Not God's judgment - Haiti, part 5

Some purported Christians, such as the perennial bombastic Pat Robertson, pronounced that the earthquake in Haiti constituted God's judgment on that nation and its people.

God does not cause bad things, much less great evil, to happen to people. An earthquake that indiscriminately kills tens of thousands of people, injuring tens of thousands more, and imperiling the well-being of hundreds of thousands is clearly evil. Contending that God caused the earthquake to punish the people of Haiti says nothing about the living God but speaks volumes about the alleged prophet’s shallowness. The God of the Bible, the God of Christ Jesus, is a God who loves people absolutely and unconditionally, suffering when people suffer.

Lilly Coyle of Minneapolis wrote a letter, from the perspective of Satan, published by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and then further disseminated by National Public Radio, providing a wonderful rejoinder to all who believe the recent earthquake in Haiti to be an act of God:

Dear Pat Robertson,

I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I'm all over that action.

But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I'm no welcher. The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished.

Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth -- glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle. Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake. Haven't you seen "Crossroads"? Or "Damn Yankees"?

If I had a thing going with Haiti, there'd be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox -- that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it -- I'm just saying: Not how I roll.

You're doing great work, Pat, and I don't want to clip your wings -- just, come on, you're making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That's working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract.

Best, Satan

LILY COYLE, MINNEAPOLIS

(Frank James, “The 'Devil' Writes Pat Robertson A Letter,” The two-way, NPR News Blog, January 15, 2010)