Haiti

Last night, between making dinner (have I mentioned how much I LOVE my crockpot---delish!) and watching The View (don’t judge), I caught a clip of the moron “televangelist” Pat Robertson while they were talking about the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the nation a few days ago.

I’ve been hearing a lot about the earthquake in Haiti and my heart is so heavy for the people of that nation and I have plead with God to show them His saving grace and never-ending mercy, even in the very worst time of their lives.

The co-hosts of The View brought up the ways to donate for the relief efforts. I remember thinking: no, even Pat Robertson wouldn't exploit a tragedy of this magnitude--a tragedy that, as of this post, has claimed at least 50,000 (probably closer to 100,000) human lives. Mothers. Daughters. Sons. Fathers. Grandparents. Sisters. Brothers. Friends. Family. Leaders. Children. Aunts. Uncles. Babies. Entire families. Generations.

Even Pat Robertson would have seen the pictures of the broken bodies of children, covered in blood, crushed to death by debris. Even Pat Robertson, Pharisee though he might be, would have enough common sense to be kind in times of such terrible trouble. Surely he has a threshold he couldn’t/shouldn’t/wouldn't cross. Surely. Surely a natural disaster in one of the poorest countries on earth would cause him to represent Christ in a positive way instead of lambasting the situation while on national television.

On the 700 Club (his TV show, which I’ve never seen an episode of), Robertson did what he does best: he made a complete idiot of himself manipulated a tragedy to suit his religious agenda. In his creepy voice, he claimed that the people of Haiti had “brought this catastrophe on themselves by compacting with the devil”.

Here’s the video, followed by the text of what was said:

This video has another commentator at first, but it’s pretty clear that he thinks Robertson is retarded. And seriously, who doesn’t. I digress.


"Something happened a long time ago in Haiti and people might not want to talk about. 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 will get us free from the Prince.' True story. And so the Devil said, 'OK it's a deal.' And they kicked the French out. The Haitians revolted and got something themselves free. But ever since they have been cursed by one thing after another."

Oh, but wait. That’s not all. He is apparently a repeat idiot offender.

In the aftermath of 9/11, CNN aired a conversation between Pat Robertson and his fellow moron Jerry Falwell that really took the country by surprise. Falwell seemed to think that the ACLU, abortionists, feminists, and gays were responsible for the devastating attacks on the Twin Towers. Robertson agreed with Falwell, and offered up a prayer lambasting Americans for bringing 9/11 on themselves.



"We have sinned against Almighty God, at the highest level of our government, we've stuck our finger in your eye. The Supreme Court has insulted you over and over again, Lord. They've taken your Bible away from the schools. They've forbidden little children to pray. They've taken the knowledge of God as best they can, and organizations have come into court to take the knowledge of God out of the public square of America."

Robertson later said something similar when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.

Jesus, however, approached tragedy and natural disasters in a drastically different way:

Luke 13:1-5 "There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

Haiti is one of the poorest countries on earth. The people of Haiti have proven themselves to be expert survivors in the face of horrors--the likes of which Pat Robertson could only imagine in his worst nightmares. Haiti was the site of the only successful slave revolution in human history. Their history has been laden with extreme poverty and extreme political turmoil.

The estimated death toll from the earth quake that rocked the country on Tuesday continues to soar even as I write this. As of now, I’ve heard anything from 50,000 to well over 200,000 casualties. It has been reported that the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince is among the dead, as is the chief of the UN mission in Haiti. Aid organizations, both religious and secular, have mobilized all over the world, recognizing this as a human catastrophe much like the tsunami in 2004. Most people of genuine faith are turning to prayer at this moment.

What is Pat Robertson doing? Writing horror stories in the blood of innocent victims of a monstrous natural occurrence--again. While women scream for their dead children, Pat Robertson is telling inaccurate tales about how the Haitians are suffering unimaginable pain and despair because they "swore a pact to the Devil" in order to be freed from the horrors of slavery under "you know, Napoleon the Third and whatever." The nerve.

Perhaps in the aftermath of yet another grotesque un-truth from this man who claims to speak for God, while blaming victims of a natural disaster for their own misery, it might be time for Christians to really take a stand and be Jesus to the world instead of acting like Falwell and Robertson by being ridiculous and just flat out cruel in times of terrible world distress. At times like this, no matter who/what it is, we need to be Jesus to the world instead of trying to defend why natural (there is a reason they are called natural, by the way---caused by nature which is entirely out of human control) disasters happen to people.

It's too much to expect Robertson's millions and millions of “followers” to share the outrage we feel over his comments about Haiti. It's too much to expect them to immediately cease funding his enterprise and send their money instead to an aid organization. Imagine the many millions of dollars for Haitian aid that would generate.

It's too much to expect them to recall what their own Bible says about false prophets, or to see Robertson in the context of Isaiah 29:13: The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men."

But if those of us who are outraged by Robertson's comments chose to give an extra ten dollars to the Red Cross as an expression of that outrage, perhaps some small good can come out of it. Because now is not the time for anything but goodness.

As Christians, we are called to love one another and in essence, be Jesus to the world. I am almost ashamed for Pat Robertson and I have never met the man. But. He himself claims to be a follower of Jesus Christ. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt I AM a follower of Jesus Christ. There is no way around that. I would die for my faith and for the cause of Jesus Christ. And because I know there is only one Jesus Christ, I am concerned at the depiction of Jesus Christ and the Christian population that the world is likely getting from this man (Robertson) who also claims to be a believer of Jesus Christ.

Perhaps we should give the extra 10 bucks or if that’s not possible, plead on the behalf of every single person affected by this terrible natural disaster. When all is said and done, it won’t matter why this disaster happened. What will matter is how we project Jesus to the world in times of such terrible tragedy. How will the world ever learn about Jesus Christ if we aren’t living as those who love Jesus with our very lives? I have a responsibility as a believer to be the good in the world and lead people to Jesus. By loving others; by helping the best way I can. By praying without ceasing. I’m not sure about the rest of the world, but I have never really been okay with letting Jesus down; He gave his life for me, undeserving though I am.

Shouldn’t I pay it forward?

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School review coming tomorrow. :)