The Question of Divine Justice

Photo by FLICKR/nwistheone/36707925/ On his program the 700 Club, Pat Robertson said that to overthrow French rule the Haitian population “got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, ‘We will serve you if you will get us free from the French.’ True story. And so, the devil said, ‘OK, it's a deal.’”

ALEXANDRIA, VA. - The scene is that of total destruction.
 
Countless poorly constructed buildings fell easily, collapsing upon the impoverished population. Tons of rubble crushed cars and people, the environment transformed from a Caribbean urban center to a disaster area.
 
Nothing was spared. In the earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 80 percent of the city was destroyed and tens of thousands are dead. Mass graves dot the landscape as searches continue. The world is stepping in to help. Food and water are scarce and supplies are needed.
 
Amidst the disaster and the tragedy, the chaos and the response, the aged reverend Pat Robertson of the Christian Coalition posited an explanation for why everything went wrong.
 
On his program the 700 Club, Robertson said that to overthrow French rule the Haitian population “got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, ‘We will serve you if you will get us free from the French.’ True story. And so, the devil said, ‘OK, it's a deal.’”  
 
This explains, according to Robertson, not only the earthquake but also their wrenching poverty: “And they kicked the French out. You know, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other.”
 
Unsurprisingly, Robertson’s words garnered criticism. Various figures have come down hard on Robertson, who has alleged for years now that Haiti was cursed because of a Voodoo related ceremony performed by its founders. He said this even though the authenticity of the story is still debated.
 
It’s not the only instance of Divine Justice that Robertson has claimed.
 
A lightning rod for controversy, on September 13th, 2001 Robertson agreed with the equally divisive Rev. Jerry Falwell that the terrorist attacks two days earlier were caused by America’s increasing immorality. In 2003, Robertson attributed the downfall of the Soviet Union to God’s work as well, telling a journalist on CNN “I beseeched God to bring that terrible evil down and he did. It was a great triumph, it took awhile, but it happened.”
 
So it is not an isolated incident but a mindset, a mentality that is not unheard of. Throughout history people in all civilizations have claimed that a supernatural force of some kind was the source of their lot.
 
One could argue Robertson’s latest claim of divine justice falls along the continuum of many Americans’ gratitude over karma or horoscopes. Numerous educated knowledgeable people have blamed others’ bad fortune on it being Friday the 13th, having bad karma, or just being plain unlucky.
 
Anymore climate change is blamed for major disasters.
 
While Robertson blamed the Haitian earthquake on an 18th century satanic pact, actor Danny Glover blamed the Haitian earthquake on a more recent gathering: “what happened to Haiti is the threat that could happen anywhere in the Caribbean to these island nations, you know.
 
They're all in peril because of global warming, they're all in peril because of climate change and all of this...When we look back at what we did at the climate summit in Copenhagen, this is the response, this is what happens, you know what I'm saying?”
 
So what makes Robertson’s remarks that much worse? Timing is one thing. Another is that though Voodoo practices (which many consider satanic) are common in Haiti the nation is majority Christian.
 
According to nationmaster.com, 80% of Haitians are Roman Catholic and 16% are Protestant. Skeptics of Robertson’s divine justice claim note this and wonder why then this justice would visit a believing population.
 
Most likely Robertson believes in a type of divine punishment known as a scourge.
 
This punishment does not come directly from the deity but rather is the deity lifting its protection from a  believing community that is straying. On many occasions the term “scourge” has been used in this context. A nickname given to Attila the Hun in the 5th century was the “Scourge of God”, for many Christians in the Roman Empire thought God had lifted His protection, allowing Attila to prevail.
 
Closer to home, in his second inaugural address Abraham Lincoln referred to the American Civil War as “the scourge of war”, adding that “if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said ‘the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.’"
 
In other words, Lincoln claimed that the America suffered the civil war as divine punishment for tolerating slavery. It is therefore extremely feasible that if alive today Lincoln would agree with Robertson’s claim.
 
This leads to the theologically profound question: was Robertson correct when he said that Haiti received the earthquake as part of their curse, a scourge for tolerating Voodoo?
 
The popular answer would be no, it was not a scourge or divine justice. Neither Voodoo nor failures at Copenhagen caused the earthquake; it was a horrible tragedy inflicted upon people who did not deserve it. The unpopular answer, Pat Robertson’s answer, would be yes. Due to the acceptance of Voodoo, as allegedly professed by Haiti’s founders and believed up to this day by many Haitians, a long-standing curse caused this earthquake.
 
It’s easy to punch holes in Robertson’s claim.
 
What about other unrighteous places, why aren’t they suffering great earthquakes? Why then were historic churches among the buildings severely damaged or destroyed? When Robertson’s Regent University Law School had below average student passage of the BAR exam, was this divine punishment for their wickedness?
 
While pundits and theologians debate, attention must be given to the immediate. Those in the wake of the destructive earthquake need help, even Robertson would agree to that. Aftershocks are causing more damage and the loss of what little infrastructure that existed is causing starvation and dehydration. Action must be taken.
 
Michael Gryboski lives in Alexandria.