Haiti Does Not Need to Pray

You no doubt just read the title of this blog, and in your mind, you‘re thinking, “What a cruel thing to say. Haiti needs pray more than ever now.” Or if are an atheist like myself, you probably already know what I’m going to say.

First off, let me be clear. When I first heard and read today about the “moment of pray” for Haiti, which was hit by a devastating earthquake last month, I took it in as just another news story and a part of the ongoing efforts to deal with the untold amounts of death, destruction, and misery that has visited the Haitian people in the last thirty days. No country, no people, no group, deserves that kind of tragedy and onslaught by natural forces. But as I thought more about the “moment of pray,” I started feeling compelled to write and challenge the idea of pray, and the larger issues of religion and natural devastations that can happen anywhere in the world, at any time.

Sure, a moment pray if nothing else is just a symbolic expression of hope—hope that despite all the challenges, a positive force, call it God, will make “a way out of no way,”— an expression I would hear in the Black church as I was growing up. Pray is called for because Haiti needs water, medicine, food, clothing, shelter, and an unimaginable amount of services that cost billions of dollars and unending amounts of labor. Faced with these mountains of obstacles, pray equals hope that despite the odds, things will get better. I understand this.

But pray is also the idea that God will intercede and help Haiti. When people are asked to pray, it means that they are asked to make an appeal to a higher power, and in most cases that higher power is “God.”

One religious blogger wrote:

We serve a God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and he lacks nothing.

Please take time right now to get on your knees and pray. Pray that God would move in this situation. Pray that the way in and out of Haiti would open up for all those who are called to go and serve. Pray that the pipeline for resources and supplies will clear up. Finally, continue to pray for those who are already in Haiti and continue to serve in these difficult times.

I’m not linking to this person’s blog because my beef is not with him personally, nor is it with the no doubt thousands of religious relief workers who are in Haiti right now helping out in any way they can. If I could be there myself, I would. No, my grievance is not with these people; it is with the idea of pray, religious belief and the idea of “God” itself.

The problem with pray is that there’s absolutely no evidence that the god being prayed to exist to hear the appeals. And if this god does exist, there’s absolutely no evidence in past, present, or the future situations that such a “higher power” will intercede in the situation.

I mean, for one, if there is a god that could now be do something miraculous about what’s going on Haiti, he could have also done something before the devastation to took place to prevent it from happening. It’s the classic argument about the problem of evil or why God allows terrible things to happen to the people “He“ loves?

So what I’m arguing is nothing new. But it is in devastating events like this that we need to revisit the problem of evil and suffering because it’s one of the clear indications that “God” does not exist.

What does exist is our human capacity to help one another. Based on what I have seen in the press, there’s has been almost worldwide outpouring of aide (monetary and physical) for the people of Haiti. Nearly all nations, including the U.S., have experienced similar devastations, though the particular situations were different. We humans know, fear, and prepare for natural devastations the best way we know how. We could do a lot better, but the fact of it is, we know that the forces of nature can be both good and bad. Because of science, we no longer have to attribute bad natural occurrences to acts influenced by mythical gods and sinister devils. Geologist for example can not prevent earthquakes from happening, but they know how and why they occur. Unlike the god-believe and religious leader, Pat Robinson, they know that gods or devils are not the cause of earthquakes.

The insane Pat Robinson said (less than 24 hours after Haiti was hit) on his 700 Club show that the Haitian people in their fight against the French to free themselves from enslavement back in the late 1800s, “swore a pact to the Devil.” “They said, ‘We will serve you if you’ll get us free from the French.’”

Robinson implied that because of their “pact to the Devil” that the Haitian people were “cursed” (it is assumed, cursed by “God“) and thus have lived a life of poverty, and have been hit with one devastation after another. And sadly, his African-American co- host(?) nodded her head in agreement.

But most people, even religious ones, scuffed at Robinson’s remarks, though sadly his followers still support him and his views. Nevertheless, God-believers and non-believers alike have stepped in to help the Haitian people. Millions of dollars in donations have been donated worldwide, by both powerful and ordinary people. Why do we do this? We do it because it’s the right thing to do. We do it because many of us know what it means on both large and small scales what it means to experience the kind of suffering and misery that Haitian are experiencing today. Many of us know what it means to receive help in a time of need. We don’t come one another’s aide enough, but we have shown the capacity to do so time and time again. It’s how survive. It’s how we will continue to survive.

Sure, there are reports that many things could have been done that have not been done. A few people will taking advantage of the situation for personal gain. So yes there will be criticism, some valid and a lot not so valid. But one thing that will be clear about what has not been done is that “God” has not stepped in to “make a way out of no way.” “God” has not made a “pipeline for resources and supplies.” He has not released a thousand of acres of cattle to feed even starving children. He has not lifted a boulder or even a rock off a crushed victim. He as not paved a road for trucks to deliver water and medicine. He’s none of these things, because there is no god there is no god or higher power to intercede in this way. Only people have done things. People who care enough to do the right thing.

This is why Haitians do not need to pray, and why no prays need to be made for them. Nor do Haitians need to rely on voodoo and other forms of mysticism to improve their lot. Haitians need to rely one another. They need to find ways to rebuild their nation to withstand as much as possible future earthquake devastations, and furthermore the causes of poverty that have made them one of the poorest nations in the world. They do this by letting go of god-believe and voodoo, and demanding for themselves real education and real leadership that will help them truly survive and progress.

They need to forget about rebuilding churches, and instead, rebuild schools. Lots of them. Stop reading the Bible and read books about science and political and economic self-determination. Forget about worshipping on Sundays. Gather on Sundays to rebuild communities.

They need to start building roads to a secular society that doesn’t rely on god-belief to survive and prosper. They rely on human will and intelligence.

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