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Top :: Communities ::Ethnic:: Rastafarian::
Should I be a Rasta |
tarquinfsmytheqjm
Date:
2008-01-18
Time: 13:10:00
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I'm looking for a religion. I am considering
the Rastafarian religion because from what i
have seen there are no great expectations
from followers of this 'faith'. The trouble
is, I cant stand Cannabis, I like to keep my
hair short and tidy and I really cant stand
most of that Reggae music. A bit of Bob
Marleys alright when the sun shines but apart
from that i'm really a radio 2 man.
Is it for me? Or should I be looking
elsewhere for my religious requisites? |
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Re: Should I be a Rasta |
bluebhuoy
Date:
2008-01-21
Time: 17:44:07
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You need to think again I think, you don't
like weed, not really into reggae, hair cut
short; you should consider becoming a mormon,
or don't you like donny osmond either ? |
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Re: Should I be a Rasta |
tarry
Date:
2008-07-13
Time: 16:09:07
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u dont really need to grow hair or logs to be
ratsa it is a matter of the heart and if ur
heart is not reall in it well... |
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Re: Should I be a Rasta |
ms_opal
Date:
2008-08-02
Time: 09:29:28
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The Rastafari movement (also known as
Rastafari, or simply Rasta) is a new
religious movement[1] that accepts Haile
Selassie I, the former Emperor of Ethiopia,
as God incarnate, called Jah[2] or Jah
Rastafari. He is also seen as part of the
Holy Trinity as the messiah promised in the
Bible to return. The name Rastafari comes
from Ras (literally "Head," an Ethiopian
title equivalent to Duke), and Tafari
Makonnen, the pre-coronation name of Haile
Selassie I. Rastafari is commonly called
"Rastafarianism," by some academics, but this
term is considered derogatory and offensive
by Rastafarians themselves. |
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Re: Should I be a Rasta |
ms_opal
Date:
2008-08-02
Time: 09:41:25
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I had a darlin friend who was a rasta......
it is a religion....
Not gonna argue with you Dave you have your
opinion and I have mine and never the twain
shall meet. |
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Re: Should I be a Rasta |
djdave541
Date:
2008-08-02
Time: 10:08:20
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Nyabinghi Elders Explain Principles of Their
Faith by Hugh Hamilton CITY SUN June
15-21,1988 In the esoteric domain of
theological lexicography, the doctrine of
Rastafari more often is defined as cult than
as religion. But the religiosity of the faith
is not easily refuted. Influenced by
traditional Judeo-Christian religious thought
Rastafari is a theistic system of belief and
worship drawing its scriptural authority from
the commonly accepted Bible of the Christian
church. Yet it is not merely a derivative of
Judeo-Christian teaching; the brethren
(followers) of Rastafari bring to the
scriptures a unique, afrocentric
interpretation that varies radically from
that of the uninitiated on important
theological issues. |
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Re: Should I be a Rasta |
bertybot
Date:
2008-08-02
Time: 10:17:15
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"Nyabinghi Elders Explain Principles of
Their
Faith by Hugh Hamilton CITY SUN June
15-21,1988 In the esoteric domain of
theological lexicography, the doctrine of
Rastafari more often is defined as cult than
as religion. But the religiosity of the
faith
is not easily refuted. Influenced by
traditional Judeo-Christian religious
thought
Rastafari is a theistic system of belief and
worship drawing its scriptural authority
from
the commonly accepted Bible of the Christian
church. Yet it is not merely a derivative of
Judeo-Christian teaching; the brethren
(followers) of Rastafari bring to the
scriptures a unique, afrocentric
interpretation that varies radically from
that of the uninitiated on important
theological issues."
""But the religiosity of the faith
is not easily refuted.""
so, basically the faith is religious by the
post you have put Dave  |
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Re: Should I be a Rasta |
bertybot
Date:
2008-08-02
Time: 10:25:56
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HISTORY
As with many other religious groups, the
history of this one also begins before the
group itself. Marcus Garvey, born in 1887,
would direct the philosophical ideologies
that would eventually grow into the
Rastafarian movement.
