Does God Hate Haiti?

Below is a commentary on the recent tragedy by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY. I’m posting his commentary directly because they represent the words of a very theologically and biblially mature scholar. On the one hand they serve as a correction to the many Americans who cannot fathom that God would be active in something like this and on the other hand, Mohler’s words are a rebuke to those who think that something like this is clear evidence of God’s singular judgment for a particular sin or series of sins. Without further ado:

Does God hate Haiti?

“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.”

Read the rest of Dr. Mohler’s piece. It’s well worth the read.

Tags: Haiti, tragedy