14 DAY TRIAL // Renowned televangelist and “media host” Pat Robertson never misses an opportunity to capitalize on other people's misery to promote what he refers to as “God's work.” Naturally, when he got the opportunity to discuss the massive earthquake that struck the poor nation of Haiti, he went for it all out. In fact, he did so more than he probably should have, going on to say on national television that the Haitian people made a pact with the devil to get rid of the French authorities that occupied their country hundreds of years ago. Robertson believes that the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck the country on Tuesday was a direct consequence of this pact.
People who commented on the kind reverend's statement said that it was a shame we lived in a world where people such as this guy, whom many refer to as the voice of conservative Christianity in the United States, were allowed to spill their misinformation on TV, without any repercussions. Naturally, it's (theoretically) a free media out there, and anyone should be allowed to respond to events in their own ways. But some public figures, Robertson included, use these opportunities to capitalize on the misery and pain of others. He even called the devastating tremor a “blessing in disguise,” which he believed would lead to the reconstruction of Haiti (most likely under a Christian God).
“Pat Robertson continues to distinguish himself as American evangelicalism's most flamboyant spokesperson. When tragedies strike, people naturally ask questions about why bad things happen to the innocent, and millions of Americans see the hand of God or the devil at work in natural calamities. But few religious leaders today draw the kinds of explicit connection as Pat Robertson has done with the Haitian earthquake. Robertson's comments reflect as much his rhetorical flourish and skill as a ratings booster as they do his theology,” Rice University sociologist Michael Lindsay, the author of the book “Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite,” says.
His intervention and statement have already produced quite a stir on the Internet, prompting numerous video responses to his allegations. Most people with common sense raised their voices against this hateful type of statements. Exploiting people's desperation to promote a church or a corporation, as Robertson does with the countless organizations he founded or co-founded, or to promote Christianity is fairly far off from the precepts of preaching the gospel in the Bible, and ranks as cruel, inhumane, and completely uncalled for. Hopefully, even some of Robertson's followers will come to see this, and denounce this type of activity in spreading religious viewpoints.
Credit: The Washington Post