Oh, My Word...

He never fails... to make headlines that infuriate. Here's today's, as relayed by CNN.com:

Pat Robertson, the host of the "700 Club," blamed the tragedy on something that "happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it."

The Haitians "were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III and whatever," Robertson said on his broadcast Wednesday. "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, 'OK, it's a deal.' "

I know he's a brother in Christ but... does Pat Robertson not have a compassionate bone in his body? Does he believe he is a prophet of doom, wired to the thoughts of the Almighty? He also has made proclamations of judgment after other natural disasters and tragedies, including 9/11. He blamed Hurricane Katrina on the sin of New Orleans. Why does he do this?

Why can't a natural disaster be... a natural disaster? Oh, my word.

I'm speechless that Robertson even went there.

Not every natural disaster is the judgment of God on specific or national sin. In my studies of God's word, I have not been able to find any prophecy for natural disaster-judgments during the Church age. Natural disasters happen because this world is falling apart, winding down, and in the progressive decline of decay (Romans 8:20-22). This is a result of God's curse on ALL mankind after Adam's fall and affects ALL mankind ALL the time.

Scientifically, earthquakes happen because the earth's tectonic plates are in constant motion and the friction between them causes the earth to tremble. Did God cause judgmental earthquakes at specific times in the course of human history? You bet. But most, if not all, of His were unexplainable by science. They were supernatural and can only be seen as so (like Korah's rebellion in Num 16:31). But the Haitian earthquake was geological and not abnormal. The country was warned in 2004 and 2008 that it was at risk for an earthquake. Not because of sin but because of two major fault lines that run under the land.

Oh, my word. Please know that God loves the Haitian people. He wants each one to come to salvation and many have already come. I've been there and seen the church in action. Our Lord's heart goes out to the hurting and the concerned. And His people are currently forming an army of compassion to reach out with the love of Christ in the midst of this tragedy. God loves Haiti. And He will somehow bring glory to Himself in the midst of all of this.

Keep the faith. Reject the ridiculous.

.