Haiti's Pact with the Devil: What's the Truth about Haiti's Deal with the Devil?
Posted: Tuesday, January 19, 2010
by Mogama
http://www.mogama.info
We naturally sense the crude meanness of Rev. Pat Robertson's words that the devastating earthquake in Haiti is the latest reward for Haiti's pact with the devil. But beyond our initial shock at his words is the question of truth. As one who claims to follow Jesus Christ, Rev. Robertson should care about truth. After all, Jesus identified Himself as "the truth", and He said "the truth will make you free".
The question for Rev. Robertson and those who pout the "pact with the devil" line is this: Did Haiti's founders really make a deal with the devil? Beyond the charge, where is the evidence?
Perhaps we may find our answer in the religious service that launched the Haitian revolution in which the African slaves cast off the yoke of their colonial French masters. As is common to the history of revolutionary wars, including the American war of independence from Great Britain, the Haitian struggle for freedom began with a religious service. Two aspects of that religious service are of paramount concern to us: one is the prayer offered; the other is the ritual enacted by the worshipers.
First, in their petition for supernatural aid, did the Haitians pray to the devil?
A Haitian native, Dr. Jean R. Gelin , a PhD in plant sciences who works as a scientist in agricultural research, published three articles from October through December 2005 on the truthfulness of Haiti's alleged deal with Satan. Dr. Gelin cites Written in Blood - The Story of the Haitian People, 1492-1971 by American authors Robert and Nancy Heinl.
According to this historical book, during the religious ceremony, Bookman voiced the collective prayer of the freedom fighters. The authors of Written in Blood penned the following synthesis of Bookman's prayer:
Good Lord who hath made the sun that shines upon us, that riseth from the sea, who maketh the storm to roar; and governeth the thunders, The Lord is hidden in the heavens, and there He watcheth over us. The Lord seeth what the blancs have done. Their god commandeth crimes, ours giveth blessings upon us. The Good Lord hath ordained vengeance. He will give strength to our arms and courage to our hearts. He shall sustain us. Cast down the image of the god of the blancs, because he maketh the tears to flow from our eyes. Hearken unto Liberty that speaketh now in all your hearts.
Where is the reference to Satan in that prayer? How do these words constitute a pact with the devil?
Second, did the Haitians offfer a blood sacrifice to the devil?
It is alleged that since "the natives" sacrificed a pig and drank its blood, their blood sacrifice must have been offered to the devil.
This notion gave rise to a myth that Haitians erected the statue of an iron pig to commemorate the sacrifice to the pig. But Dr. Gelin has confronted several writers that perpetuate this legend to locate the iron pig on Haitian soil. So far, no one has been able to show him or anyone else the iron pig.
Concerning the blood shared by the worshipers at that service, Dr. Gelin writes, " The drinking of animal blood could be easily understood in the context of a simple cultural phenomenon. Warm animal blood was routinely used as a source of strength in many ancient cultures. Even today, animal blood is consumed in many parts of Haiti, generally fried or transformed in some other way, but without any spiritual or religious connotation. It's worth recalling that this particular event took place in 1791 in rural Saint-Domingue during a gathering of malnourished, tortured, violated, abused, and terrorized men and women. The African slaves who needed their physical strength just to stay alive on the plantations found themselves in greater need of their vitality as the time of the general insurrection was approaching."
It is one think to say Haitian revolutionaries included voodoo ritual in their worship, or to say that the Haitians were scientifically primitive in thinking that the drinking of animal blood would grant them sufficient physical and supernatural strength to defeat Napoleon's French army. But to conclude that their drinking of animal blood equaled "a pact with the devil" is worse than a fabrication. It is a slanderous crime apparently designed with one goal in mind: to justify or rationalize that whatever pain and suffering Haitians experience they have brought on themselves, meaning they deserve the killer earthquake that has resulted in mass graves, injuries, homelessness and untold agonies for its victims.
