Pastor Keion Henderson slammed for blaming Haiti’s fall on ‘voodoo spirit’ during sermon as clips come to light

As a person of substance, Pastor Keion Henderson reserves the church service as a possibility to fellowship with others within the teachings of God, nevertheless it is the thoughts and actions of his own flesh and blood which have repeatedly provoked opposition.

A video of the 2022 sermon recently surfaced on social media, renewed scrutiny of the Lighthouse Church leader for his controversial message regarding Haiti’s centuries of hardship as a willful act of God.

The excerpt, which is being widely shared, begins with him stating: “I say this with all due respect, Haiti is certainly one of the poorest countries on this planet. In fact, they are saying it’s the poorest country within the Western Hemisphere.

“Have you ever wondered how the hell Haiti can share an island with the Dominican Republic and you can go to the DR, turn around and drive 70 miles in one direction and see a place where people are still dying of E. coli?” – asked the devout Christian.

– Well, I’ll inform you why. Because within the 18th century, when African slaves got here to the island of Haiti and introduced an idea called Vodou,” he theorized.

Keion further explained, “We look at Haiti and ask ourselves why it is one of the poorest countries in the world. Not because it’s full of ignorant black people. They are as wise and intelligent as you, but there is a spirit in this region.” His words two years ago were met with condemnation. Today’s reactions reflect the identical sentiments.

Twitter user he wrote“This is Shaunie Basketball Wives O’Neal’s husband. The same “pastor who reprimanded a choir member for praising him too loudly…” This is one other example of the pulpit being a spot stuffed with hate.” Keion and Shaunie Henderson, Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-wife, have been married for two years.

Over the past 12 months, a Houston religious leader has been caught in multiple divisive incidents throughout the church: two of them included a viral video of him silencing a member of his congregation, and one other involving his request for members to donate $4 million to rebuild the sanctuary during the recovery from Hurricane Beryl .

Another user he tweeted“And this is where I stop liking him lmao! He once had a kind word. The third individual questioned“Did he just blame the poverty and disenfranchisement of Black Haitians on voodoo/African spirituality rather than white supremacy?”

The Open Encyclopedia of Anthropology states that Vodou, brought from West Africa to Haiti, was “transformed by slaves from the island of Haiti in order to restore a sense of identity and as a force for liberation.”

The spiritual system has been villainized by the Catholic clergy, whose influence in America stays dominant as some classify Vodou as dark or black magic rooted in evil rituals. The spiritual practice was also criminalized as a catalyst for the year-long slave revolt that began on August 22, 1791.

By 1804, Haiti had achieved independence from France, which had colonized the island and enslaved its people for 107 years. Although the island is free, it continues to struggle with financial instability – including paying reparations to its former enslaver – political corruption, as well as devastating natural disasters.

According to a 2020 report New York Times According to the story, the country has paid greater than $560 billion over 64 years, money that would otherwise help Haitians thrive.