Supporting Earthquake Relief in Haiti

The best way to support earthquake relief in Haiti can be difficult to determine. Unfortunately, there are many organizations that do not spend money wisely, and some which are completely a farce. The American Institute of Philanthropy's CharityWatch.org has published a list of organizations that have received high ratings from their non-profit assessment system at this website.

Pictures around 1005

Pictures around 1005

Its amazing the beauty that is so close to home. I took these pictures as I went for a brief walk around the block. Alli's camera (Fuji S2000HD) has great macro capabilities.

The Earthquake in Haiti: A Christian Response

On Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 16:53 EST a massive earthquake of magnitude 7.0 struck Haiti, a Caribbean nation cited as the poorest in the world. The epicenter of the quake was about 10 miles from the capital Port au Prince, devastating the city of three million people. The ground continued to rumble with significant aftershocks, and the Red Cross has estimated that as many as 50,000 people have perished in the earthquake. Amidst this unfathomable destruction, we must all take action to help our Haitian neighbors.

In the aftermath of this disaster, you may have heard some Christians say that the earthquake was the Haitian people’s punishment for making “a pact with the devil” when rebelling against the French colonial government 200 years ago. While it has the appearance of justice, the claim is both biblically and historically flawed. I argue that the New Testament does not teach that God exacts temporal judgment. I also appeal to the majority of historical scholarship, which shows that Haiti’s revolution was actually inspired by biblical principles and fought by Christians. To state that the recent devastating events in Haiti were brought on by the victims themselves is not only grossly misguided, it is patently false.

The idea that God executes earthly judgment for an individual or group’s sin is directly contrary to the core teaching of Christianity – the gospel. Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely negative consequences for wrong choices and bad actions, which Paul explains in Galatians 6:7-8 with the principle of sowing and reaping. And there is no question that sin is contrary to the very nature of God and rightly requires punishment. However, the Bible teaches that Jesus’ death provided full forgiveness for the wrongdoing of every person. Specifically, his death was a “propitiation” for sin (Romans 3:21-26). In this passage, the Greek word hilasmos contains the sense that Jesus was an “offering satisfying God’s wrath toward sin.” Isaiah 53:6, referring to Christ, states that “the Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all.” If Jesus took all of the punishment for all of our sin (once and for all), then it would be a contradiction to state that God continues to punish people for their sin. Furthermore, God’s love toward us is perfect and 1 John 4:18 states that “perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.” In His mercy and grace, God has provided a way for humans to have relationship with Him through placing the punishment that sin deserves on Christ. Biblically, the conclusion that the earthquake in Haiti was due to divine judgment simply does not stand up.

Neither does historical evidence show that the original Haitian revolutionaries made a pact with the devil. Before independence, Haiti was the French colony of Saint Domingue and contained over 500,000 slaves who worked the lucrative sugar plantations. Partly inspired by ideals of the French Revolution, the enslaved began a revolution against plantation owners in August, 1791. Frustrated and resentful of their condition, Haitians gathered at Bois Caiman in the north for a ceremony led by Dutty Boukman. It was there that the pact with the devil purportedly occurred, along with the sharing of fresh pig’s blood by all present[1]. However, according to Robert and Nancy Heinl’s extensive study on the Haitian revolution, Boukman sought the help of God, not Satan[2]. Boukman was quickly captured by the French, but the revolution continued, led by the more famous Toussaint L’Ouverture. L’Overture was a Catholic Christian who proved to be a brilliant military leader, ultimately securing Haiti’s independence in 1804. God was the inspiration of the largely Christian Haitians, themselves proclaiming: “God who fights for the innocent is our guide, He will not forsake us.[3]” Independent Haiti stood as the first Latin American nation, the first post-colonial black-led nation, and the only nation to have gained independence by a slave rebellion[4]. How could Satan, who Christians believe enslaves people in sin, have directed the Haitians to freedom? It was the Haitian’s reliance on God and the biblical principles of equality and freedom that drove them to fight for independence.

As a Christian, I am angered and saddened when high-profile Christian “leaders” make such statements as the one that inspired this essay. No matter who says what, we would all do well to heed scripture’s teaching to “test everything [and] hold on to the good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Before the earthquake, Haiti’s people were the poorest in the world. Now, their suffering has increased exponentially as poverty and lack of infrastructure multiply the quake’s destructive effects. More than ever before, we must stand with our Haitian brothers and sisters.

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[1] “Haitain Bicentennial Site.” Web. 14 Jan. 2010.

[2] Gelin, Jean R. “God, Satan, and the Birth of Haiti, Part 2.” Nov. 2005. Web. 14 Jan. 2010.

[3] Ibid

[4] Greene, Anne. “Independent Haiti.” Library of Congress, Dec. 1989. Web. 15 Jan. 2010.

ACP Health Care Reform Email

Here's a copy of an email from the American College of Physician's about the current legislation. They mention that much of it still needs work, but ultimately they are favor of the bill.

Article by Atul Gawande in New Yorker

Atul Gawande is a surgeon who teaches/practices at Harvard Medical School. He recently wrote a piece in the New Yorker that was very intriguing. Basically, Medicare costs per enrollee are more than twice as high in McAllen, Texas compared to the national average, but health outcomes and quality of care are not better. On the whole, physicians are ordering more tests, scheduling more office visits, and performing more procedures in McAllen, driving up the costs of health care. The pattern in McAllen reflects the plight of the US - more $$ invested in medical care per person, yet only average returns in quality. Dr. Gawande proposes local/regional accountability groups for physicians and a salary-based physician payment system modeled after the Mayo Clinic, which has Medicare costs below the national average, yet maintains high quality.

Check out the article: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande