Did the Haitians Make A “Pact With the Devil”?

	Photo of earthquake survivors in Haiti by Matt Marek from the International Rescue Committee’s website.

In a video clip circulating the internet, Christian TV show host, Pat Roberston, explains how the Haitians “swore a pact with the devil.” This, he suggests, is why they experience so much hardship — such as the recent earthquake.

Apparently the only way those poor African slaves were able to liberate themselves from French rule was by teaming up with the red-suited one.

Call me crazy, but it sounds a little extreme. You’d think overturning oppressive overlords would be considered a godly act — not a demonic one.

I think the real issue here is that people want to explain why these poor people would be a victim of such a massive earthquake.

Again, this is one of those situations where only reincarnation and past-life karma can explain why a universe run by an Intelligent and Just Force would allow such things to happen to an already suffering people.

The law of karma requires that the fruits of every good and bad action return to that soul in their current life or a future one. I suspect certain places (like Haiti) are “hot spots” for purifying oneself of past bad actions — just as other places (like Hawaii)  allow you to reap the fruits of good actions.

Most of those poor Haitians may have been Americans or Asians or Europeans in their past lives. I may be a Canadian today, get hit by a car tomorrow and find myself being born **on a mud hut in India by Monday. You never know what seeds are waiting to sprout.

Of course, I do believe in grace  — a big theme in my upcoming novelette, The Redemption of Talafi. While Nature is rather exacting in its laws, I believe the transcendental aspect of God is more forgiving. If we learn our lessons we need not always eat the fruits of our past bad actions.

And by being aware of the suffering of others and doing what we can to alleviate their bad karma (through prayer and physical aid) we in turn purify ourselves. We see ourselves in others. Such compassion detaches us from our  physical egos and its karmic baggage.

So did the Haitians make a “pact with the devil?” No more than the rest of us who think matter is real.

P.S. The earthquake is said to have killed thousands. While this seems tragic, it is not an end. Many of those souls were trapped in a land without opportunity living out their days in violent slums without water, electricity or proper nourishment. Death was a release for them. Next life they have likely merited more prosperous conditions.

P.P.S. If you would like to help those left behind please click here to visit the International Relief Committee’s Haiti Crisis information page. The IRC only uses 10% of donations for fund raising and administration costs while 90% of your donation will go towards deploying its Emergency Response Team to Haiti to deliver help to the devastated city of Port-au-Prince.

About the Author: John C. A. Manley writes meaningful science fiction and fantasy novels with a spiritual backbone. You can get a free subscription to his MetaphysicalSF email newsletter and free sample chapters from his novels. Click here to find out more....