Rev. Pat Robertson often attributes horrific events to God’s wrath as when he explained that the 9-11 attacks and the Katrina disaster were punishments for our sins. Now, Robertson has proclaimed that the earthquake in Haiti was sent by God to punish Haitians for a “pact with the Devil” made to overthrow the French.
Robertson favors that Old Testament God filled with anger and wrathful impulses. On this occasion, in Robertson’s mind, God wanted to kill over 100,000 people because of something that some of their ancestors allegedly did. Makes perfect sense. Here is what the good Reverend said “happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it”:
You know, Christie, something happened a long time ago in Haiti. And the people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon the third or whatever, and they got together and swore a pact to the Devil. They said, ‘We will serve you if you get us free from the French. True story. And so, the Devil said, Ok, it’s a deal. 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 another — desperately poor. That island of Hispaniola is one island. It’s cut down the middle. On the one side is Haiti on the other is the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, etc. Haiti is in desperate poverty. Same island. They need to have, and we need to pray for them, a great turning to God, that out of this tragedy, I’m optimistic something good may come, but right now we’re helping the suffering people — and the suffering is unimaginable.
He may be taking Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s reference to “Biblical damage” a bit too literally. However, President Obama seem to be offering a rebuttal by promising the Haitians that they “will not be forsaken.”
Native Haitians defeated French colonists in 1804 and declared independence. If only they had stayed virtual slaves under French rule, God would have been pleased and they would have been earthquake free.
This is line in with Robertson’s prior explanations of God’s wrath in terms of killing people in New Orleans and New York as God’s way of “vomiting” us out:
My only question is why we want to spend eternity with God if he is this horrible being filled with rage and wrath who speaks to guys like Pat Robertson? Isn’t God supposed to be better than us? Even my four-year-old does not hope that her classmates are wiped out in earthquakes when she is mad at them. If this were true, God would be in serious need for intense therapy over his anger issues and violent disposition. It is a bit hard to imagine Jesus saying “serve’s em right, Pop, for that stuff that their ancestors did over two hundred years ago.”
By the way, I missed that history lesson about how all of the Haitians swore a pact with the Devil. There are sacrificial and voodoo practices certainly on that island, but I was unaware that the whole revolution was one big Satanic movement.
There is no such “true story” about a nationwide pact with the devil. There were various revolutions by people like Padrejean in 1676 and François Mackandal in 1757. Robertson seems to be referring to Dutty Boukman who helped led the uprising in August 1791. He was a houngan, or Haitian priest, who held a traditional ceremony in which a pig (symbolizing the power of nature) was sacrificed and an oath administered to the fighters to be fearless in battle. However, accounts of his words notably omit Robertson’s alleged pact:
h! Eh! Bomba! Heu! Heu!
Canga, bafio té!
Canga, mouné de lé!
Canga, do ki la!
Canga, do ki la!
Canga, li!We swear to destroy the whites
and all they possess.
Let us die rather than fail
to keep this vow.
Indeed accounts have him referring to God not Satan for some old-fashioned wrathful justice (which would seem to appeal to Robertson:
“The god who created the sun which gives us light, who rouses the waves and rules the storm, though hidden in the clouds, he watches us. He sees all that the white man does. The god of the white man inspires him with crime, but our god calls upon us to do good works. Our god who is good to us orders us to revenge our wrongs. He will direct our arms and aid us. Throw away the symbol of the god of the whites who has so often caused us to weep, and listen to the voice of liberty, which speaks in the hearts of us all.”
For more on this oath, click here.
Of course, even if there was a pact with the Devil, God can really keep a grudge. Over two hundred years later, he kills over one hundred thousand people to teach their long-dead ancestors a lesson. I find that hard to believe, though I am warming to the idea of God sending Pat Robertson to punish us for our sins.
At the risk of getting spanked empirecookie. 2 missionary, that was funny. They know best. Don’t they now.
empirecookie,
I had to flush the cache on this computer so I could get your new avatar to display . I must say it is quite lovely. The tiara really sets off your eyes. 😀
Robertson is saying something new or weird only to ignorant modern American heathens unaccustomed to the teachings of the Biblical worldview.
The following quote appears (written in stone, by-the-way) on the 3rd panel of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C.–that’s in the United States of America–it reads:
“Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever.”
God’s justice cannot sleep forever? Why would Jefferson tremble or fear judgment by God?
Indeed.
