Haiti Needs Help and Prayer

January 15, 2010

The earthquake that hit Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Tuesday, January 12, 2010, caused me to think of Jesus’ words recorded in Matthew 24:3-7:

“And as he (Jesus) sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, ‘Tell us…what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?’ And Jesus…said unto them, ‘…nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers (various) places.’”

“The New York Times” printed this about the recent Haiti earthquake: “Survivors strained desperately on Wednesday against the chunks of concrete that buried this city along with thousands of its residents, rich and poor…And the poor who define this nation squatted in the streets, some hurt and bloody, many more without food and water, close to piles of covered corpses and rubble.”

Was the earthquake – Haiti’s worst in more than 200 years – one of those Jesus predicted, or was it a direct judgment on Haiti?

According to “Wikipedia,” Roman Catholicism is the official religion of Haiti, but voodoo may be considered the country's national religion. Most voodooists believe that their religion can coexist with Catholicism…The belief system of voodoo revolves around family spirits (often called “loua” or “mistè”) which are believed to be inherited through maternal and paternal lines.

Russell Goldman, reporting for ABC News, wrote, “Some 80 percent of Haitians are practicing Roman Catholics. But despite their Christian faith, half the country’s population practices voodoo, an Afro-Caribbean faith in which practitioners cast spells, conduct sacrifices, worship spirits and believe in zombies, according to statistics compiled by the CIA World Factbook. Increasingly, evangelical Protestant faiths, like Pentecostalism, which stress a locally popular belief in an ‘unseen spirit world,’ have taken hold.”

Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, writes in his January 14 blog: “Haiti is well known for its history of religious syncretism – mixing elements of various faiths, including occult practices…Haiti's history is a catalog of political disasters…In one account of the nation's fight for independence from the French in the late 18th century, representatives of the nation are said to have made a pact with the Devil to throw off the French (in 1791). According to this account, the Haitians considered the French as Catholics and wanted to side with whomever would oppose the French. Thus, some would use that tradition to explain all that has marked the tragedy of Haitian history – including now the earthquake of January 12, 2010.”

Mohler says many point to the Haiti earthquake as a sign of God's direct judgment.

“God does judge the nations – all of them – and God will judge the nations,” Mohler says. “He rules over all the nations and his sovereign will is demonstrated in the rising and falling of nations and empires and peoples…

“God's rule over creation involves both direct and indirect acts, but his rule is constant. The universe, even after the consequences of the Fall, still demonstrates the character of God in all its dimensions, objects, and occurrences. And yet, we have no right to claim that we know why a disaster like the earthquake in Haiti happened at just that place and at just that moment.

“The arrogance of human presumption is a real and present danger. We can trace the effects of a drunk driver to a car accident, but we cannot trace the effects of voodoo to an earthquake – at least not so directly. Will God judge Haiti for its spiritual darkness? Of course. Is the judgment of God something we can claim to understand in this sense – in the present? No, we are not given that knowledge. Jesus himself warned his disciples against this kind of presumption.

“The earthquake in Haiti, like every other earthly disaster, reminds us that creation groans under the weight of sin and the judgment of God…The cross of Christ declares that Jesus loves Haiti…Christ would have us rush to aid the suffering people of Haiti, and rush to tell the Haitian people of his love, his cross, and salvation in his name alone.”

A Prayer: Father, many Haitians are “dirt poor.” The recent earthquake added misery to their lives. Help us respond to the Haitian people in the manner of prayerful Good Samaritans. Help us avoid judging them in their time of need. In Jesus’ name, amen.