Haiti, disaster, and religion.

First off, your heart has to go out to the people of Haiti. This is most likely going to go down as one of the major disasters in recent years up there with Katrina and the Asian Tsunami. In fact, as I've watched the photos stream out of the affected area this evening, it's reminded me a bit of the pictures that came out of New Orleans after Katrina: people wandering aimlessly, structures damaged, and human bodies piled up in the streets. Of course, the death toll will most likely dwarf Katrina, largely because for all of our failures during Katrina, the rest of the nation had the means to deal with the aftermath. It took longer than it should have, but we were able to get food and water in and we were able to go in and try to rescue survivors.

Not much of that is going in Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. After the quake people are dying from lack of water, food, and basic medical care in a nation that was barely managing in the best of times.

When we see things like this, it's human nature to wonder why....why do these disasters happen? Before the founding of modern science, the best way we humans had to explain this was through religion. Perhaps God was judging the affected area. Perhaps God is trying to teach the rest of us to value what we have. There are many justifications.

The "Reverend" Pat Robertson put forth his theory today. In his deluded brain, the nation of Haiti is cursed because they made a "pact with devil" saying they would serve him if he helped them win independence from the French.

Yes that's right folks. This crank thinks he gets that on a direct line from God himself. This is the same guy who said 9-11 was a judgment on the USA because we're so tolerant of homosexuals.

Put your religious views aside for a second. Aren't we past this as a society? This is the equivalent of drilling holes in people's heads to cure mental illness by letting the evil spirits out. To actually suggest that some supposedly loving deity is sitting up there and deciding to smite some of the poorest people on earth like this is pure foolishness. If this is the way your God acts, I want no part of him. This wouldn't be such a big deal, except that there a lot of really deluded people in this country who buy all of this hook, line, and sinker. They will sit in judgment of these poor people. If you're really gonna follow the bible, I think there's a bit in there about judging not.

What this actually betrays is the fact that many of us, including a lot of us who hold to the more conservative and religious ideologies, are scared. Scared of change, scared of progress, scared of people and cultures who are different than us. When you think Haiti, most think of voodoo. Voodoo is one of many faiths that permeate the Caribbean and Latin America. Native religions and traditions that have grown to incorporate ideas and symbols of Christianity as they have evolved. That's WEIRD, though, right? It's weird because it's different. They may sacrifice a chicken or do whatever it is you think they might do, whether you're right or not, but in the final analysis it's no stranger than consuming bread and wine that's been transformed into the flesh of a 2,000 year old dead god. It's also no stranger than believing a boy from upstate New York was given the one true revelation of the word of the 2,000 year old dead god, especially given that there many of those types running around at that time. Folks, all of your religions seem weird to an outsider. Deal with it.

We shouldn't even be bringing religion into this. You want to know what caused the quake? Read it here. Science has this figured out folks. Hopefully through the continuation of geosciences, someday we'll be able to predict these kinds of things. When that day comes, it will be the result of scientific inquiry and discovery, NOT divine revelation.

If you're a religious person, put your faith to the good, as most people do during these times. Pray for those affected, give to your church groups that will be sending supplies. Don't get involved in the blame game of the whacko Christian right.

If you're not religious, we can certainly direct our thoughts in their direction, and there are plenty of charities that we can get involved with that don't fly under the flag of a religion, including the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.

In times like these, everyone needs to come together from all around the world, regardless of faith or lack of faith. We need to work together as human beings to help those who desperately need it.