Gee, I wonder where Jefferson got the notion that corporate punishment from God could be executed upon a people (nation, country, etc). I guess it would be from the Biblical worldview that Robertson is referring to.
Jefferson wrote these words against slavery (yes, I know he owned slaves).
My point is from Jefferson to Robertson and going way back to Moses, the Christian worldview has been that God judges nations.
How does God do that?
By direct punishment? With the Jews, yes.
And among the heathen nations? Yes, by turning away from those who turned away from him.
God has to turn his back on those who flip him the bird. How is it that a blog dealing with the issue of law and justice doesn’t grant God (if assumes he exists) some level of rendering justice in the universe he created?
That doesn’t make sense to me.
The people of Haiti have had two hundred years (since liberation) to get their act straight. They continue to reject the light that has been shed abroad their land by Christian ministries who populate the land taking care of their orphaned children.
Don’t worry, I’m not prejudiced, I don’t think just the people of Haiti have received the judgment of God. America’s neck is currently on the chopping block.
We are having an earthquake of a different kind as we are currently going into slavery (of the communistic and totalitarian variety). That will level us to rubble and darkness.
Our leaders are taking us there, but it is the immoral condition of the people which is causing it: homosexuality, porn, promiscuity, abortion, political corruption in the highest places, and corrupt lawyers and judges.
Um, two missionaries, a box of bibles and a stack of autographed Pat Robertson glossies doesn’t really count as aid in this situation.
“True story. And so, the Devil said, Ok, it’s a deal.”
I guess when Robertson eventually dies, it will be God’s wrath because of a pact he made with the devil to start a university to pollute the brains of innocent children….
Did this cook ever lose any relatives? Ever lost a game of chess? Did this tool ever even trip?
God’s wrath, man, I’m telling you. True fucking story.
How do these evil people still get in the MM, that’s my question. No don’t tell me. The Devil, I’m sure.
God told me to tell Robertson he’s a jackass. True story.
“within his and Beelzebub Cheney efforts”
Must. Have. More. Coffee. It may be a two pot day.
What would you expect from God own. Where is Moses when you need him? Oh yeah Pats got him in his pocket.
bdaman
So your god created the earth in six days, although some are willing to concede might have actually been about 10,000 years equalling all of “recorded” Biblical history, and then lost it to Satan? Or did he/she give it to Satan? Nonetheless, you concede Satan rules earth, not your god. I know that Catholics do not share this interpretation. Nor do Jews nor most Protestant sects. It seems each brand of religion has their own twist, like detergents. I doubt Muslims share this view. With so many variations, how any one faith can claim themselves the one true faith any more than Procter & Gamble can claim theirs the one true detergent is, therefore, beyond a reasonable person’s comprehension.
You then refer to this god as being “good” immediately after relating a Biblical story of a malicious, manipulative and destructive alliance with Satan to deliberately bring harm to one of Satan’s subjects. Real nice. Real good.
And then we have Robertson. What a piece of Christian charity he is. A pact with the devil to expell the French from Haiti, huh? I guess Robertson’s god had control of Haiti for a while, but when those darned Haitians wanted freedom and release from the oppression of French cruelty and exploitation they went to Satan. Why does your “good” god hate freedom?
I’d say your god has some ‘splainin’ to do, Lucy.
Theocratic.
Narcissistic.
Sociopathic.
Lying.
Homophobic.
Bigoted.
Racist.
Asshole.
You can scrub it an clean it all you want. Pat is what Pat is. And it smells like the decay of America.
If God cast Satan from Heaven, his Fallenness now works as a programmer at CBN or a dean at Regents University.
You remember Regents, don’t you troll?
Pat’s “law school” where Bush got all his indoctrinated Christo-fascists to stack the DOJ with in his and Beelzebub Cheney from spending the rest of their lives in prison.
Pat’s an outstanding human being and a fine American. (Read with enough sarcasm to induce nausea.)
“That’s how your reputation accumulates.”
Pat is one giant error, badtraoll.
He’s had his foot in his mouth for twenty years so you apologize for the hateful Fundie sack of crap all you want: it just proves you are on the payroll.
There isn’t a decent bone in his con-artist body – here’s just what the scrubbed Wiki has to say about him:
“Robertson is outspoken in both his religion and his politics. His actions, business relations, and statements have often made headlines.
