First
came the colonization of the Caribbean by white Europeans and then came the consequent
enslavement of Africans which eventually (long-term) led to the religion of Rastafarianism.
This religion focuses upon the yearning to restore an African homeland, in
particular Ethiopia. They are what’s considered Afrocentric. Rastafarianism
draws upon a few influences including Christianity and Judaism. It is believed
Africa is the true Zion.
In
the 1930s the Universal Negro Improvement Association was started by a Jamaican
named Marcus Garvey. He wanted to return all people of African descent to their
places of origin. Garvey believed the fact that Haile Selassie (meaning: Power
of the Trinity) becoming the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie was the beginning
of prophecy. Garvey considered him to be a messiah. The word
"Rastafarianism" is based a spin-off of Selassie's title and name
before he was emperor which was Ras Tafari. As one can imagine race is a
significant issue in Rastafarianism. Of the six major doctrinal beliefs from Leonard
Howell, two were vehemently antagonistic to the white culture which had
provoked African slavery. It was believe God would now avenge them. Howell went
as far as to promote the idea black supremacy.
Howell
is eventually jailed by the Jamaican government due to a charge of sedition due
to his devotion to Selassie. The Rastafarian movement was then without a head
until Haile Selassie visited Jamaica in 1966. This to the Rastafarians was the equivalent
of Moses coming to Egypt to liberate the Hebrew Slaves. It was thought he would
take them back to the promised land Ethiopia.
Rastafarians
believe in one god called Jah, who is within all people. Through meditation and
experience, Jah will give personal revelations on those who are faithful.
Rastas believe Africans descended from the Israelites and were sent into exile
because of the color of their skin. It is Rastafarian legend or tradition that
Ethiopia is connected to Israel through the son of Solomon and the Queen of
Sheba. This is also why Ethiopia is considered the Promised Land. Rastafarians
also believe Babylon is the physical representation of hell. They also believe
that Haile Selassie was Jah in human form, who proclaimed that death would only
affect the unrighteous. What is even stranger and drifting further afield of
Christianity or Judaism is that Rastas believe in reincarnation. Clearly not a
Christian nor Jewish belief.
An
important and misogynistic ritual in Rastafarianism is the "reasoning session."
Spiritual matters are almost exclusively male. Women in general are relegated
to home life and women are condescendingly referred to as daughters and most
recently Queens. Obviously with this moniker a Queen’s most important duty is
to care for and keep her King happy who is head of the household. Rastafarians
usually meet weekly, either in a believer's home or in a community center. These
meetings are the Reasoning sessions. They provide a time for chants, prayers
and singing, and for communal issues to be discussed. Marijuana is usually smoked
to produce heightened spiritual states. It is believed that it will open people’s
minds to reveal truth. Although its use is not mandatory it ends up being
almost universal used. It is here we really see the divergence again from
practical Christian orthodoxy. Drugs or pharmakeia/φαρμακεια are not the path
to God our any righteous spirituality, just the opposite. They are two-way gateways
to and from the demonic. Leonard Barrett states in The Rastafarians: The
Dreadlocks of Jamaica (p.129) that Marijuana was used in a kickback to the
treatment of blacks in society. The irony is that in this supposed “freedom”
and “release” from physical slavery that they got from the “wisdom weed”, they
ended up becoming slaves in bondage to a medicinal substance. The drug is
virtually inseparable from their religion.
It
should also be noted that a huge surge in this religion and its number of adherents
can be attributed to a single reggae musician. Bob Marley. Rastafarianism and
its lifestyle have been heavily propagated in the piggyback of Jamaican Reggae
music, in particular Marley’s.
The
worship music used at these “reasoning sessions” is known as Nyabingi (Nya
meaning “black” and Binghi meaning victory: Black Victory). Meetings may also
include large feasts. One last thing of note about Rastafarianism is their
affinity for dreadlocks. This hairstyle is supposed to be imitations of Old Testament
warriors (similar to Samson) and Rastas believe it was strength from Jah - the
Lion of Judah, which helped the warriors survive. The dreads being like the lions mane. Dreadlocks are also a symbol
of political protest. When slaves were abducted from Africa to the Caribbean slave
owners shaved the African’s heads. Therefore wearing dreadlocks is seen as an
outward visible rebellion of this subjugation.
In
this way Rastafarianism is similar to the Liberation Theology of Central
America and that of Churches in the United States like Jeremiah Wright’s.
It is a religion of social works and that of political activism by its
adherents in an attempt bring in the Kingdom of God more quickly through human
actions. Regardless of how misguided this religion and other socially active
ones like it, is it has not been immune to using violence to meet these ends.
In
the end what we see is another massive fail in terms of a religion that falls
way short of being salvational. It is just another in a long line of counterfeit
religions that relies on the works of men to reach heaven or salvation or it
worships or idolizes mere men as gods. I suggest they stop smoking so much pot
and actually let their brains air out for a while so they can think straight
for more than a few hours at a time. It doesn’t take much mental effort to realize
this is not even remotely Christian nor can it be taken seriously as a religion.
It is more of a commune of habitual (or should I say ritual) drug abusers.
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