a wretched superstition, but the French “Christian” slaveholders did not make their God look very good to the Africans they bought and worked to death. Voodoo is a wretched superstition, but so is astrology, and millions of Americans buy horoscopes. So is the notion of reincarnation, but polls reveal that a quarter of Americans believe that they just might come back in the next life as a newt. So is the theory of evolution, which trashes the first eleven chapters of the Bible, but millions of Americans, even American Christians, believe fervently in natural selection and survival of the fittest.
In Luke 13, Jesus cautioned his disciples not to be too quick in designating blame for some local disasters. “Were they any worse than you? Repent, or you, too, will all perish,” were his words. You can’t tell with certainty where natural disasters came from, and Pat Robertson can’t either. Maybe the tectonic plates in a broken world just shifted.
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Straight talk. Real hope.
1/29/2010 - Posted by J
I am reminded of the situation in Germany when the Nazis were in power. The Jews were seen, by some professing Christians, as getting what they deserved. They were afterall guilty of deicide in killing the Messiah Jesus. They too had a curse upon them and those who killed them were likely doing God a service. Sadly, some of the clergy and the institutional churches cooperated with this unspeakable evil. Others, such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the "confessing church" went underground to preserve the truth in Germany. Too often we twist scripture to absolve ourselves of responsibility. The Haitians made a pact with the devil. The Jews are Christ killers. The Africans are under a curse. All of this is a facade to excuse our brutality, lying, and greed. Let us embrace the gospel of peace in its grace and mercy.
1/28/2010 - Posted by RIS
Thanks for the history lesson.
1/26/2010 - Posted by S
It is times like these that we need prayer for those who deem it necessary to place blame on race. Forgetting that God's purpose for such times is to show us how to help our fellow man. To love our less than fortunate brothers and sisters. Also, who is to speak for the mind of God and his purpose. He may be trying to reach them or us...regardless praise God for his amazing grace!!!
