The Rearguard has allowed me (the only Christian minister on staff) some space to respond to Pat Robertson’s remarks about the earthquake in Haiti. If you haven’t heard what he said exactly, it’d be a good YouTube search. 

What I want to do (to the best of my ability) is give all of us a more accurate picture of who the God of the Bible really is. I’m not looking to make Robertson an evil man, but show that he simply does not have an accurate view of the God of the Bible when it comes to calamity or evil and suffering in this world. Whether you believe in God or not, understand that this is intended to be a clarification in Orthodox Christianity.

Robertson’s main incorrect claim is that God sent the earthquake to Haiti because the nation made a deal with the devil in centuries past.

The Biblical God is certainly a God of justice. One of Christianity’s main doctrines is living by God’s ways and decrees. In many different accounts, God reproves certain people because of their wickedness or wrongdoing. Some people become sick or even die because they are not living in line with God’s way he has provided. The Bible is also clear on the fact that living in God’s statutes is a way that leads to a rich life and existential satisfaction.

But the Bible is very clear about the fact that God is not a cause-and-effect God who curses all sinners and blesses all the righteous. Living in God’s will and way is good for the human, it is certainly the right thing, but even rebellious sinners live long lives without any curse from God.

The Scriptures are filled with instances of what Christians call, “grace” or “mercy.” Grace is getting something you don’t deserve, and mercy is not getting what you do deserve. The Bible says that God is full of grace and mercy, and in fact embodies both of those things in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

The stories within the Bible are all about very imperfect people being used and blessed by God. In using completely imperfect (and rebellious) people who are seemingly no good, God is able to show His total goodness by utilizing them, sometimes blessing them, and ultimately giving the individual the understanding that following Him is the best way to ultimate reality and abundant life.

How does this relate to Haiti? Well, firstly it is certain that in a Biblical view of God, we can understand that God is not as simple as Robertson puts it. He does not just destroy the spiritually disobedient and rebellious instantly after their sin. If he were to do that, then the whole earth would be destroyed because the Christian view is that ALL people are spiritually rebellious.

Furthermore, even IF Haiti did make a “deal with the devil,” as Robertson said, their actions would not directly relate to the events of January.

There is a serious danger amongst us Christians, to arrogantly presume God’s actions in such catastrophic events. We can trace a drunk driving accident back to a person’s poor choice, but tracing the earthquake in Haiti back to their voodoo practices and a theoretical deal with the devil himself? I don’t think so. Such great catastrophes cannot be so easily explained. It’s not simple. Our human lives in the hands of a holy God is not as black and white as our Western minds desire it to be.

The ultimate example of God’s response to sin and wickedness is in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus was the one who came as God in the flesh and showed so much grace to sinners that religious people crucified him claiming that he was one of rebels. More so, the central Christian claim is that Jesus died FOR the rebellious and the wicked, so that they might know God. He stood in the place of the judgment, paying the price for the great offense of rebelling against such a good God, who always has our best in mind.

Normal religion is cause-and-effect. Most religions say, “obey God, and then you will be accepted and blessed.” But Christianity is diametrically opposed to that by saying, “You are accepted and blessed because of the work of Jesus, therefore you should obey God.”