By Casey Zachary
This is a series of posts that will cover the next several weeks examining the concept of sin and moral responsibility in the mind of a Haitian. Let me preface this by saying there are many Haitian Chrisitans who truly have felt the full force of the Gospel and are strong, faithful believers, and their example is a constant companion of mine, challenging me along the way. This survey of soteriology/ hamartiology is by no means exhaustive. My intention is not to project that I have the ultimate insight on such things. Many have lived in Haiti longer than I. In many ways, I am a weak and short sighted man. However, growing up as an MK in Haiti several things perplexed me, one of which was the perpetual disconnect in evangelistic efforts in regards to how the missionary and the host culture understood the Gospel. To this end, I invested a good deal of time studying. The following is a result of the research I did. Again, I do not intend to come across as presumptuous. There are as likely as many views on sin in Haiti as there are Haitian people. I simply believe it is good to think on these things. The content of the posts will be
1) an Introduction
2) A Brief History in the Development of Religion in Haiti
3) Poor Assumptions by Missionaries
4) Understanding the General Worldview of a Haitian
5) Haitian’s Understanding of Sin and Moral Responsibility
6) Towards a Biblical View of Sin and Moral Responsibility
7) Essential Shifts in the Haitian Worldview
While rural Haitians might misunderstand sin in the biblical context, they certainly are not immune from suffering the consequences of sin’s curse. Pain and suffering are their constant companions physically, economically, politically, and spiritually. In order to come to a proper biblical understanding of sin, three primary paradigm shifts must occur within their worldview. These changes include accepting personal responsibility for one’s actions, the importance of confession and forgiveness of sin, and the extraordinary loving way in which God confronts the power of sin in the person and work of Jesus Christ. These shifts are based upon Scripture and assume that the Bible is authoritative and guides daily life and function.
First, it is imperative each individual begins to see him/herself as culpable of sin. The Apostle Paul indicates in Galatians 3, as well as the rest of Pauline literature, that individuals are responsible for the choices they make. Prior to conversion, rural Haitians engaged themselves in sinful idolatry, removing God from the center of their thoughts and replacing him with selfish desires to manipulate lwa. The Haitian’s thinking needs modification in understanding him/herself as responsible for reprehensible or sinful behavior and not the lwa. The Christian Haitian experiences regeneration and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The presence of the Spirit enables the new convert to choose to act in obedience to God. Although they view the lwa as the guilty party, it is commonplace to understand one is able to “sin” against another individual or the community. The biblical account of sin incorporates this dynamic into its description of sin, but ultimately all sin is seen as offending God. If Haitians are to come to a biblical view of sin, they must realize they not only are they responsible for their actions, but they are also responsible for their attitudes, thoughts, and unbelief as well.
Secondly, this new insight into personal responsibility will lead to an evolved idea of confession and forgiveness of sins. The view of confession and forgiveness of sin as some type of ritual leading to accessing the power of Christ does not evidence a proper understanding of repentance. Genuine confession and repentance results in the forgiveness of sins and demonstrates an understanding of personal blameworthiness on the part of the repentant sinner. In addition to teaching biblical principles regarding sin, confession and forgiveness, missionaries would also strengthen the Haitian Christian’s understanding of sin if the missionary would be vulnerable enough to discuss battles with sin in their personal lives. Too often missionary workers are unwilling to confess their sins and shortcomings for fear the indigenous people will lose confidence in them and reject the Gospel.[37] Instead, missionaries try to maintain the status of a type of “saint” in the eyes of the Haitians rather than a “saved sinner.” This mentality exacerbates problems of failing to be accountable for one’s sins. While there are certain limitations, missionaries would serve their populations well to model confession and forgiveness of sin to the believers in Haiti.
Lastly, it is concluded that sin which offends God is worthy of punishment. The means by which a person avoids punishment is provided for by God in Christ. Christ has to be more than the lwa and saints, someone to whom the peasant can come and ask for help. In all the talk concerning the spirit world, bon dieu, lwa, and ancestors, there is a blatant omission of the relational concept of love. If the full force of the Gospel message is to truly impact a Haitian, the concept of love, as the motivating factor of God extending his grace on those who do not deserve it, must be grasped on some level. The Bible teaches that a person’s relationship with God should not be characterized by manipulation but by love. Coming from a background in voodoo that describes relations between people and the spirit world as one of enslavement, appeasement, and fear, this new life as a Christian is quite a shift. Faith in Christ and conversion allows the new convert to enjoy freedom as sons/ daughters of God (Galatians 4:6-7).
In the end, many Haitians will profess Christ and turn to him. However, in this repentance, there is a turning to Christ in the sense of “adding on to the deities who can be called upon for favors and blessings” rather than “turning away from evil and false past beliefs and practices.” If there is to be spiritual maturity, if there is to be a movement to entrust spiritual formation to indigenous pastors, then there must be increased awareness of sin and the personal responsibility each person has for their sin as reflected in Scripture. Missionaries who are concerned with the qualitative value of their evangelistic work as much as the quantitative value will do well to bear these issues in mind.
37] Hiebert, Paul G., Anthropological Insights for Missionaries, 267.
This concludes our look at the concept of sin in Haitian culture. Here is the complete paper, if you would like to have it for yourself.