The following article by Dr. Al Mohler is excellent. I plan to read a portion of it to our church this Sunday when we take time to pray and also give toward relief efforts. Dr. Mohler's biblical and gospel-centered insight can equip Christians to think about natural disasters like this rightly and also prepare us to turn conversations about Haiti toward gospel-hope. (via Justin Taylor)
The images streaming in from Haiti look like scenes from Dante's Inferno. The scale of the calamity is unprecedented. In many ways, Haiti has almost ceased to exist.
The earthquake that will forever change that nation came as subterranean plates shifted about six miles under the surface of the earth, along a fault line that had threatened trouble for centuries. But no one saw a quake of this magnitude coming. The 7.0 quake came like a nightmare, with the city of Port-au-Prince crumbling, entire villages collapsing, bodies flying in the air and crushed under mountains of debris. Orphanages, churches, markets, homes, and government buildings all collapsed. Civil government has virtually ceased to function. Without power, communication has been cut off and rescue efforts are seriously hampered. Bodies are piling up, hope is running out, and help, though on the way, will not arrive in time for many victims.
Even as boots are finally hitting the ground and relief efforts are reaching the island, estimates of the death toll range as high as 500,000. Given the mountainous terrain and densely populated villages that had been hanging along the fault line, entire villages may have disappeared. The Western Hemisphere's most impoverished nation has experienced a catastrophe that appears almost apocalyptic.
In truth, it is hard not to describe the earthquake as a disaster of biblical proportions. It certainly looks as if the wrath of God has fallen upon the Caribbean nation. Add to this the fact that Haiti is well known for its history of religious syncretism -- mixing elements of various faiths, including occult practices. The nation is known for voodoo, sorcery, and a Catholic tradition that has been greatly influenced by the occult.
Haiti's history is a catalog of political disasters, one after the other. In one account of the nation's fight for independence from the French in the late 18th century, representatives of the nation are said to have made a pact with the Devil to throw off the French. According to this account, the Haitians considered the French as Catholics and wanted to side with whomever would oppose the French. Thus, some would use that tradition to explain all that has marked the tragedy of Haitian history -- including now the earthquake of January 12, 2010.
Does God hate Haiti? That is the conclusion reached by many, who point to the earthquake as a sign of God's direct and observable judgment.
God does judge the nations -- all of them -- and God will judge the nations. His judgment is perfect and his justice is sure. He rules over all the nations and his sovereign will is demonstrated in the rising and falling of nations and empires and peoples. Every molecule of matter obeys his command, and the earthquakes reveal his reign -- as do the tides of relief and assistance flowing into Haiti right now.
A faithful Christian cannot accept the claim that God is a bystander in world events. The Bible clearly claims the sovereign rule of God over all his creation, all of the time. We have no right to claim that God was surprised by the earthquake in Haiti, or to allow that God could not have prevented it from happening.
God's rule over creation involves both direct and indirect acts, but his rule is constant. The universe, even after the consequences of the Fall, still demonstrates the character of God in all its dimensions, objects, and occurrences. And yet, we have no right to claim that we know why a disaster like the earthquake in Haiti happened at just that place and at just that moment.
The arrogance of human presumption is a real and present danger. We can trace the effects of a drunk driver to a car accident, but we cannot trace the effects of voodoo to an earthquake -- at least not so directly. Will God judge Haiti for its spiritual darkness? Of course. Is the judgment of God something we can claim to understand in this sense -- in the present? No, we are not given that knowledge. Jesus himself warned his disciples against this kind of presumption.
Why did no earthquake shake Nazi Germany? Why did no tsunami swallow up the killing fields of Cambodia? Why did Hurricane Katrina destroy far more evangelical churches than casinos? Why do so many murderous dictators live to old age while many missionaries die young?
Does God hate Haiti? God hates sin, and will punish both individual sinners and nations. But that means that every individual and every nation will be found guilty when measured by the standard of God's perfect righteousness. God does hate sin, but if God merely hated Haiti, there would be no missionaries there; there would be no aid streaming to the nation; there would be no rescue efforts -- there would be no hope.
The earthquake in Haiti, like every other earthly disaster, reminds us that creation groans under the weight of sin and the judgment of God. This is true for every cell in our bodies, even as it is for the crust of the earth at every point on the globe. The entire cosmos awaits the revelation of the glory of the coming Lord. Creation cries out for the hope of the New Creation.
