HAITI: PROTESTANT PASTOR MADE HARMFUL REMARKS

TELEVISION EVANGELIST SUGGESTS HAITI'S QUAKE IS
THE WRATH OF GOD DUE AN OLD ‘PACT WITH THE DEVIL'

Whashington (AP) - While campaigning for donations on television after the disastrous earthquakes that ended the lives of tens of thousands of people in Haiti, we feel frustration because relief efforts are too slow and that we personally can do so little to relieve the torment of our fellow human beings. In front of the quake hit Port-au-Prince with devastating 7.0 force, taking a toll estimated in the tens of thousands of lives, we are stricken with grief at the loss of life and the persistence of suffering. These sentiments are not shared by U.S. televangelist Pat Robertson, who's convinced that the hand of God is evident in this human tragedy. This leading conservative Protestant pastor, suggested that the islanders had it coming. After the quake Robertson said, "Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it." In the Robertsonian view, the Haitians are being punished for a “pact with the devil” made by their ancestors two hundred years ago. "They were under the heel of the French ... 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.' Ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after another," Robertson said. Although they got independence as a result of the contract, according to Robertson, they roused the wrath of God and have now been driven into a hell on earth. In other words, to help now the victims of the Haitian disaster is to thwart the Almighty's handiwork.

The uproar over his statements is growing, so a spokesman for Christian Broadcasting Network said that "Dr. Robertson never stated that the earthquake was God's wrath. If you watch the entire video segment, Dr. Robertson's compassion for the people of Haiti is clear. He called for prayer for them." However, the issue even came up at the White House. Asked about the concept, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said, "It never ceases to amaze that in times of amazing human suffering somebody says something that could be so utterly stupid. But it like clockwork happens with some regularity."

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The Vrndavana conception of Krishna as the Supreme Entity is the highest because beauty is above all. Absolute good is absolute beauty, and that is the absolute controller. Mercy is above justice. Generally, we cannot conceive that anything could be greater than justice; we think that justice must be the highest principle. But we are told that mercy is above justice. And who can show mercy? Not an ordinary person, but only a king. One who can compensate for the loss in justice can give mercy. Such a realm exists. And there, the Lord is engaged in pastimes with his paraphernalia of equal quality. There is such a law, a provision beyond the sense of justice in our puppy brain.

Śrīla Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Mahārāja :
“Śrī Guru and His Grace”
Chapter Fourteen: ‘The Line of Sri Rupa’