Where was God in Haiti?
January 18th, 2010 § 14 Comments
Where was God in Haiti? Why did the poorest country in the Western hemisphere need to get hit by an earthquake at exactly the right depth and exactly the right location for a maximum number of casualties? At the moment I am writing this, looting is taking place while wounded people scream and wail from under the rubble. At the same time help being offered has a hard time reaching those in need.
Pat Robertson had a quick explanation. Didn’t the Haitians make a pact with the devil during their struggle for independence some 200 years ago? Doing stuff like that is asking for trouble, isn’t it. Hence the earthquake. This quick ‘n easy answer doesn’t exactly testify to sensitivity, compassion or thoughtfulness. Yet it is not entirely without any warrant. It is however not clear at all whether the Haitians really did make a deal with the devil. Historical proof for this is hard to come by. But if the pact is an historical reality, if the devil – the personification of evil – does really exist and is, as Christ says, the murderer of man from the beginning, we should not be surprised that things are not going well with Haiti. But that’s a big if.
And to suggest that the earthquake is the result of this alleged devil’s pact is crossing the line of decency by a big margin. How should we interpret this? That the devil is actually powerful enough to punish an entire nation with an earthquake? Or is God punishing the Haitians because he is angry that they made such a pact? But why 200 years after the pact was made? Besides, how does Pat Robertson know this so well? In biblical times there apparently were people who truly received revelations from God and thus could say to people: “This is happening because you have broken the covenant of the Lord” (i.e. at the fall of Jerusalem). It was written in the books of Moses that terrible things would happen to the people of Israel if they would abandon their God.
But Haiti? Haiti doesn’t have a covenant with God, does it? Besides Israel there is no nation that has entered into a covenant with the divine. In fact, if Haiti is considered worthy of punishment I can give you a few more examples. The extortion of so many countries in Africa and the East by the former colonial empires of the West; the effects of which still hold sway long after most nations gained their independence in the post WWII era. Or think of the slave trade that was only abolished in the 19th century well after Haiti’s independence. And what to say of our culture of death, promoting and funding abortion and euthanasia? From a biblical perspective there is a lot of potential for earthquakes, I would say. By the way, the Haitian earthquake did not only kill alleged devil worshippers. The bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, missionaries, aid workers, foreigners… dead!
At the same time, when we read the Bible, it becomes clear that God works through all kinds of circumstances and events. Nothing escapes his attention, nothing is meaningless or without purpose. This ultimately bring us to the the question why God did not stop the earthquake. If God is omnipotent as well as perfectly good why doesn’t he combine those two to prevent Haiti from such a disaster? Good question. Difficult question. The answer is too theoretical, too dry, too detached to do justice to the question: Where was God in Haiti?
Maybe we should say what Jesus said and did. Jesus knew that Jerusalem was going to be destroyed and he cried about it (Luke. 19:41-44). In Luke 13 we read how Jesus receives news about some people who were cruelly killed by Pilate. Jesus’ response is that these people did not die this way because they had sinned more than others. But he adds that whoever doesn’t repent will certainly meet a similar end. In other words: it is not up to us to draw the conclusion with regard to others that they are being punished by God, but that with regard to ourselves we definitely should think in terms of a moral causality.
As far as God’s presence in this world is concerned. Powerful and full of love as God might be, it looks like his presence is more or less hidden. God is with the brokenhearted. God builds his kingdom, but he does it through its citizens. God wants to work in this world the way he was present in Christ: i.e. through his children who are there where suffering takes place. In John 9:3-5 Jesus refused the conclusion that the blind man was blind from birth because of the sin of his parents. He rather concluded that since he is the light of the world he better shine it by healing that man. The man’s suffering thus became a unique situation for God’s mercy to be revealed. And so it is with Haiti. Jesus’ words and example do not provide us with a neat answer to the question posed in this column, but it does challenge us Christians to be Christ’s hands and feet is and help what we can in Jesus’ name. If we do that, God is in Haiti.
Great thoughts Josh. It is sad when ministers think it is their categorical duty to be prophets in every sense of the word on world affairs. The facts as they stand is that Haiti sits right over a fault line and that is why it, not he Dominican Republic, was hit with the earth quake. The epicenter of the quake was just outside the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. As for the poverty that the Dominican Republic lacks, this has less to do with a pact with Satan and more to do with simple economics and distributive injustice in Haiti. Haiti’s richest 1% own nearly half the country’s wealth. Haiti is not sui generis when it comes to the causes of its poverty problem.
It was Albert Mohler who got me thinking.
So what is the Haitian government supposed to do about its “poverty problem”? Tax the rich, the employers, the people who really put them in power and then give to the poor Robin Hood style?
Well, that’s beside the point I tried to make. If you read the response of my prof, Dr. Bernard Walker, you can see that 1% owns half of the wealth in Haiti. So maybe they need a Robin Hood (but certainly not in the form of a Russell Crowe – see his latest upcoming movie).
I wasn’t really talking about your article, I was replying to Bernard Walker.
Then you should have started your response with “”@ Walker”. That way it’s clear who’s addressing whom.
I clicked “Reply” on his comment, not yours. Your response system needs improvement.
Now it’s just annoying me on purpose. I definitely clicked the right things.
I clicked “Reply” that time too and it didn’t work. I’m trying again with Firefox.
I am not sure I understand your comment. Are you saying the structure of power in Haiti is fine with you? I am not sure the reference to Robin Hood helps the discussion in anyway. Actually I am not sure what you mean by Robin Hood style. This is quite a vague comment.
@Walker
Robin Hood stole from the rich and gave to the poor.
I’m not saying anything is fine with me, I’m asking how to fix it.
As we accept our planet as it is (geological structure, etc) then we accept the phenomenon of earthquakes, and we accept the fact that people will die because of that. People living on a fault line will have to face one day or the other they will be “punished” by an earthquake.
Earthquakes are not very selective so clearly lots of innocent people will die or get hurt. This means in fact that they are not punished, they are just killed. Most people, the ones that survive, will never realize what they are punished for, as the connection between the motive and the punishment itself is to say the least, not very clear. So they are punished without ever knowing it.
From a human being point of view this kind of “punishing behavior” does not make a lot of sense. Apart from some form of “revenge” it misses the scope or reason for which we punish.
If from Gods point of view it makes sense and we (apart from the “Pat Robertsons”) are not “allowed” to see a clear sense in this “punishing operation” then we make things very complicated. I personally see even less sense in that…….
Playing the “blame game” has a few advantages though.
It gives you a superior and rightful position (feels good) as you don’t make part of the “guilty party”
You don’t have to care about or help the guilty ones, as they are rightfully punished (keeps your bank account intact)
The problem with people who are eager to blame is that they can slip into a next faze, the actual punishing (in the name of God…..). We all have seen in the past where this can lead to……..
@ Paul Verhoogt
You make some very good points here, Paul. A few remarks:
1. Of course I don’t agree with Pat Robertson’s statement, but I have to come to his aid too. He may have made a stupid comment, but at the same time raised money to aid those affected by the earthquake.
2. I think reflection on the possibility and content of God’s message or motivations behind large natural disasters should be done by those undergoing them. People confronted with ovewhelming grief resulting from natural disasters will respond in different ways. There will always be those who will reflect on themselves in relation to God and will come out the better for it.
3. As for outsiders, they should largely remain silent and resort to action. Though we can affirm this general fact: If God exists and is all powerful and all good as the Bible confirms, then there must be some reason beyond random destruction alone why these things happen.
agreed