This warped thinking of "they did it to themselves" sounds strangely similar to what many Christian leaders and "Christian nations" used to say, and some still say, about the sufferings of Jews, including Hitler's holocaust that slaughtered over six million Jews . They said whatever sufferings came upon Jews was deserved punishment for their forefathers' decision to crucify Jesus Christ. Now, the only difference between the Jews and the Haitians is this: in the case of the Jews the charge of crucifying Jesus was partly true, while for the Haitians we are yet to find proof of their ancestors having signed a contract with Satan.
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Perhaps we may find our answer in the religious service that launched the Haitian revolution in which the African slaves cast off the yoke of their colonial French masters. As is common to the history of revolutionary wars, including the American war of independence from Great Britain, the Haitian struggle for freedom began with a religious service. Two aspects of that religious service are of paramount concern to us: one is the prayer offered; the other is the ritual enacted by the worshipers.
First, in their petition for supernatural aid, did the Haitians pray to the devil?
A Haitian native, Dr. Jean R. Gelin , a PhD in plant sciences who works as a scientist in agricultural research, published three articles from October through December 2005 on the truthfulness of Haiti's alleged deal with Satan. Dr. Gelin cites Written in Blood - The Story of the Haitian People, 1492-1971 by American authors Robert and Nancy Heinl.
According to this historical book, during the religious ceremony, Bookman voiced the collective prayer of the freedom fighters. The authors of Written in Blood penned the following synthesis of Bookman's prayer:
Good Lord who hath made the sun that shines upon us, that riseth from the sea, who maketh the storm to roar; and governeth the thunders, The Lord is hidden in the heavens, and there He watcheth over us. The Lord seeth what the blancs have done. Their god commandeth crimes, ours giveth blessings upon us. The Good Lord hath ordained vengeance. He will give strength to our arms and courage to our hearts. He shall sustain us. Cast down the image of the god of the blancs, because he maketh the tears to flow from our eyes. Hearken unto Liberty that speaketh now in all your hearts.
Where is the reference to Satan in that prayer? How do these words constitute a pact with the devil?
Second, did the Haitians offfer a blood sacrifice to the devil?
It is alleged that since "the natives" sacrificed a pig and drank its blood, their blood sacrifice must have been offered to the devil.
This notion gave rise to a myth that Haitians erected the statue of an iron pig to commemorate the sacrifice to the pig. But Dr. Gelin has confronted several writers that perpetuate this legend to locate the iron pig on Haitian soil. So far, no one has been able to show him or anyone else the iron pig.
Concerning the blood shared by the worshipers at that service, Dr. Gelin writes, " The drinking of animal blood could be easily understood in the context of a simple cultural phenomenon. Warm animal blood was routinely used as a source of strength in many ancient cultures. Even today, animal blood is consumed in many parts of Haiti, generally fried or transformed in some other way, but without any spiritual or religious connotation. It's worth recalling that this particular event took place in 1791 in rural Saint-Domingue during a gathering of malnourished, tortured, violated, abused, and terrorized men and women. The African slaves who needed their physical strength just to stay alive on the plantations found themselves in greater need of their vitality as the time of the general insurrection was approaching."
It is one think to say Haitian revolutionaries included voodoo ritual in their worship, or to say that the Haitians were scientifically primitive in thinking that the drinking of animal blood would grant them sufficient physical and supernatural strength to defeat Napoleon's French army. But to conclude that their drinking of animal blood equaled "a pact with the devil" is worse than a fabrication. It is a slanderous crime apparently designed with one goal in mind: to justify or rationalize that whatever pain and suffering Haitians experience they have brought on themselves, meaning they deserve the killer earthquake that has resulted in mass graves, injuries, homelessness and untold agonies for its victims.
This warped thinking of "they did it to themselves" sounds strangely similar to what many Christian leaders and "Christian nations" used to say, and some still say, about the sufferings of Jews, including Hitler's holocaust that slaughtered over six million Jews . They said whatever sufferings came upon Jews was deserved punishment for their forefathers' decision to crucify Jesus Christ. Now, the only difference between the Jews and the Haitians is this: in the case of the Jews the charge of crucifying Jesus was partly true, while for the Haitians we are yet to find proof of their ancestors having signed a contract with Satan.
