The U.S. televangelist says Haiti’s calamities derive from a purported pact rebellious slaves made in the 18th century to overthrow the French. Robertson’s TV show later issues a statement.
(Please read Redsky’s rebuttal at the bottom of this article.)
Reporting from Washington – Conservative televangelist Rev. Pat Robertson on Wednesday linked the earthquake in Haiti to a “pact with the devil” purportedly entered into by the Haitian people in the late 18th century in a bid to defeat French colonizers.
“Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it,” Robertson said on his Christian Broadcasting Network show. “They were under the heel of the French . . . and they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, ‘We will serve you if you’ll get us free from the French.’
“True story. And the devil said, ‘OK, it’s a deal,’ ” Robertson said. “Ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after another.”
Hours after his comments ignited a firestorm in the news media and online, Robertson’s “The 700 Club” TV show issued a statement elaborating on his remarks.
Robertson’s comments were based “on the widely discussed 1791 slave rebellion . . . 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,” the statement said.
“Dr. Robertson never stated that the earthquake was God’s wrath,” the statement went on. It added that “Dr. Robertson’s compassion for the people of Haiti is clear. He called for prayer for them.”
The Haitian uprising is regarded as one of history’s few successful slave revolts.
Robertson, the founder of the Christian Coalition and a 1988 Republican presidential candidate, has a history of making provocative comments, often in the wake of calamity.
He once said former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s incapacitating stroke was divine retribution for withdrawing from the Gaza Strip.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Robertson seemed to link the storm to abortion. About the same time, he called on the U.S. to assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Robertson surmised that lack of prayer in public schools and tolerance of abortion and pornography meant that “God Almighty is lifting his protection from us.”
Comments from Redsky
This is why Pat Robinson is wrong.
Firstly Jesus is the only true representation of God. His are the only words that are divine and eternal. His are the only words which bring salvation.
Jesus teaches that you should love your enemies, not kill them, so the invasion of Haiti by the French was not a divinely inspired act, but a sinful act and one that Satan would have certainly approved of.
Satan has no need to make pacts with anyone as we are all born into sin anyway. The trick took place in the Garden of Eden so the objective now is to be reconciled to God through Jesus.
Over the years, lots of people have come and gone claiming to know God and yet modelled their ministries on the way God has been misrepresented in the Old Testament by a people who were hateful, judgmental and quick to seek retribution, yet who according to Jesus didn’t know God because they didn’t know Him and had no room for His Word in their lives.
It seems that Pat Robinson falls into this category.
Please see our Christ Vs The Bible section for more info on this subject.