Controversies surrounding Robertson include his earlier work as a faith healer,[34] his claim that some Protestant denominations harbor the spirit of the Antichrist,[35] and his claims of having the power to deflect hurricanes through prayer;[36] he has also denounced Hinduism as “demonic”[37] and Islam as “Satanic.”[38] Robertson has issued multiple condemnations of feminism,[39] homosexuality,[40] abortion[41] and liberal professors.[42] Robertson also had financial ties to former presidents Charles Taylor[43] (Liberia) and Mobutu Sese Seko[44] (Zaire), both internationally denounced for their systemic human rights violations. Robertson was criticized worldwide for his call for Hugo Chavez’s assassination[44] and for his remarks concerning Ariel Sharon’s health as an act of God.[45]
In addition to sociopolitical controversies, Robertson was criticized for involvement in a racehorse scandal,[46] misleading claims about his leg pressing abilities[47] and his response to an unflattering Facebook photograph”
He’s a vile, divisive hate monger who only cares about money. He will be that still no matter how much smoke you want to blow, badtroll.
You continually belie every assertion you make about yourself with your very own actions. At least you are consistent by apologizing for this Death Cult asshole as you are in apologizing for the fascists. That means a lot from a demonstrated bigot and a Birther.
See that? That’s you reputation accumulates. You carry your mistakes with you just like Pat does. What you do with them comports to how people react. What did Pat do to earn his reputation as a Fundie war mongering death clown?
Here’s a list of stupid Pat Robertson quotes from About.com. They have a lot more than 10 too.
10. “Lord, give us righteous judges who will not try to legislate and dominate this society. Take control, Lord! We ask for additional vacancies on the court.” –Pat Robertson
9. “Just like what Nazi Germany did to the Jews, so liberal America is now doing to the evangelical Christians. It’s no different. It is the same thing. It is happening all over again. It is the Democratic Congress, the liberal-based media and the homosexuals who want to destroy the Christians. Wholesale abuse and discrimination and the worst bigotry directed toward any group in America today. More terrible than anything suffered by any minority in history.” –Pat Robertson
8. “I would warn Orlando that you’re right in the way of some serious hurricanes, and I don’t think I’d be waving those flags in God’s face if I were you, This is not a message of hate — this is a message of redemption. But a condition like this will bring about the destruction of your nation. It’ll bring about terrorist bombs; it’ll bring earthquakes, tornadoes, and possibly a meteor.” –Pat Robertson, on “gay days” at Disneyworld
7. “(T)he feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.” –Pat Robertson
6. “I know this is painful for the ladies to hear, but if you get married, you have accepted the headship of a man, your husband. Christ is the head of the household and the husband is the head of the wife, and that’s the way it is, period.” –Pat Robertson
5. “I’d like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don’t turn to God, you just rejected him from your city. And don’t wonder why he hasn’t helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I’m not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that’s the case, don’t ask for his help because he might not be there.” –Pat Robertson, after the city of Dover, Pennsylvania voted to boot the current school board, which instituted an intelligent design policy that led to a federal trial
4. “God considers this land to be his. You read the Bible and he says ‘This is my land,’ and for any prime minister of Israel who decides he is going to carve it up and give it away, God says, ‘No, this is mine.’ … He was dividing God’s land. And I would say, ‘Woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the E.U., the United Nations, or the United States of America.’ God says, ‘This land belongs to me. You better leave it alone.'” –Pat Robertson, on why Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive stroke
3. “Maybe we need a very small nuke thrown off on Foggy Bottom to shake things up” –Pat Robertson, on nuking the State Department
2. “You know, I don’t know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war … We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don’t need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It’s a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.” –Pat Robertson, calling for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
1. “It may be a blessing in disguise. … Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. Haitians were originally under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon the third, or whatever. And they 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, okay it’s a deal. Ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other.” –Pat Robertson, on the earthquake in Haiti that destroyed the capital and killed tens of thousands of people, Jan. 13, 2010
And the dumbass also thinks he’s a Constitutional scholar.
“That was never in the Constitution, however much the liberals laugh at me for saying it, they know good and well it was never in the Constitution! Such language only appeared in the constitution of the Communist Soviet Union.” –Pat Robertson, on the constitutional separation of church and state
This is when he’s proven incapable of reading and using the Bible correctly that he asserts he’s an expert on our most important legal document. Pardon me if I not only dismiss him as a fool but laugh in his uneducated, fraudulent face. Man of God? Pat’s going to be one of the first Jesus puts the thump on if He comes back as lion like the death cults think He will. He’s a buffoon fleecing sheep with fear.
