Whenever there is a natural disaster, Pat Robertson can always be counted on to say something particularly cringeworthy and embarrassing to his fellow evangelicals, and the tragic events in Haiti yesterday, unfortunately were no different.
Robertson, the Pentecostal televangelist who founded Regent University and the 700 Club, today proclaimed that the earthquake that struck Haiti yesterday, leaving tens, if not hundreds, of thousands dead, was the result of God's judgment on an alleged pact that the founders of the nation made with Satan to free them from French control. It's a claim based on Haitian folklore, not in any historical accounts. So the truthfulness of the claim is very much in doubt to begin with.
No, Haiti is not under a curse from God. Nations are no longer under curses; people are. Many Haitians are, just as many Americans, and people of every other nationality remain under a curse. They are all under the curse of sin, relating to God under the covenant of works, where they are united with Adam under original sin, and for which there is only one solution: the gospel of Jesus Christ. He came to redeem people from every tribe, nation, and tongue, including Haiti. Those Haitians who have been united with Christ in his death and resurrection are not under the curse of sin.
It may very well be that God intended this earthquake to be a wake-up call to many Haitians to turn away from false religion and sin, and turn unto Christ. In fact, we can be certain that this is the case, for God is sovereign over all the events of this world (Amos 3:6). May the Lord use this to awaken tens of thousands of Haitians to bow the knee to Christ as Lord because of this tragedy. Let us pray to that end. But under the New Covenant, the children do not eat sour grapes because of the sins of the fathers (Jer. 31:29-30). We must not teach or believe that such tragedies are because the Haitians are bigger sinners than those of us who live in places where earthquakes, volcanoes, and hurricanes rarely strike. Jesus said as much regarding a local tragedy in Luke 13:2-5.
"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."
God is indeed using this to call Haitians, and Americans, and every tribe and nation to repent and turn to Christ. For now, the creation longs to experience the redemption and freedom of the glory of the children of God (Romans 8:19-22), when earthquakes and hurricanes and tsunamis cease. Until then, we can rest in the knowledge that God is up to something marvelous for his glory and the good of his saints and the building of the Kingdom that will cause those Haitians who know Christ to rejoice with an even deeper joy. Amen.
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