In the early 1920's, Garvey was an
influential black spokesman and founder of
the "back-to-Africa" movement. He often spoke
of the redemption of his people as coming
from a future black African king (Magical
Blend, June/July 1994, p. 76). On one
occasion, Garvey proclaimed, "Look to Africa
for the crowning of a Black King, he shall be
the Redeemer" (The Rastafarians, p. 67). Only
a few years later that prediction would be
fulfilled in the person of Ethiopia's king,
Haile Selassie. As Barrett has explained, "in
the pantheon of the Rastafarians, Marcus
Garvey is second only to Haile Selassie"
(Ibid).
On November 2, 1930, Ras Tafari Makonnen was
crowned king of Ethiopia. Upon his
coronation, he claimed for himself the titles
of "Emperor Haile Selassie (Power of the
Trinity) I, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of
Judah, Elect of God and King of the Kings of
Ethiopia" (Ethiopia and Haile Selassie, Peter
Schwab, editor, p. 11).
After the crowning of Selassie and the
apparent fulfillment of the millennial
expectations of Marcus Garvey, the
Rastafarian movement gained a following and
officially began in 1930 (The Rastafarians,
p. x).
One of its early leaders was Leonard Howell,
who in 1933 was "arrested by the Jamaican
government for preaching a revolutionary
doctrine" (The Perennial Dictionary of World
Religions, Keith Crim, editor, p. 601).
While Howell's doctrines [which will be noted
later] helped shape the theology of the
movement, his arrest helped shape the
movement's organizational structure. As
Barrett explained, "The harassment of Howell
by the police might have been the reason why
Rastafarians have decided to remain
leaderless, a decision which has strengthened
the movement" (The Rastafarians, p. 91).
One of the key doctrines of Rastafarians had
been their expectation that they would one
day return to Africa, "the Zion which would
be restored to them after centuries in the
Diaspora" (Rastaman, p. 243). Garvey, with
his "back-to-Africa" ideology had inspired
much of this hope.
In 1960 this anticipated move seemed
potentially possible. With the help of the
Jamaican government, a delegation of
Rastafarians set out on a mission to Africa.
"Though no large-scale immigration to Africa
by Jamaicans was achieved, the sending of
some Rastafarian leaders to Africa resulted
in the movement's enhanced knowledge of
African realities, and probably diffused the
movement's enthusiasm for immediate
repatriation" (The Rastafarians, pp.
100-101).
An important historical event in the
Rastafarian movement occurred when Haile
Selassie visited Jamaica on April 21, 1966.
This event resulted in two profound
developments within the movement. First,
Selassie convinced the Rastafarian brothers
that they "should not seek to immigrate to
Ethiopia until they had liberated the people
of Jamaica." Second, from that time forth,
April 21 has been celebrated as a "special
holy day" among Rastafarians (Ibid, pp. 158,
160).
On August 27, 1975, Haile Selassie died. With
his death came various forms of
rationalization from many Rastafarians. The
responses concerning Selassie's death ranged
from "his death was a fabrication" to "his
death was inconsequential because Haile
Selassie was merely a `personification' of
God" (Rastaman: The Rastafarian Movement in
England, Ernest Cashmore, pp. 59-60). As the
Magical Blend states, "When Selassie died in
1975, his divinity did not die with him.
According to current belief, the Ras Tafari
lives on through individual Rastafarians"
(June/July 1994, p. 76).
Currently, the Rastafarian movement has
official branches in England, Canada, the
Caribbean islands and America as well as
members in most of the civilized countries
(The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions,
p. 601).
It has also experienced some fragmentation
since the death of Selassie. One of the
prominent splinter-groups, known as the
Twelve Tribes of Israel, founded by Vernon
Carrington has its headquarters in New York
(The Rastafarians, pp. 210, 227, 236). Other
groups which "claim allegiance to Ras Tafari"
are the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church and the
Ethiopian World Federation (Ibid, p. 238).
DOCTRINE
As Cashmore has observed, "The belief system
of Ras Tafari was so vague and loosely
defined, even at its inception, due to its
lack of a single authoritative voice, that
what was to be acceptable doctrine was
largely a matter of individual
interpretation" (Rastaman, p. 7).