See the rest at: http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/funnyquotes/a/patrobertson.htm
So again . . .
File Under Christians Who Flat Don’t Get It (although political humor may be an appropriate cross reference):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/13/pat-robertson-haiti-curse_n_422099.html
I have an urge to slap the crap out of Pat Robertson right now but I’d probably have to get in line behind Jesus. Not a beat down mind you. That’s neither The Prince of Peace’s style nor mine. But just an old fashioned slap. You know the one. A “What are you? A moron?” with emphasis. A Bogart to his Cook, Jr. Way to go Pat, cheap gunsel for Mammon you!
Woo.
Hoo.
Since I know you consider me a heathen I won’t be saving you a seat in Hell, Pat. You’ll have one somewhere though. I’ll be in the Mojito section making fun of you with Elaine and Hemmingway. Steer clear, freak. Poppa has a much shorter fuse for unmanliness than I. And Elaine will just whip out some caustic poetry that’s likely to leave a mark too, buddy.
Kristie Mansfield:
“Jews don’t believe in the devil, It’s just an internal adversary like temptation that needs to be resisted.”
*****************
Proof of the old Spanish saying:
“There is a devil,
of that, no doubt,
But is he trying to get in us,
or trying to get out?”
I just thought of another Nobel idea. President Obama has not yet choosen which charity to give his Nobel Peace Prize money to.
No, not Pat Robertson but the people of Haiti. He can added it to the millions the American tax payers will be sending.
Holly Molly! “Bomba… Canga bafio té!” I never knew about this! Wow! Maybe Pat Robertson was on to something. Not like Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan (though I don’t know where I got the idea it was the general of the American occupying forces of Haiti who wrote this in a letter to his wife): “Imagine! Niggers speaking French!”
Still, I like Pat Robertson’s idea of a pact with the devil (“to the devil,” he says) at some crossroads… A pact being a contract and Mobutu being a tropical devil, it seems that Pat Robertson, the dollar-monger, had his own version of a pact with the devil with Mobutu. I just read about this Mobutu connection of Pat Robertson in a fascinating post here.
The story goes God cast Satan from the heavens to earth. Some believe, such as myself that Satan rules the earth hence why I believe we are living in hell on earth. When and if you make it to heaven, then you will be in the presence of God.
God also made a deal with the devil in the book of Job. God allowed satan to destroy Job’s earthly possessions to test Job’s faith. God is good, God is great, but he can also be unmerciful.
If you are a believer you must ponder this. The closer you try to get to God the more the devil will try to pull you back. The devil wants you for his, God wants you to choose him but doesn’t care if you don’t. It’s your choice he gave you, free will.
To get a perspective:
“Saving Haiti
Seeking hope for my native land.
By: Joel Dreyfuss | Posted: January 12, 2010 at 10:30 PM ”
http://www.theroot.com/views/saving-haiti
Pat Robertson: Haiti ‘Cursed’ By ‘Pact To The Devil’ (VIDEO)
“Later that evening, Raymond Joseph, Haitian Ambassador to the U.S., began his appearance on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show by shaming Robertson and pointing out that Haiti’s freedom led to freedom across Latin America. And they weren’t they only beneficiaries from those historic events. “The U.S. was able to gain the Louisianna Territory for $15 million,” Joseph added. “That’s three cents an acre. That’s 13 states west of the Mississippi that the Haitian slaves’ revolt in Haiti provided America.”
WATCH:”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/13/pat-robertson-haiti-curse_n_422099.html
“
Jews don’t believe in the devil, It’s just an internal adversary like temptation that needs to be resisted. Yin and Yang… Dante helped clarify the idea of Satan and the burning hell for Christian problem solving.
. ..and christians practice cannibalism when they take sacrament, a little sacrifice ritual now and then, In Voodoo, one kills a chicken – the other eats their dead God.
Yeah.. good ole Pat.. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that he’s always in country when right-wing mercenary death squads are there too, giving them cover.
Those damn ingrates… slavery was the best thing for them….
Repost fromthe other thread.
Pat Robertson made a stupid comment, it happens, I’ve done it a few times as a commenter here. Think about this, his club was one of the first to have millions of dollars worth of aid on the ground. His club had boots on the ground yesterday before 5 pm ready to unload the aircraft that brought it. His club has been in Haiti for years helping the Haitian people. For those of you who wish to bash the man for what he said, go ahead, but he is and has been doing more for those people than what you will ever do