Pat Robertson and Haitian 'Devil Pact': Insert Foot in Mouth, Rinse, and Repeat

Various media outlets are reporting the statement of Pat Robertson that the horrific earthquake that has devastated Haiti is the alleged result of a pact with the devil by the island nation. One wonders how Haiti's large Christian population figures into this equation, or if Robertson is aware of that factor.

This is but the latest statement by Robertson and other television evangelists who claim to know the mind of the divine on natural disasters and acts of terror, including claims that Hurricane Katrina, South Asian tsunamis, and the 9/11 attacks were the result of God's judgment. Robertson's latest statement may be something of self-fulfilling prophecy in that earlier this month he predicted divine judgment, but in this case the object of God's wrath was to be America.

As a Christian I am embarrassed by such statements that are associated with my faith and Christians. I repudiate them and am thankful that there is a new generation of evangelicals who do not share such sentiments, and a new group of Christian scholars pursuing more profitable and productive understandings of cultures and religions.