By David Gushee Thousands of Haitians were dead, millions were displaced, and Pat Robertson responded last week by saying, “Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the…
Baptist pastor among dead in Haiti
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (ABP) — Baptists in Haiti mourned the death of a beloved pastor killed in the Jan. 12 earthquake. Gedeon Eugene, a vice president of the Baptist Convention of Haiti, told the Baptist World Alliance that Bienne L'Amerique, 46,…
OPINION: Pat Robertson, Haiti and the devil
(ABP) — Is God punishing Haiti for worshiping the devil? Pat Robertson claims that Haiti’s founders, 200 years ago, made a pact with Satan for which the island's 9.7 million inhabitants are now facing the wrath of God in the…
Haitian Baptist college president describes country ‘in shock’
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — A Christian college president in Haiti told Baptist World Alliance officials that the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit near the country's capital Jan. 12 "will affect everybody in Haiti." "The whole country is in shock…
ABC, CBF plan multi-pronged responses to Haitian earthquake
VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (ABP) — American Baptists plan to tap both international relief efforts and local churches with strong ties to the Haitian-American community in responding to human suffering caused by the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti. The Cooperative Baptist…
Religious Right leader defends Robertson’s Haiti comment
VISTA, Calif. (ABP) — As several religious leaders criticized Pat Robertson's comments blaming Haiti's massive Jan. 12 earthquake on a pact supposedly made by its people with the devil, one came out to defend him. Gary Cass, chairman and CEO…
Baptists prep for immediate, long-term responses to Haiti quake
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — Baptist groups in the United States began gearing up Jan. 13 for both immediate and long-term responses to the earthquake that killed thousands in Port-au-Prince, the capital and largest city of the impoverished Caribbean nation…
Florida Baptists will lead initial SBC disaster relief response in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Southern Baptists are mobilizing to assess disaster relief needs after the largest earthquake in more than 200 years rocked Haiti the evening of Jan. 12. The initial Southern Baptist disaster relief effort will be led by Florida…
Guantanamo turns eight
By David Gushee Eight years ago today (Jan. 11), the United States government transported the first prisoners from Afghanistan to the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. On January 22, 2009, the new President, Barack Obama, stated that Guantanamo would…