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More commentsMogama: as I read the comments and your responses, I could not help but wonder if the quake in Haiti has anything to do with waking up the people in the rest of the world who are comfortable with all the food and water they need.Please log in to respond to this comment.Uhhmmm... good point, Harlan. Thanks for your input. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
Great and bright article. Mogama's investigative mind and balanced thinking shines through this article.Please log in to respond to this comment.How you're doing, Sam? Wonderful to see your comment here. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
Without a doubt a terrible moment in time, but as most have already written here a large lack of truth on Mr. Robertson, in the Bible is extremely easy to see that God is not a God of hate, and in our times He already send The only Blood that saved us "ALL" from our sins till judgment day, and even if the Haitian ancestors made a pact with the devil, they could not have spoken for the ones suffering today, it is still our choice of who we follow, God has given us life and death, than He told us to chose, so according with the Bible, what happen Haiti was just a extremely bad earthquake, which could be a sign of the end of times, but that is as far as I personally would say, a very sad moment in our life and history, they are all in my prayers, great article!Please log in to respond to this comment.Thanks, Alessandro, for commenting. The Haitians need our support and prayers indeed. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
I think that very few would ever sign a pact with the devil, and yet every time we turn our backs on evil and injustice, we might as well. The tragedy that befell the poor people of Haiti has been hundreds of years in the making and the quake was only the catalyst . They have come to accept their corrupt and inept government as a way of life.
It's no secret that they lie on a major fault line and yet they were completely unprepared for what happened. Even after the quake, their government's first official act was to abdicate all responsibility. The corruption has stifled economic growth and development and has been a major cause of poverty in their nation. With such poverty, they were unable to afford structures that could withstand the inevitable. Yes the quake would have been bad, but there is no way the devastation and loss of life should have been this extensive.
So did they sign a pact with the devil to win their independence? No, but they allowed the devil to govern their country ever since. This should be a lesson for us all.
And, with my politically incorrect rant, I will add that turning our backs on the people of Haiti in their hour of need is like bringing the devil into our own lives. I ask everyone to please help in their own way.
Please log in to respond to this comment.We accept your "rant", Stephen. As to the real cause of the poverty that has disabled every Haitian government since independence from developing that tiny nation...that is the subject of another article, a discussion worth having here. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
Hi Mogama,Just noticed in your bio that you hold a M.Div. PTL.Wonderful article. Good research. Well written and timely.Thank you for writing this important article.MarkPlease log in to respond to this comment.Thanks, Mark, for stopping by and leaving comment. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
Thanks for this excellent article! Particularly insightful and adds some interesting reflections.Please log in to respond to this comment.I appreciate your kind words, Richard. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
Brilliant, informative article. Humans must, at all times, have somebody or someone to blame; it is intrinsic to teir nature. I have yet to find any evidence from those in the spirit world to support a definitive devil, let alone an angry, punishing God.Please log in to respond to this comment.Thanks, Carol, for commenting. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
A blood sausage known as "black pudding" is consumed daily by people in Britain - does that mean they have signed a pact with the devil?Surely the people who enslaved Haitians were the real devils. They submitted the enslaved Haitians to countless atrocities, as described in the book "The Black Jacobins".Please log in to respond to this comment.Hi there, Zhana. You usually shed much light on the discussion. And thanks for mentioning that book. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
a contract with satan has no more relevance than a contract with god, its as meaningful as a picture of oxygen to a drowning man. The haitians did not "bring this on themselves" how could they be responsible for geological events?Please log in to respond to this comment.To answer your rhetorical question, the Haitians could not have. Thanks, James, for your input, though I'm pretty sure I have a contract with God. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
Mogama, clearly Pat is an idiot, you know what they say idiots come in all color, shape and sizes, they even look like Rush Limbaugh.Please log in to respond to this comment.Well, Rose-Marie, that's an interesting title for a guy who claims to be a man of God. But I guess a Haitian like yourself must know an idiot when you hear one speak of your country. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
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