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Home » Pat Robertson, the Earthquake in Haiti, and the Righteousness of God

Pat Robertson, the Earthquake in Haiti, and the Righteousness of God

January 15, 2010 by Michael Peabody


In 1999, comedian George Carlin wrote, “Religion has actually convinced people that there’s an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever ’til the end of time! But He loves you.”

I thought about Carlin’s statement as I watched a clip of Pat Robertson blaming this week’s earthquake in Haiti on a mythical pact that the people of Haiti supposedly made with the Devil in order to become independent of France over two centuries ago. “”[E]ver since they have been cursed by one thing after the other, desperately poor,” Robertson said.

Unfortunately, this was not the first time that Pat Robertson or other preachers acting under the guise of Christianity twisted history and theology in order to explain various tragic events. Soon after the 9/11 attacks, Jerry Falwell had this to say, “I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way — all of them who have tried to secularize America — I point the finger in their face and say ‘you helped this happen.'”

After the December 26, 2004 Indonesian tsunami, John MacLeod, a minister in the First Presbyterian Church of Scotland, wrote, “Some of the places most affected by this tsunami attracted pleasure-seekers from all over the world. It has to be noted that the wave arrived on the Lord’s Day, the day that God has set apart to be observed the world over by a holy resting from all employments and recreations that are lawful on other days.”

After a massive tragedy, it is human nature to try to find out why it happened. The victims must have done something wrong, after all, isn’t everything pre-ordained by God?

This finger pointing was an approach that Christ Himself repeatedly rejected, whether it had to do with blaming a man’s parents for blindness, the experience of violent oppression, or even a natural disaster. In Luke 13:1-5 (NIV), we read the following exchange:

“Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them-do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

There is no magic formula for avoiding tragedy. Instead, we need to focus on our own lives before we start placing blame on others. “”Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3). It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t eventually point out your brother’s eye goober, but be sure that you don’t hit him in the face with the big stick in your eye when you turn to look at him.

It is so easy to fall into the trap of perverting the good news of Jesus Christ by making Him look like an arbitrary tyrant intent on destroying people who have offended Him. Many people struggle through their faith or leave altogether when they can’t explain why bad things happen to good people or why a “loving” God would willingly torture people throughout eternity.

Jonathan Edwards terrified a generation of New Englanders when he preached in 1741, “The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire. . . . You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to singe it, and burn it asunder” (Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God).

Theology along these lines, not found in the Bible, would explain why so many American Christians actively support torture or a preliminary attack on Iran. It explains the push for the death penalty against homosexuals in Uganda. It provided the framework for the Inquisition and cleansing of “heresy” throughout the middle ages. If God is just, and is our example, then why shouldn’t Christians seek to do His dirty work on earth? If forces of evil are going to be tortured in hell, why not send them there early and prevent them from leading the innocent astray?

This doctrine of eternal torture in hell violates principles that most decent human beings hold themselves to – it involves disproportionate punishment and invokes the cognitive dissonance of eternal bliss with the knowledge that another is undergoing eternal torment.

If God was like this, George Carlin’s sense of dark irony would be well-placed. The universe would have two sides, a bright living room where angels float on clouds, and a basement so evil that it would exceed the worst that Satan himself could conceive.

But is that really the character of God? No.

One of the biggest contributions that Seventh-day Adventism has made to Christianity is the rediscovery of the Biblical doctrine that hell is not eternal torment. There are many complete explanations of the Biblical research behind this position online (click here for a good place to start). Essentially Adventists believe that “the wicked . . . shall be destroyed forever” (Psalm 92:7), and that those who accept Christ can, “according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13).

So what does this have to do with religious liberty? Many of the strongest challenges to freedom of conscience and religious liberty on a global basis come from those who do not understand the reality of the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and instead make Him out to be a tyrant. They consider themselves His deputies.

Only when Christians begin to understand the truth of the gospel can they begin to see how important it is to tell the truth the consistency of His character and the all sufficient power of His love. “If you abide in my word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free,'” (John 8:31,32).

To learn how you can help the people of Haiti, visit:  www.adra.org/Haiti

Filed Under: Current Events, Human Life, In the News, New, Religion Tagged With: George Carlin, Haiti, Haiti Earthquake, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. David R. Larson says

    January 15, 2010 at 7:48 pm

    Well done! I've posted this at http://www.somereligionlinks.com in hopes that others will benefit from you have written as well. Thank you!

  2. Anonymous says

    January 16, 2010 at 1:44 am

    The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon – Thurs 11p / 10c<td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;' colspan='2'Haiti Earthquake Reactionshttp://www.thedailyshow.comDaily Show Full EpisodesPolitical HumorHealth Care Crisis

  3. David R. Larson says

    January 16, 2010 at 3:48 am

    Well done! I've posted this at http://www.somereligionlinks.com in hopes that others will benefit from you have written as well. Thank you!

  4. Alison Agins says

    January 16, 2010 at 6:12 am

    Beautifully written! Well thought out!

    The very first thought I had when I heard Robertson's statements was how typical for the white Southern Dominionist to blame the children of the slaves for all their troubles. Nothing about the white European Roman Catholic slave holder that committed terrible crimes against the very ones that made them rich by the blood and sweat of forced labor.

    Here is a web site telling of the uprising. I had read about it in the books I've been reading about Latin America…
    The American planters were scared to death that the uprising would move north.

    Here is a good web site to read the history:
    http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/history/…

    The Prayer of Dutty Boukmon the slave that led the uprising.

    “The god who created the earth; who created the sun that gives us light.The god who holds up the ocean; who makes the thunder roar. Our God who has ears to hear. You who are hidden in the clouds; who watch us from where you are. You see all that the white has made us suffer. The white man's god asks him to commit crimes. But the god within us wants to do good. Our god, who is so good, so just, He orders us to revenge our wrongs. It's He who will direct our arms and bring us the victory. It's He who will assist us. We all should throw away the image of the white men's god who is so pitiless. Listen to the voice for liberty that sings in all our hearts.”

    Of course most of the slave owners were Catholic! And without mercy!

    In a Latin American country, one of the Indian chiefs was on his way to the stake and the priest kept tormenting him to confess so he would avoid hell. And the chief asked if the priest and the other “Christians” would be in heaven and the priest said “yes”. So the chief said he wanted no part of heaven if those evil ones would be there.

    I'm guessing that there are a lot of people saying that if Pat Robertson is going to be in heaven then they want no part of it either.

  5. facebook-687185425 says

    January 22, 2010 at 8:50 pm

    EXCELLENT ARTICLE!! Thank you so much for dedicating your life to serving our sovereign LORD who really does love ALL of us 🙂 Ultimately by giving us a conscious & a freedom to choose the plan of salvation He has for us or by choosing to leave God out of our lives He shows us what love really is–a choice.

  6. fflorimon says

    February 20, 2010 at 2:28 am

    About Pat Robertson, his coment, what the Bible teaches and what God wishes for us I postedon line a public letter to the highest elected members of the US government including the US Congress. However, my real wish that anyone who is concerned about how we govern ourselves as individuals and as a nation could read this letter. Honestly, I look at this whole matter from a different perspective. Please read my letter at http://www.gcares.com I really believe that our God cares how we behave as individuals and how we behave as a collective group of people.

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