Pat Robertson's Pact with the Devil

Years ago Pat Robertson, noted televangelist and head of the 700 Club, made a pact with Satan.  In exchange for a tediously long life and untold material wealth, Robertson  agreed to serve as spokesman for the Devil.

If you are reading this blog, I imagine that you are familiar with my work on the subject.  Chapter Fifteen in Volume 2 of Sinister Forces deals specifically with Robertson and his unashamed support for mass murderers such as Taylor of Liberia, Chiluba of Zambia,  and Mobutu of Zaire, as well as death squads in Central America.  His support was camouflaged by something called Operation Blessing, which was really a conduit for conflict diamonds and not for medical supplies for the desperate people of Africa (in this case, Rwanda and Zaire).  Of course, you don't have to take my word for it.  My research was based on published reports in Time magazine as well as excellent historical reporting by Sara Diamond in a series of books on the political movement associated with evangelical Christianity.

When Jesus was tempted by the Devil (Matthew 4:1-11, " ... the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me.") he rejected Satan in no uncertain terms.  Pat Robertson, however, said in effect "Where do I sign?"

And this past week, he reaffirmed once again his allegiance to the forces of darkness.  He actually was able to blame the victims for their oppression once again.  Just as he had during Hurricane Katrina (blaming the people of New Orleans for the hurricane, saying it was punishment from God for their licentious ways) he blames the people of Haiti for the earthquake.  He specifically said it was a pact with the Devil that the Haitian people made in the 18th century during their revolt against France, a pact they have been paying for ever since.  "True story," said Pat. 

True story?

In the first place, there was no pact with the Devil.  The people of Haiti at the time practiced a form of African religion which we now call voudon or voodoo.  If Pat Robertson wishes to characterize the African gods as devils, that is his business I guess, but the people of Haiti would beg to differ.

Secondly, as we have seen on the video footage coming out of Haiti, the Haitians are overwhelmingly Catholic.  As much as it would pain Robertson to admit it, Catholics are also Christians.  Like Pat Robertson.

Thirdly, who actually made this alleged pact?  The entire country?  Is there some humongous parchment sitting in the basement of the Presidential Palace with thousands of signatures on it, signed in blood?  And who signed for the Devil? 

"People's Exhibit 666, your honor.  The pact with the Devil signed by the people of Haiti, Beelzebub signing for Satan."

And, as a Christian, how does Robertson reconcile the idea of a pact having been allegedly signed in the 18th century having anything at all to do with the people of Haiti today?  Does he deny the efficacy of conversion to Christianity by subsequent generations?  Is he telling us that if your ancestors were burned at the stake in Europe for witchcraft during the Middle Ages that there is no hope for you today?

Perhaps he is referring to Exodus 34:7 which says that the sins of the father are visited upon the children, even to the third and fourth generation?

In that case, the fallout from the pact would have ended in the mid-19th century ...

But let's put all this pseudo-exegesis aside for the moment and focus on what was being said and who was saying it.

When Robertson was dealing with Charles Taylor of Liberia, Liberia was being used as a place to launder money for ... Al-Qaeda.  If I worked for the Department of Homeland Security, I would have a lot of questions for Pat Robertson even ignoring his call for the assassination of Hugo Chavez of Venezuela (Pat only likes anti-Communist dictators).  If anyone should be on a no-fly list, it's Pat Robertson.  But then, he has his own planes.  Maybe the same ones used to carry diamonds while the people of Africa, people he was supposed to be helping and for whom he raised money in the United States, starved and died.

Pat has been on the wrong side of these issues for a long time, and his followers are afraid to call him on it.  By blaming New Orleans for Katrina, and Haiti for the earthquake, and dealing with death squads, conflict diamonds, conflict gold, and generally supporting insane and vicious murderers on at least two continents, Pat is at least guilty of treason if not worse.  Rather than express sympathy for the victims of natural disasters, he blames them.  Why is this consistent?

Because, as a man who has supported terror around the globe, he has to blame the victims.  He cannot take any of this responsibility himself.  If he were to put the moral burden where it belonged, he would have self-destructed long ago, being unable to face the world as the creator of the 700 Club on the one hand and realize his culpability as an enthusiastic supporter of evil regimes on the other.  The tension would have been too much.  He would be unable to walk a straight line, metaphorically and literally.

But as a man who has made a pact with the Devil, it all makes sense.  Pat is doing the Devil's work here.  He is encouraging his listeners -- devout Christians, I assume -- to condemn victims.  He is ignoring the basic precept laid down by Jesus Christ himself, in Matthew 25: 34-46:

Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?'  And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'  Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?'  Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'  And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

According to these lines, Pat, you are accursed and are destined for the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.  A fitting end for someone who really knows pacts with the Devil.

Thus far the words of the Gospel.