In other words, the earthquake reminds us that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only real message of hope. The cross of Christ declares that Jesus loves Haiti -- and the Haitian people are the objects of his love. Christ would have us show the Haitian nation his love, and share his Gospel. In the midst of this unspeakable tragedy, Christ would have us rush to aid the suffering people of Haiti, and rush to tell the Haitian people of his love, his cross, and salvation in his name alone.
Everything about the tragedy in Haiti points to our need for redemption. This tragedy may lead to a new openness to the Gospel among the Haitian people. That will be to the glory of God. In the meantime, Christ's people must do everything we can to alleviate the suffering, bind up the wounded, and comfort the grieving. If Christ's people are called to do this, how can we say that God hates Haiti?
If you have any doubts about this, take your Bible and turn to John 3:16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. That is God's message to Haiti.
6 Comments
I hope this is not the section you'll be sharing with your parishioners this Sunday:
"In truth, it is hard not to describe the earthquake as a disaster of biblical proportions. It certainly looks as if the wrath of God has fallen upon the Caribbean nation. Add to this the fact that Haiti is well known for its history of religious syncretism -- mixing elements of various faiths, including occult practices. The nation is known for voodoo, sorcery, and a Catholic tradition that has been greatly influenced by the occult... Does God hate Haiti? That is the conclusion reached by many, who point to the earthquake as a sign of God's direct and observable judgment."
There are many, many faithful Christians in Haiti, and many innocent lives were lost in this disaster. It is a challenge for all of us as Christians to explain this in light of what we know about God and His character. But it is false-- indeed, reprehensible-- to insinuate that this disaster is God's judgment's for some "Haitian pact with Satan" or for Haiti's rich Catholic heritage. God loves Haiti. And as Christians, we are commanded to love them too. Mohler's post (and Pat Robertson's remarks earlier this week) radically miss this point.
Whoa, did you even read the rest of his article? Mohler explained that the paragraph (that you quoted out of context, by the way), was what some are claiming as an explanation for the earthquake -- namely God's judgement on an unrighteous nation. However, he points out that we should not be so quick to judge:
"The arrogance of human presumption is a real and present danger. We can trace the effects of a drunk driver to a car accident, but we cannot trace the effects of voodoo to an earthquake -- at least not so directly. Will God judge Haiti for its spiritual darkness? Of course. Is the judgment of God something we can claim to understand in this sense -- in the present? No, we are not given that knowledge. Jesus himself warned his disciples against this kind of presumption."
Please learn to read the entire article, before taking something out of context and attributing it to the author.
Stephanie and "Occasional Reader",
Let's be careful not to let Satan bring division amongst us. Especially in a time such as this! Dr. Muller is a man of God who is constantly looked to for clear understanding on how to deal with things going on in our world from a biblical perspective and I believe he does that very well most of the time. He is a man who desires more then anything to speak the truth of God in love and does so in this article. The harsh realities of sins affect on this life and the vastness of our God's dealings are often way bigger and more complex then any of us can explain especially in a few paragraphs. We must therefore be gracious with one another and be careful not to judge to quickly the actions and statements of others without taking into consideration the whole context of their life and faith.
Remember, even when we disagree with eachother we should do so in love, with patience and kindness!
John 13:34-35
Im glad to see Mohler take this stand. I am always disgusted when pastors have the arrogance to try to speak for God, as Piper did with the Minneapolis tornado. As Matthew 5:45 tells us, he allows the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike.
Regarding Katrina destroying more churches than casinos, I personally can only hope that was Gods Wrath. Lord knows there is more culling that needs to be done in the church than about anywhere else.
I thought this was one of the best written pieces I've seen on the tragedy in Haiti. So many Christians out there have this unbiblical idea that God is helpless and had NOTHING to do with the earthquake. This was a very balanced, unbiased, thoughful and biblical approach to tragedies. My hat (if I wore one) if off to you.
As often is the case, it is the comments that some leave that leave a bad taste in my mouth. Sholiday's statement that, "Regarding Katrina destroying more churches than casinos, I personally can only hope that was Gods Wrath"-really takes the cake! That is hateful and dare I say satanic to hope for God's wrath on His church! Unbelievable!
I was born and raised in Haiti in a Catholic home. My parents did not practice voodoo and were very much involved in the Catholic church. Besides the scary stories that I used to be told by the nannies that I had, much of what I learned about voodoo was in a documentary that I watched on TV in the US. I became a born again Christian when I attended College in NY. I returned to Haiti in 1991 to find a great body of Christian people that really love and serve the Lord, Jesus Christ.
It amazed me to see how some non-Christians, after the earthquake in Haiti, showed more sensitivity by reaching out to me and asking for my family, than those who are Christians.
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