Thoughts in a Haystack

Remember when Pat Robertson told the people of Dover, Pennsylvania that:

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.

And you know, Kristi, something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French, uh, you know Napoleon the 3rd and whatever, 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 so the Devil said, 'Okay, it's a deal.' And, uh, they kicked the French out, you know, with Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since they have been cursed by, 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 side is the Dominican Republican. Dominican Republic is, is prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, etcetera. Haiti is in desperate poverty. Same island. They need to have and we need to pray for them a great turning to God and out of this tragedy I'm optimistic something good may come.

Uh huh.

While Haiti is tied for the most poverty stricken country in the world, to call the Dominican Republic "prosperous," with 42% of its population under the poverty line, is a cruel joke. But maybe worse than that is Pat's thinking that the earthquake is a "blessing in disguise" because it might cause a "massive rebuilding" of the county's infrastructure, a concept that his own drones, such as Bill Horan, seem to be shocked at. Buildings are worth more than people?

I've argued that we can't know what "evil" is from the perspective of an infinite omniscient being but there is no doubt that we can tell what is evil from a human perspective.

And Pat Robertson is it.

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Via James McGrath at Exploring Our Matrix

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Update: In the face of increasing criticism, Robertson has now "explained" his comment. It has to do with Dutty Boukman, a voodou priest who was captured and beheaded by the French shortly after the slave revolt began. As Wikipedia explains:

On 22 August 1791, Boukman presided in the role of houngan (priest) together with an African-born priestess and conducted a ceremony at the Bois Caïman and prophesied that the slaves Jean François, Biassou, and Jeannot would be leaders of a slave revolt that would free the slaves of Saint-Domingue. A pig, which symbolized the wild, free, and untamable spiritual power of the forest and the ancestors, was sacrificed, an oath was taken, and Boukman and the priestess exhorted the listeners to fight bravely against their oppressors. Days later the Haitian Revolution began. Boukman was not the first to attempt a slave uprising in Saint-Domingue, as he was preceded by others, such as Padrejean in 1676, and François Mackandal in 1757. However, his large size, warrior-like appearance, and fearsome temper made him an effective leader and helped spark the Haitian Revolution.

This ceremony has long been referenced as the "pact with the devil" that began the Haitian revolution. This negative branding of the ceremony at the Bois Caïman was possibly instigated by either the French who fled Haiti, or the Christian missionaries who were in competition with the local Vodou beliefs.

According to Robertson's statement:

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.

I'm willing to bet that the number of "scholars" who have concluded that Haiti is cursed by God is "countless" because you can't count zero.

More importantly, in typical fashion, Robertson's "God" proceeds to smite people who had nothing to do with the supposed "sin."

Some "God."
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Link - Posted by John Pieret @ 11:59 PM