Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
No Diety, No Cry...
Ther are so many different belief structures in the world, why belong to just one. I propose that each of us make it our daily or weekly mission to learn as much as we can about all the different religeons of the world. This week, I am looking into.... Rastafarianism. I saw an article where Bob marley's remains are going to be reburried in Ethiopia, his "Spiritual Homeland". I always just assumed that being a rastafarian meant that you were from Jamacia, apparently there are about a million people worldwide who share these beliefs. Here is a taste:
The source of Rastafari lies in a specific geographical area, the Nile Valley, a huge region that includes Egypt in the North and Ethiopia in the south. The philosophy at the heart of Rastafari is gathered from the soul of this part of Africa. For example, it acknowledges Ra, revered by the Egyptians as the god of the sun, as a life-giving force, and accepts that mankind is not separate or different from God, or Jah, an abbreviation for Jehovah.
King Solomon
In the time of King Solomon, Queen Makeba ruled over the empire of Sheba, which consisted of Ethiopia, Egypt and parts of Persia. The Queen's visit to the wealthy and wise Solomon in Jerusalem had been planned for many years. In Jerusalem, Solomon converted her to the God of Abraham; she had until then worshipped the sun in the person of Ra the sun-god. When she returned to her land, Queen Makeba changed the religion of her empire to Judaism.
On her return, Makeba was pregnant by Solomon; she had promised him that if she bore a son she would send the boy to Jerusalem for instruction by his father. Accordingly, her son Menelik journeyed, as a young man, to meet Solomon, having sworn to his mother that as heir and successor to the kingdom he would return to Ethiopia.
When Menelik was leaving Jerusalem, King Solomon saw to it that he was accompanied by the sons of his priests: he wanted to ensure that the religion of Abraham would continue in Ethiopia. As a result, this religion existed there in an undiluted form.
Christianity/Judaism
At the heart of Rastafari lie the Egyptian mysteries, the sort that may be found in The Egyptian Book of the Dead. The elements of Judaism within Rastafari are themselves an offspring of Egyptian mysticism. This became institutionalised by Moses; when adopted by the High Priest's daughter in Egypt, he was taught the principles of Osiris, Isis and other Egyptian gods.
For his final initiation he traveled to Ethiopia. The source of Judaism was the teaching of Moses. As tradition has it, Moses was author of the first five books of the Bible (the sixth and seventh books of Moses are considered to be too complex for the common man to comprehend; there is a famous obeah textbook entitled The Sixth and Seventh Book of Moses).
During the time of Christianity, however, Paul the Apostle converted an Ethiopian eunuch to Christianity. This eunuch was a high-placed, respected rabbi of orthodox Judaism. When he returned to Ethiopia, he in turn converted the country to Christianity.
So began the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, a pure form of Christianity that kept its connection with its Judaic and Egyptian pasts, all elements within Rastafari. This church had considerable influence on the 225th king (descended directly from King David, who, in turn, was descended from Moses). This member of Ethiopian royalty was Ras Tafari, Emperor Haile Selassie I. Before his visit to Jamaica on 21 April 1966, Haile Selassie had already established the Ethiopian Orthodox Church there, in answer to a request from the island's Rastafarians.
Is it a religeon? Is it an offshoot? Is it just a reason to smoke pot? Discuss.
The source of Rastafari lies in a specific geographical area, the Nile Valley, a huge region that includes Egypt in the North and Ethiopia in the south. The philosophy at the heart of Rastafari is gathered from the soul of this part of Africa. For example, it acknowledges Ra, revered by the Egyptians as the god of the sun, as a life-giving force, and accepts that mankind is not separate or different from God, or Jah, an abbreviation for Jehovah.
King Solomon
In the time of King Solomon, Queen Makeba ruled over the empire of Sheba, which consisted of Ethiopia, Egypt and parts of Persia. The Queen's visit to the wealthy and wise Solomon in Jerusalem had been planned for many years. In Jerusalem, Solomon converted her to the God of Abraham; she had until then worshipped the sun in the person of Ra the sun-god. When she returned to her land, Queen Makeba changed the religion of her empire to Judaism.
On her return, Makeba was pregnant by Solomon; she had promised him that if she bore a son she would send the boy to Jerusalem for instruction by his father. Accordingly, her son Menelik journeyed, as a young man, to meet Solomon, having sworn to his mother that as heir and successor to the kingdom he would return to Ethiopia.
When Menelik was leaving Jerusalem, King Solomon saw to it that he was accompanied by the sons of his priests: he wanted to ensure that the religion of Abraham would continue in Ethiopia. As a result, this religion existed there in an undiluted form.