Early in the history of the movement, Leonard
Howell gave the Rastafarians six principles.
"(1) hatred for the White race; (2) the
complete superiority of the Black race; (3)
revenge on Whites for their wickedness; (4)
the negation, persecution, and humiliation of
the government and legal bodies of Jamaica;
(5) preparation to go back to Africa; and (6)
acknowledging Emperor Haile Selassie as the
Supreme Being and only ruler of Black people"
(The Rastafarians, p. 85). As Barrett notes,
"This first glimpse of the new doctrine that
launched the Rastafarian movement has not
changed significantly over the years"
(Ibid).
Aside from these six principles are two
overriding concepts that are key to the
Rastafarian system.
First is the idea or teaching about Babylon
which refers to the Jamaican government, the
establishment or the white oppressors in
general (Ibid, pp. xiii, 3, 89).
The second concept is that of I and I which
has "become arguably the most important
theoretical tool apart from the Babylonian
conspiracy in the Rastafarian repertoire"
(Rastaman, p. 66). Cashmore explains, "I and
I is an expression to totalize the concept of
oneness. `I and I' as being the oneness of
two persons. So God is within all of us and
we're one people in fact. `I and I means that
God is in all men. The bond of Ras Tafari is
the bond of God, of man. But man itself needs
a head and the head of man is His Imperial
Majesty Haile Selassie of Ethiopia'" (Ibid,
p. 67).
Other doctrines which are more loosely taught
and believed by the Rastafarians are the
following:
1) Rastafarians have a doctrine of avatar
which is very similar to Hinduism. They
believe, "God revealed himself in the person
of Moses, who was the first avatar or savior.
The second avatar was Elijah. The Third
avatar was Jesus Christ. Now the advent of
Ras Tafari is the climax of God's revelation"
(The Rastafarians, p. 112). They even teach
that Jesus predicted the coming of Haile
Selassie (Ibid, p. 106).
2) As with many new religious movements, the
Rastafarians only accept the Bible
conditionally preferring those passages that
can be forced to harmonize with their unique
doctrines. "Rastas accept the Bible as their
central text with the proviso that much of
its original material had been deliberately
distorted during its translation into
English. It is necessary, therefore, to
interpret the Bible as critically as possible
and recognize the aspects of it which might
have been flushed out, included or altered in
meaning." Further, they prefer an allegorical
approach to Bible interpretation claiming
that the pages of Scripture should be
searched for "hidden meanings and directives"
(Rastaman, p. 74).
3) A physical feature that sets the
Rastafarians apart from all other groups is
the wearing of their hair in dreadlocks.
"Dreadlocks were inspired by a biblical
injunction against the cutting of one's hair"
(Magical Blend, June/July 1994, p. 76).
4) Another commonly held belief among the
Rastafarians is their emphasis on the smoking
of marijuana. "Likewise, ganga or marijuana
is considered to be the `holy herb' mentioned
in the Bible and its smoking is a holy
sacrament to many" (Ibid, June/July 1994, p.
76). As Barrett explains, through the use of
ganga, the Rastafarian reaches an altered
state of consciousness. In this altered
state, "the revelation that Haile Selassie is
God and that Ethiopia is the home of the
Black" is realized. "The herb is the key to
new understanding of the self, the universe,
and God. It is the vehicle to cosmic
consciousness" (The Rastafarians, pp.
254-255).
5) In line with their idea of being the
supreme race, the Rastafarians also believe
that they "1/4were the reincarnations of the
ancient tribes of Israel who had been
enslaved and kept in exile by their white
oppressors, the agents of Babylon" (Rastaman,
p. 129)
6) True Rastafarians are also vegetarians
(The Rastafarians, p. 126).
BIBLICAL RESPONSE
As with many other groups which selectively
acknowledge biblical passages, the
Rastafarians will only accept those parts of
the Bible which appear to agree with their
unique theological perspectives. However, the
following verses may be of some help.
1) Haile Selassie is not the latest avatar of
God, for Jesus was the fullness of God. John
1:16; Eph. 1:20-23; Col. 1:19, 2:9.
