There is a famous Haitian Creole proverb that translates, “Rocks in the river don’t know the pain of rocks in the sun.” Oftentimes, this is intended to denote the inability those who are affluent have in identifying with the emotional, mental, and physical grief of those suffering from acute poverty in Haiti. Unfortunately, this proverb also pertains to the manner in which many missionaries do theology in the context of Haiti. While missionaries are obligated by biblical mandate to combat social injustice, serve the underserved, and reduce poverty, missionaries must also remain engaged in critiquing the theological development and spiritual formation of indigenous believers in Haiti. The spiritual needs of Haitians often become a secondary issue while the missionary labors tirelessly to combat the worst poverty in the Western Hemisphere and help meet the basic physical needs of multitudes without adequate food, water, basic medical care, or education. Therefore, when the time for evangelism comes, the missionary, overwhelmed and exhausted from work, settles into his/ her theological comfort zone (like a rock in river) and speaks of sin and salvation from the comfort of his/ her own understanding and cultural conditioning.
While basing claims of the Gospel of Christ upon Scripture, the missionary fails to consider what presuppositions he/ she might bring to the Biblical text. In addition, the missionary, as well as the recipient Haitian listener, make assumptions that one another categorize and conceptualize ideas about sin and salvation in similar ways, which leads to more frustration and confusion. The Protestant church is growing in rural Haiti, but not without significant problems. Many appear to be converting for the purposes of gaining more power and adding Jesus to a list of other deities they can manipulate to appease the spirit world. Even individuals who renounce voodoo after conversion find themselves rooted and based in voodoo beliefs and thinking. A fatalistic outlook dominates their view of reality as they attribute everything that transpires to the control of the spirit world. This attitude leads to a severe lack of understanding concerning personal moral responsibility. In order to move towards a more Biblical understanding of sin and moral responsibility, missionaries must attempt to fix these mistaken ideas about sin by overcoming many cultural presuppositions as well as teaching the Haitian about the true nature of repentance and acceptance of responsibility for one’s actions.