Okay – time for a return to sensationalism in the blogoshpere….

This is where I write about something and everyone who knows me wrings their collective hands and says, “Oh – no! Surely he doesn’t really think that! I always thought he was too intelligent, too enlightened, too sensitive, too sophisticated, too etc…. to hold such a bourgeois opinion…”

Ah…. the expectations we so often feel compelled to honor….well at any rate, here we go.

The following are excerpts from the weekly news magazine “The Week”, Jan 29, 2010

As news broke of Haiti’s devastating earthquake, Pat Robertson said on his TV show that Haitians themselves were to blame because of a pact Haiti’s founders made with the devil.

“It’s no secret that the Rev. Pat Robertson is a yammering fool,” said Carl Hiaasen in The Miami Herald, “but last week he hit a new low.”

(My, how do you really feel Carl?)

Robertson’s remark was not only heartless, said Peter Wehner in National Review Online. It failed to “correspond with any serious understanding of Christianity.” The Christian faith, at its heart, is about mercy in this world and redemption in the next. Only in Robertson’s distorted imagination would an angry Christian God dish out misery to an island full of innocents, to punish them for the supposed heresy of their great-great-great-grandfathers.

(Oh my Peter…might I reference you to a book called the Bible? Care to check out Deut 28, and then read through the books of 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Jeremiah, and Lamentations. After you do, I’d love the opportunity to discuss some of the “serious understandings" of Christianity with which you are familiar.)

Robertson’s interpretation of events was admittedly “obnoxious,” said Elizabeth McAlister in Forbes.com, but interpreting the unfathomable is a preacher’s job. The purpose of religion is “to make sense out of chaos,” to discern and reveal “the unseen forces that cause things to be the way they are.”

(Hmmmm….)

The great irony here is that while Robertson’s remarks have outraged people here in the States, many Haitians have long suspected that there are supernatural underpinnings to the island’s horrible run of bad luck. And according to mainstream Haitian lore, said Eric Metaxas in FoxNews.com, the country’s founders really did hold a voodoo ceremony at which they slaughtered a pig and “made a pact with the devil.” No one knows whether or not the myth is true, of course, but is it so outrageous of Pat Robertson to suggest that “starting a nation this way might not be the best approach?”

(Well now…..that’s a different take…)

Okay, is it safe to talk about this stuff yet????

Probably not, but those conventions have never stopped me before. I was certainly lambasted on Twitter when I continually asked someone to explain to me why the remarks were so offensive, right after he made them.

Before discussing this point any further though why not spend one minute and 16 seconds (1 min 16 sec) and listen to exactly what he said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyLwU-Eow3U

Additionally here is the CBN Press release regarding Pat Robertson’s comments:

– VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., January 13, 2010 -- On today’s The 700 Club, during a segment about the devastation, suffering and humanitarian effort that is needed in Haiti, Dr. Robertson also spoke about Haiti’s history. His comments were based on the widely-discussed 1791 slave rebellion led by Boukman Dutty at Bois Caiman, where the slaves allegedly made a famous pact with the devil in exchange for victory over the French. This history, combined with the horrible state of the country, has led countless scholars and religious figures over the centuries to believe the country is cursed. Dr. Robertson never stated that the earthquake was God’s wrath. If you watch the entire video segment, Dr. Robertson’s compassion for the people of Haiti is clear. He called for prayer for them. His humanitarian arm has been working to help thousands of people in Haiti over the last year, and they are currently launching a major relief and recovery effort to help the victims of this disaster. They have sent a shipment of millions of dollars worth of medications that is now in Haiti, and their disaster team leaders are expected to arrive tomorrow and begin operations to ease the suffering.

Chris Roslan
Spokesman for CBN

http://www.cbn.com/about/pressrelease_patrobertson_haiti.aspx

So where does all this leave us?

Well for starters…. He said that the Haitians need to have a great turning to God and that we should pray that in for them. Additionally, he said that we should pray for them, and that we should help the suffering people in Haiti. Personally I’m still struggling to find something in his statement that’s offensive.

(Twitter followers please don’t freak on me again J)

Let’s face it friends, you either believe the Bible or you don’t. The Bible teaches way more about the devil, and the reality of evil than most people want to know, confront, or face. But if you do, then you realize that we’re assured of victory – if that is - we put your faith in Jesus Christ. The problem is that if you don’t put your faith in Jesus Christ then the truth is that you are vulnerable to the power of the devil. And that is (in my opinion) why half the world freaked out when Rev. Pat Robertson made his comments.

(How dare someone suggest that there are consequences for not serving the true and living God!)

See so much of the “Populist Christian doctrine” that is spouted in the media (and unfortunately in some churches) today says that God is really nice and there’s probably not really any devil, and well, when bad stuff happens we can’t really understand it, and more importantly we better not really try to understand it, because if we do then we might offend someone, and that’s insensitive, and blah, blah, blah….. The problem is, that approach doesn’t help people.

Rather I would suggest the approach Jesus took. Jesus forgave all who sinned. Jesus had mercy on all who came to him. Jesus healed all who were sick. Jesus loved everyone……and yet….. He also pointed out injustice, pointed out evil, and corrected those who were wrong, and pointed them toward what was right.

Rather than freaking out at the insensitivity of Pat Robertson’s remarks, why not consider if there is any truth in them first?

Finally, it would be interesting to know exactly how much direct aid Pat Robertson and his organization have provided to the people of Haiti, and then compare that directly to the amount of aid that the freaked out journalists quoted above have given to the people of Haiti. We may never know the answer to that, but that’s okay…….because Jesus knows.

God Bless,

LM