PTM E-UPDATE -- JANUARY 19, 2010

Did Haiti deserve this earthquake?

Q. I am amazed to hear a respected televangelist say that the earthquake in Haiti happened because long ago the nation of Haiti apparently "swore a pact with the devil." I think I know what your response to this kind of nonsense is -- but please speak out!

A. Here we go again. Remember Katrina? MANY Christian ministers and pastors, trying to "make sense" of Katrina, said that God sent Katrina as punishment for the permissiveness allowed and practiced in New Orleans. Remember 9-11? Two prominent, well-known televangelists said that 9-11 was proof that God had removed his "hedge of protection" from the United States because of, among other things, homosexuals.

Now we have a prominent televangelist saying that Haiti has been cursed because long ago, in order to earn their freedom from the French who occupied their country, they made a pact with the devil. I have never read such a thing in a history book. What proof is being offered of this pact? And even if there were a pact, even if a contract with the devil exists, executed in the name of the people of Haiti, does the devil have the power to instigate deadly earthquakes? Is that the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ? This kind of stuff sounds like more religious superstition, ignorance and fear.

Even if some pact could be unearthed, with the signature of the devil and of Haitian political leaders (?!??! -- don't hold your breath) what exactly was the Resurrection of our Lord all about? I thought Jesus defeated death and the grave, the devil and his demons. Given the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, I have a hard time understanding how anyone who calls themselves a Christian could actually believe that God would be "bound" to some pact that someone made with the devil?

I have also heard that some are saying, in God's name, that Haiti was asking for such a disaster, among so much other suffering they have endured, because of their practice of Voodoo. The one, true, loving God of the Bible continues to be painted and depicted as a primitive, pagan mythological god -- by people who call themselves Christians!

In the Plain Truth November/December 2001 cover story I asked "Did America Have it Coming?" Of course not -- not in the sense that Americans are, or were, more sinful and more deserving of a "special, God-given curse" than citizens of other nations! Did Haiti have this killer earthquake coming! No, not at all ! May all of us turn our hearts and minds away from futile and vain attempts to determine what might have motivated God to cause or allow this catastrophe in Haiti, and rather turn our hearts and minds toward prayer for all those who are affected, and those who are courageously involved in relief efforts -- and will be for some time to come.

In Christ
Greg Albrecht

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