Pat Robertson says that the leaders of Haiti made a deal with the Devil to free themselves from slavery in the late 18th century and that's why Haiti is a poor country and now God has punished them with a devastating earthquake. What in the world is Brother Pat talking about?
Here's a good article from a British newspaper explaining the history of Haiti. Apparently, Pat is talking about vodou ceremonies which took place before and after the Haitian Revolution. Vodou is a mixture of West African Tribal Religions and Catholicism. Who can fault an oppressed and enslaved people from praying to their gods before undertaking to overthrow their oppressors? If you were a slave on a sugar island where slaves were routinely worked literally to death, would you pray to the gods of your people or to the God of the oppressor?
Father Dwight Longnecker has done some SENSIBLE theological reflection on all of this on his blog. Brother Pat's comments about contracts with Satan are highly irresponsible.
BC -
ReplyDeleteI think you are right and Brother Robertson is wrong. HOWEVER, it is interesting to me how much he is not even allowed a chance to explain himself before the media mercilessly attacks him. Ditto w/ the Chavez story, predicting hurricanes would not harm his state, etc., etc. Pat Robertson - JUST TAKE AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE MAN'S LIFE - is a very impressive individual.
Again, as I've said so much about other people (Sarah Palin is another great example) - THE DISPARITY BETWEEN WHO THESE PEOPLE ARE AND HOW THE MEDIA MAKE YOU THINK THEY ARE IS ALARMING.
I don't trust the damn National Pravda Radio crowd personally.