Question: Pat Robertson has stated that the earthquake that devastated Haiti is a result of Haitians making a pact with the devil in order to obtain Satan's help in overthrowing the French. Is there any basis to this story?
Response: Robertson's statement jumbled up several facts of history. He noted that the Haitians were under the heel of the French, "Napoleon the Third and whatever." He probably meant Napoleon Bonaparte, but since this alleged pact was supposedly enacted in 1791, the first Napoleon didn't come into power until several years later. Napoleon III didn't assume power until 1848, years after Haiti had won their freedom.
There is a basis for considering some kind of a "pact" when reading the prayer of Dutty Boukman (a Haitian slave leader), which was uttered during the "Bois Caiman Ceremony," a Vodou rite. Boukman addresses a "god" who is different from that of the Catholic French. He prays, "The white man's god asks him to commit crimes. But the god within us wants to do good. Our god, who is so good, so just, He orders us to revenge our wrongs. It's He who will direct our arms and bring us the victory. It's He who will assist us. We all should throw away the image of the white men's god who is so pitiless. Listen to the voice for liberty that speaks in all our hearts" (http://thelouvertureproject.org/index.php?title=Boukman).
The "god" to which Boukman prays orders "revenge," an attribute quite different from the God of the Bible, who states, "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord" (Rom:12:19Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.).
The religion of Voudon acknowledges one main deity and several demi-gods called "loas." These loas have a function in Voudon similar to the Saints in Catholicism. Some historians estimate that by the 1750s, 30,000 slaves a year were bringing the religion of Voudon into Haiti. Among the Dahomey tribal groups, "Voodoo" (Voudon) means "gods or Spirits." Practitioners believed that these spirits had the ability to enter the worshippers. Boukman prays to a god who is "within us," a god who is within them as a result of a Voudoun ceremony.
That's enough to warrant judgment, but then the "whole world lieth in wickedness" (1 Jn:5:19And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.). Consequently, Haiti certainly isn't the only nation to qualify for judgment.