Christianity/Judaism
At the heart of Rastafari lie the Egyptian mysteries, the sort that may be found in The Egyptian Book of the Dead. The elements of Judaism within Rastafari are themselves an offspring of Egyptian mysticism. This became institutionalised by Moses; when adopted by the High Priest's daughter in Egypt, he was taught the principles of Osiris, Isis and other Egyptian gods.
For his final initiation he traveled to Ethiopia. The source of Judaism was the teaching of Moses. As tradition has it, Moses was author of the first five books of the Bible (the sixth and seventh books of Moses are considered to be too complex for the common man to comprehend; there is a famous obeah textbook entitled The Sixth and Seventh Book of Moses).
During the time of Christianity, however, Paul the Apostle converted an Ethiopian eunuch to Christianity. This eunuch was a high-placed, respected rabbi of orthodox Judaism. When he returned to Ethiopia, he in turn converted the country to Christianity.
So began the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, a pure form of Christianity that kept its connection with its Judaic and Egyptian pasts, all elements within Rastafari. This church had considerable influence on the 225th king (descended directly from King David, who, in turn, was descended from Moses). This member of Ethiopian royalty was Ras Tafari, Emperor Haile Selassie I. Before his visit to Jamaica on 21 April 1966, Haile Selassie had already established the Ethiopian Orthodox Church there, in answer to a request from the island's Rastafarians.
Is it a religeon? Is it an offshoot? Is it just a reason to smoke pot? Discuss.
0
Comments
I guess in order to clarify your question, I'd have to know more about the actual diety they worship. How do they feel about Jesus? Are they monotheistic or bi-theistic (Yahweh and Ra?).... If so, how do they reconcile the dichotomy presented by the Jewish and Christian "There is only one God"?
Very intriguing. I also knew nothing about Rastafarians. I knew it was more than the "reggae thing" but I didn't know how far back it went.
(I wasn't directing that "western mentality" thing at either of you, just a general observation)
Thanks for sharing about Rastafarians. I did not really know anything about their religion. How fascinating! I also like learning new things: studying about different religions, cultures, and such. I figure the day you stop learning is the day you die.
Adiana
Don't you think there is anything to learn after you die? Death is only a transition, not a termination!
Well, for starters, I don't know what happens after one dies. I suppose I will learn that when I do die! The comment I made was meant to imply that one should never stop learning. Sorry for the confusion. Since I am seeking answers, I imagine that the only way to do that is to ask questions (even ridiculous ones!), be willing to learn, and even risk making opinions and comments even if they are considered foolish by others.
Adiana
I for one, for example, am utterly convinced by 'near-death' experience accounts. An investigative programme with a high reputation in the UK ('Horizon') examined several different and far-flung accounts from different sources, and much to my delight, scientists were finally baffled. They had NOOOO idea how to explain it - though they had a damn good, near-exhaustive try - and came to the conclusion that what we don't understand is sometimes best left unexamined.
No matter what your faith/belief/experience may say to you, without exception, all these people were transformed by their experiences, and )a they have all gone on to do something constructive with their "second chance" and b) not one of them fears death any more. Now that's what I call positive news....!
It's okay. I know you were not implying my post was foolish. I just thought that I had failed to communicate my meaning behind my post. But I do have to say this: I have been to other sites that when I asked a question or even ventured an opinion, I got "smacked down" by someone who was not tolerant of newcomers. Needless to say, I now longer go to those sites! I am sure you have experienced that yourself as all of us have at one time or another. LOL!
Adiana
That smiley has nothing to do with what I wrote, it just looked so cute!
Zen,
I get it and I like the smiley, too!
Adiana
That and the 2 grave precepts about talking of others' faults and elevating yourself above others are the hardest for me to grapple with. I AM an american , after all!
or 'I used to be a parrot but I'm ok now' (repeat as often and annoyingly as possible!)
My favourite, which is Buddhist in a perverse kind of way, is:
'I used to be conceited, but now I'm absolutely perfect!'
Now who can argue with that?!
That reminds me of the Housman poem, "When I was One and Twenty"
WHEN I was one-and-twenty
I heard a wise man say,
‘Give crowns and pounds and guineas
But not your heart away;
Give pearls away and rubies
But keep your fancy free.’
But I was one-and-twenty,
No use to talk to me.
When I was one-and-twenty
I heard him say again,
‘The heart out of the bosom
Was never given in vain;
’Tis paid with sighs a plenty
And sold for endless rue.’
And I am two-and-twenty,
And oh, ’tis true, ’tis true.
Fed,
I go along with Zen on this one! No rumors please! LOL!
I also like the jokes, too! HEHEHE!
Adiana