The world is filled with religious nut-jobs. This is not a criticism of religion itself, but an observation of those who pervert and hi-jack religion to explain away their equally perverse thoughts and actions. As you read these words, thousands upon thousands of Haitians are dead; hundreds of thousands more and suffering the wrath of a mammoth earthquake that took place on Tuesday. The entire impoverished country is in ruins. American Christian Leader Pat Robertson, the popular Evangelical Radio and TV personality, has claimed that the recent Earthquake in Haiti was to Haiti’s “pact with the devil.” Below are his own words:
“Something happened a long time ago in Haiti and people might not want to talk about. They were under the heel of the French, you know Napoleon the third and whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said ‘We will serve you if you will get us free from the prince.’ True story. And so the devil said, ‘Ok it’s a deal.’ And they kicked the French out. The Haitians revolted and got something themselves free. But ever since they have been cursed by one thing after another.”
The United States of America is home to some of the world’s most fundamentalist Christians, radicals if you will. The scary part is that in a country of 300 million people, there are numbers in excess of a million (and perhaps much more) that would fully agree with Robertson on this and all that he has said in the past. In our ever shrinking Global Village, these words are then sent around the planet in an instant and people in Central an South America, the Middle East, Africa and beyond see them as representing America. This is what makes people like Robertson or even Glenn Beck so very dangerous. They breed hate and misunderstanding.
The Muslim world deals with this all the time. With 1.3 billion Muslims in the world over, even if only 3% are radical fundamentalists, their numbers are in the millions and they have come to represent the other 97%.
What makes Robertson’s words so disgusting is they don’t come after a terrorist attack or a violent protest of some sort, they come on the heels of the complete devastation of an already horribly impoverished people, their dead stacked ten of thousands high all around them. His words are so bitterly cold and cruel, that it’s hard to comprehend a human being able to say them; even more so at such a horrible time for the Haitian people. He should be ashamed of himself and America should be ashamed of him. And the next time people throw the word fundamentalist around, don’t forget to look over at toxic pool of the American Evangelical Christian Right. Radicals don’t only live in the Middle East. Sometimes they’re right next door.
From David Anthony Hohol…
Loading ...
Roberston is a Grade A peice of shit who embarasses himself and Christians everywhere everytime he opens his mouth. Please do not take his words as the words of a Christian or even an American. All I can say is thank God he’s old and won’t be around much longer to pollute the world with his toxic waste.
How sad it is when such words are spoken. He is less than a man with a mind so very small. My heart goes out to all those in Haiti who are suffering unimaginable pain and loss.
I am ashamed for him. It’s no less than obscene of him to say such a thing. With all that he has said over the years, he should have been charged with hate crimes. God Bless Haiti and may they pass through this time quickly.
This is why I can’t follow any religion. They all get twisted into something ugly by so-called religious leaders that aim to sell hate and ugliness. Religion? No thanks!
It seems to be Christian bashing this week around here! You people need to understand that one person does not represent an entire religion. Also Pat Robertson is not commiting a hate crime when he says the devil did something. He may be wrong in this case, but there is a devil to anyone who has faith. You cant belive in God and not believe in the Devil.
All these guys have to same Sears Catalogue haristyle, the same bad suits and southern belle looking wife. The Devil???? Gimme a break. And Serverten – you dont have to believe in the devil to believe in God. You dont get to decide what I believe, sorry.
Serverten – the words of one cant be used against everyone? Hmmm. Where have I heard that before? If this guy was Muslim, the western world would say he is inciting terrorism and demand he be taken off TV and Radio. But he’s a Christian Pastor in America, so there is never a link to terror mentioned, and he can go right on and saying crap like that and more.
Here is what he has to say about Islam: “Ladies and gentlemen, we have to recognize that Islam is not a religion. It is a worldwide political movement meant on domination of the world… Muslims want to take over… And before long, ladies are going to be dressed in burqas and whatever garments they would put on them, and next thing you know, men are going to be allowed to have wife-beating and you’ll be beheading adulterers and so on and so forth.”
This guy is trash, pure trash. He does nothing but incite hatred and fear, he does nothing but take advantage of simple God-fearing people in America who know nothing about the Middle East and Islam, except for what he tells them. He is their pastor, they trust him and he violates that trust. This is hate crime. This is why a man like this needs to pass on.
David,
You said a mouthful there. Not only are they concocting grotesque lies about Haiti and other “non-believers” but their orthodoxy actually demands we die a horrible death so they can be at peace in heaven. I wrote about this on my blog, http://www.itbegsthequestion.com in a post called Fundmentally Insane. You can see it here: http://itbegsthequestion.com/?p=730
The biggest problem is with all these people putting a huge amount of energy out there praying for war it is inevitable that is what we will get.
Larry