2) No race is superior to any other race.
Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:11.
3) While it is true that the Bible does have
meanings on various levels of interpretation,
it is not a concealed book. Also, it is not a
book that can be selectively believed. Rom.
15:4; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20.
4) The Rastafarian's view of Jesus being only
one of several "avatars" depreciates Christ's
unique claims to deity and His role as sole
mediator between God and man. John 8:58; Acts
4:12; 1Tim. 2:5.
peace brother  |
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Re: Should I be a Rasta |
bertybot
Date:
2008-08-02
Time: 10:30:28
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your opinion is me mocking the movement when
all i am doing is talking about it
if you can't get past the mocking bit then
why bother to understand ?
like i have said, my father in-law who is the
father of my two younger brothers has always
been rasta, don't you think he talks about it
i have been to Jamacia to visit family, (not
in a hotel for tourists) i have seen many
things, i'm not ignorant enough to mock
rasta's... jees
who needs to grow up here?????
smoke ya weed man and chill |
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Re: Should I be a Rasta |
bertybot
Date:
2008-08-02
Time: 10:39:42
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no i'm only explaining to you that i haven't
mocked anything or anybody, dave
but i think if you type a few more words on a
post then you will be understood a little
better |
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Re: Should I be a Rasta |
djdave541
Date:
2008-08-02
Time: 10:43:59
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AS I SAID YOU ARE NOT MOCKING ME.... YOU TELL
ME YOU BEEN HERE AND THERE, BUT TELL ME WOT
DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE RASTAFARI, H.I.M. HAILE
SELASSIE I, MARCUS GARVEY AND IN GENERAL THE
RASTAFARIAN MOVEMENT?????????? |
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Re: Should I be a Rasta |
bertybot
Date:
2008-08-02
Time: 11:04:42
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lol
i'm on more than this topic at once dude 
it's a free forum to post were ever you want,
so as it where.... i do
but the debate whether it is a religion or
not is not really relevant to the actual
first post... if you read closely
also, if someone doesn't understand anything
then surely they need to talk about it,
otherwise it is just ignorance.
don't you agree, dave? |
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Re: Should I be a Rasta |
bertybot
Date:
2008-08-02
Time: 11:13:30
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ok, paganism is a nature religion
based on these words;
“As ye harm none, do what thou will”
if you want to know more then google it |
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Re: Should I be a Rasta |
djdave541
Date:
2008-08-02
Time: 11:23:10
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yes its all about you and your concerns and
your mocking i always have a nice day, hope
you have a irie day. and wots that quote u
said? did you get that from a web site tooooo
lol |
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Re: Should I be a Rasta |
ms_opal
Date:
2008-08-02
Time: 11:55:25
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Dave you are an obnoxious prat with a chip on
his shoulder......you mistake
light-heartedness with mocking .....wake up
to your old enough to be better behaved!!!!!! |
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Re: Should I be a Rasta |
bertybot
Date:
2008-08-02
Time: 13:42:26
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says it all really
4 threads on this forum and you choose to
argue a point with no relevance
typical white rasta wanna be using it for an
excuse to smoke pot!
pmsl |
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Re: Should I be a Rasta |
fraggler
Date:
2008-08-02
Time: 13:52:22
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just LOL.....
love the bit about father in law on the sofa
downstairs, cracked me up....
if that aint from the horses mouth i dunno
what is..... |
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Re: Should I be a Rasta |
bertybot
Date:
2008-08-03
Time: 10:30:10
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“The whole problem with the world is that
fools and fanatics are always so certain of
themselves, but wiser people so full of
doubts.”
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Re: Should I be a Rasta |
tarquinfsmytheqjm
Date:
2008-08-08
Time: 18:08:08
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maybe a seikh then...but I'm not sure about
all that messing about with a cloth hat, or
the other six bits of clobber you have to
carry about.
Jews ...Mostly their not too bad, but i
wouldnt want that curly hair thing and wear
black.
On the other hand I could nock the idea on
the head because I've read a bit of Genesis,
and quite frankly its a load of
tosh...talking snakes!! Incestuous
behaviour!!do me a favour. |
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