What the... devil?

A couple weeks ago, television evangelist and host of "The 700 Club" Pat Robertson made some incendiary remarks regarding the recent disastrous earthquake in Haiti. He claimed in his broadcast that the reason behind Haiti's suffering since its independence is not due to the country's history of slavery and exploitation by the West, but in fact, is due to the fact that they made a "pact" with the devil 200 years ago to get out from under the heel of the French. Please watch the brief video below from Media Matters.com, and then continue reading:

http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201001130024

In consideration of Pat Robertson's remarks, please read the following passages from Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Man:"

(lines 61-69)

When the proud steed shall know why man restrains
His fiery course, or drives him o'er the plains;
When the dull ox, why now he breaks the clod,
Is now a victim, and now Egypt's god:
Then shall man's pride and dullness comprehend
His actions', passions', being's, use and end;
Why doing, suff'ring, check'd, impell'd; and why
This hour a slave, the next a deity.

(Lines 141-164)
But errs not nature from this gracious end,
From burning suns when livid deaths descend,
When earthquakes swallow, or when tempests sweep
Towns to one grave, whole nations to the deep?...
If plagues or earthquakes break not Heav'n's design,
Why then a Borgia, or a Catiline?
Who knows but he, whose hand the light'ning forms,
Who heaves old ocean, and who wings the storms;
Pours fierce ambition in a Caesar's mind,
Or turns young Ammon loose to scourge mankind?
From pride, from pride, our very reas'ning springs;
Account for moral as for nat'ral things:
Why charge we heav'n in those, in these acquit?
In both, to reason right is to submit.

In your opinion, does it seem as though Pat Robertson is arguing the same point
as Alexander Pope; that is, are they both in a sense claiming that all disaster and
suffering in the world is not in the hands of man but rather a part of God's plan?
When Robertson claims that the suffering in Haiti can be explained by a "pact with
the devil," what is he implying about the role of man in disasters and preventing
future suffering? What is Alexander Pope saying when he tells us to just "submit?"

You can answer these specific questions or give your general impression. I think
that this is an important topic and I would really like to hear what you think!

Read me before you blog!

Please respond to the prompt for each week by leaving a comment below with your full name indicated. I will update my blog posts every Sunday, and you will have that week to write your response. You also have the option of posting your own blog prompt to which others may respond. Responses to my posts, your own blog posts, or responding to other contributors are all acceptable ways to earn your required 7 posts. You must post your response to my prompts or the prompts of others within a week of its publication, and late responses will not be considered toward your final grade. Most importantly, the content of your blog posts must relate in some way to the course material or ideas that Professor Rosenstock has presented in lecture; you are free to relate it to contemporary issues, politics, or popular culture as long as you feel that it is relevant and worth discussing.

As for the administrative details, you will need to sign into an account to leave a comment. I have sent out invitations to everybody enrolled in the course to sign up as contributors to the blog. Please use your full name in your blog profile so that I can identify your posts and give you credit. Fortunately, you have the option of using your Google, Live Journal, AIM, WordPress, Type Pad, or Open ID account to sign in. Otherwise, if you do not have any of these, you will need to sign up for a Blogspot account.

Overall I want to use this blog as a way of extending the conversation in class and learning from each other in the process. I really look forward to learning from all of you throughout the semester!