Tragedy strikes a small, poverty stricken country in the Caribbean, an earthquake devastates parts of the island of Hispanola and destroys homes, history, and lives.
And one man gets on his podium and says, “The Devil did it”. This is another example of why religion can be so dangerous.
The television evangelist claimed that The Haitians reached an agreement with the Devil, on the note that if he could rid them of the French, they would be his slaves for ever after.” (Apparently humans can’t revolt against oppression without the Devils assistance?) Pat Robertson proposes that ever since that time, the Haitians have been afflicted with one disaster after another and attributed the earthquake as a consequence of the “thoughtless and unfortunate pact”. In a nutshell, he suggested that the death of over 100,000 people in Haiti earthquake was a direct consequence of their “Satanic pact”, and it was actually a “blessing in disguise” and that if we all pray that they have a “great turning to God, and out of this tragedy, (he) is confident that something good may come” (Fox News)
At a time when people’s lives have been torn from whatever reality, harsh or otherwise, that they existed in, at a time when the rest of the world scrambles to provide assistance and relief to the ravaged people, religion puffs out its chest and says “You deserved it”.
So much for claims of religious compassion.