Haiti (MNN) — The latest tragedy in Haiti came from deeply held spiritual superstition. Last weekend, a gang-led massacre in Port-au-Prince claimed the lives of at least 100 voodoo adherents. 

The exact number of those who were killed is unclear, but here is the gist of what happened: 

A gang leader in a suburb of Haiti’s capital had a son who was sick. The man believed voodoo curses were being placed on the boy. On December 6–7, his gang members located people in the city who practiced voodoo that they thought could have laid those curses. Then, they executed them — at least 100 people, but one source said it was at least 184.

On top of all these murders, the gang leader’s son died that Saturday afternoon. Like we said, tragedy. 

Is this the start of religion-based attacks in Haiti? Greg Yoder with Christian World Outreach doesn’t think so. He once lived in Haiti and is aware of the deep hold that voodoo has over many people there.  

“I think this was one person who reacted to the fear that voodoo can cause in people’s lives. It’s reality for them. The spiritual warfare in Haiti seems more obvious than it does [in the United States],” says Yoder.

“They’ve said that Haiti was dedicated to Satan for 200 years when they won their independence. It (voodoo) plays a big part in their history, and it’s still real today.”

(Note: There’s some controversy to the story that Haiti was dedicated to Satan in the 1700s in exchange for spiritual help defeating the French. The basics of the story center on a voodoo ceremony led by the man who was behind the revolt that started the journey to Haiti’s independence. In that ceremony in 1791, the man (named Boukman) made a speech to his followers referring to “our god” and calling them to cast off the “god of the whites.” Some interpret that ceremony as the “pact with Satan.” Here’s an article that tries to explain this complex account.)

A church in Haiti (Courtesy of Christian World Outreach via Facebook)

Why is God allowing so much tragedy and upheaval in Haiti right now? Is it because of something that happened when Haiti was founded? It’s beyond our understanding to say.

The fact is that Haiti faces profound spiritual darkness and troubles (so does most of the world, we would add). The fact is that God is good and totally sovereign over every event in the nation. That’s why Christians pray “deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13).

Even now God is preserving His people in Haiti. In the middle of the unanswered questions, Yoder says many Haitian Christians are actively reaching out to their lost friends and neighbors.

One group of churches does so through weeklong outreach camps.

“There was one young man in one of our churches that met up with a man who was very involved in voodoo. The man said to him, ‘Why haven’t you invited me to this [Christian] camp?’ Almost out of fear for what might happen, he invited him to camp. That man became a Christian and then went home and led his family to become Christians as well,” Yoder says.

He says one of the first things they do if a family or person comes to the Lord is destroy anything involved in voodoo.

Please pray that believers would stand strong in God’s power and resist the enemy (Ephesians 6:10-20). Pray that God open doors for them to continue building relationships with those trapped in voodoo but not be drawn in themselves. 

“It’s relationships. It just like this young man inviting a guy to a camp. It’s those one-on-one relationships that people have,” Yoder says. 

Pray also for the families devastated by last week’s massacre. It’s another blow to a nation already in incredible distress. 

 

 

 

Header photo of voodoo masks in Haiti is a representative stock photo courtesy of Claudia Altamimi via Unsplash.