Sessions with Sydney is a weekly column by features editor Sydney Ray. For more installments of Sydney’s ideas, opinions and ramblings, check out the opinions page, and check back every Friday for a new issue.

Regardless of their religious background or lack thereof, millions of people across the world are wondering why God would allow Haiti, already one of the world’s poorest countries, to be devastated by a horrible earthquake which has killed a reported 150,000 natives.

CNN then reported that Pat Robertson, a conservative Christian talk show host, went so far as to say that Haiti was being punished by God for making “a pact with the devil.”

During the rule of Napoleon III, the Haitian people allegedly swore to serve the devil if he promised to set them free from the French. Then in 1804, Haiti became an independent country, Robertson explained. Thus, he believes they are indebted to the devil.

However, my response to Robertson also comes in question form: if this were true, why would God let any natural disaster ? Hurricane Katrina, for example – devastate any country?

I wonder about the true nature of God. Is he a vengeful, angry God who feels the need to punish mankind for its transgressions? Or is he a loving, peaceful God who does not interfere with what will naturally happen?

I believe the latter to be true. In the same way God refuses to force anyone to come to him by having a somewhat “hands-off” approach, I think he allows whatever happens on earth to happen.

Obviously, if the Haitians did actually make a pact with the devil, God would not be happy about it, but there is no proof of truth in Robertson’s statements. Also, the actual men and women who made the pact lived more than 200 years ago; the people who died were merely their distant relatives.

Both the actual earthquake and Robertson’s comment are a rude awakening for many Christians. As we begin to examine our faith and the background behind our beliefs, we may even question God’s motives and the strategies he chooses.

However, to a certain extent it is healthy to question God. Without these pivotal moments, many Christians follow faith blindly. Although the situation in Haiti is tragic, I hope that much good comes from it as people examining their beliefs, due to their questioning of the quake.

Although Robertson’s comment spurs a lot of very positive introspective thinking, it also is the cause of much debate within the church. A huge religious leader will undoubtedly get on television and publicly put down Robertson, causing division between followers.

Nonetheless, some good will come from these seemingly disastrous events. If the quake and comment have got me thinking, I am sure they have got other peoples’ brains working too.

For more information, read the Jan. 26 article, Haitian earthquake impacts Valley residents and The New York Times’ Haiti archive page.