Rastafarianism

History

Rastafarianism is often associated with Jamaica but it is not simply a Jamaican religion - it is seen as as a way of life, a struggle for rights and freedom from oppression. It began with a man named Marcus Garvey who, in the early 1920's, led the way in the "Back-to-Africa" movement. He looked for the redemption of his people in a future black African king. In1930, Ras Tafari Makonnen (from Ras which means "head" and Tafari which means "God") was crowned king of Ethiopia and claimed the titles of "Emperor Haile Selassie, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God and King of the Kings of Ethiopia." Selassie was believed to be the 225th descendant of King Solomon and his kingdom was to be the throne of God on earth. Rastafarians believe that God first revealed himself in the person of Moses as an "avatar" or "savior." The second avatar was Elijah, and the third was Jesus Christ. Selassie (Ras Tafari) was believed to be the last.

Selassie visited Jamaica in1966 and taught the Rastas that they must free Jamaica from oppression before they could return the Africa. In 1975 Selassie died. Responses to this event ranged from it being a mere fabrication to a spiritualizing of his death into the claim that his divinity did not die with him. Some say Selassie lives on through individual Rastafarians.

Another man by the name of Leonard Howell helped shape the theology of the movement. Howell taught the Rastafarians that the black race was superior to the white race and claimed that the devil is actually the god of the white man, to fight the government of Jamaica in preparation to go back to Africa, and to acknowledge Selassie as the Supreme Being and only ruler of Black people. As the Rastafarian movement grew it identified the biblical Hebrews as blacks. Some Rastas believe that Selassie was the true Jesus and that the white man tricked the world into believing that he was not black. Currently, however, the movement is said to stand for equal rights and justice for all mankind. Thus there seems to be a conflict between the current message of oneness of mankind, and the original message of Garvey and Howell.

Beliefs and Practices

There is no unified "Rasta Church," no defining creeds, or fixed set of doctrines. Different sects of Rastas may believe many different things. But the following constitute some general characteristics.

God (Jah): The Rasta view of God is a brand of pantheism. It involves the idea of "I and I" which is an expression of monistic oneness - the oneness of two persons (God and man). Since people are bound together by the one god, Jah, we should not use "you and I."

Babylon: "Babylon" refers to the Jamaican government, the police, the establishment, or white oppressors in general.

Hair and Dress: Rastafarian hair style is called dreadlocks. These are said to be inspired by a biblical command against the cutting of hair (Lev. 21:5) which is also symbolic of the Lion of Judah (it also distinguishes Rastas from the straight hair of the white man). The hair is grown as long as possible and left to clump up in strands and curls. Hair may be covered with a tam (a large hat) or wrap. African attire is encouraged especially in the red, gold and green colors of the Ethiopian flag: red stands for the church of the Rastas or the blood that martyrs have shed, yellow represents the wealth of the homeland, and green represents the beauty of Ethiopia, the promised land.

Marijuana (Ganga): Another commonly held tradition among the Rastafarians is the smoking of marijuana ("Ganja"). Through the use of Ganja, the Rastafarian reaches an altered state of consciousness and is believed to give a revelation of unity with God as well as black consciousness. It also serves as a protest against the oppression from "Babylon" which has made its use illegal.

Diet: Most Rastafarians are also vegetarians following the "Ital" diet. Rastafarians don't eat the "flesh of scavengers" like pork or shellfish, but fish and chicken are acceptable to many, however no crabs, lobster, or shrimp are eaten as they are scavengers of the sea. No liquor, milk, coffee, or soft drinks are to be drunk, as they are unnatural. They also use no salt.

Music: Rasta has its own unique musical style called Reggae which evolved from Jamaican music styles called ska and was influenced by blues and calypso music. Reggae lyrics are filled with references to the message and religion of Rastafarianism: freedom from political oppression, and pleas to legalize marijuana. Reggae music's most famous and popular prophet was Bob Marley who rose to stardom in the 1970’s and remains popular today.

Relation to Christianity

Rastafarianism is incompatible with Christianity for several reasons: the heretical notion of God, the devaluing of Jesus Christ, and a mistaken notion of salvation which does not include an afterlife but only a temporal salvation from oppression. Regardless of any areas of agreement these alone undercut any possibility of Christianity and Rastafarianism being able to mix, and there are additional problems as well.

The Bible: Rastafarians only accept the Bible insofar as they can twist its literal meanings into support for their unique ideas. They do this, as most unbiblical groups do, by favoring passages that they can interpret in harmony with their own doctrines and rejecting those they cannot (which flies in the face of verses like Rom. 15:4; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20). This method also requires an allegorical approach to Bible interpretation and the belief that Scripture contains hidden meanings and directives. Not surprisingly, the smoking of ganga is said to aid the Rasta in discovering these alleged meanings. References to Babylon and Ethiopia take center stage. However the clear biblical teachings contradict much of the movement's distinctive beliefs.

God: The pantheistic notion that God is all or that we participate in His being is completely anti-biblical as is made clear in many passages (see especially Isa. 43-45).

Jesus Christ: Jesus Christ is not simply one in a series of "avatars" of God, and Haile Selassie has certainly done nothing to supercede Him. Rather, Jesus is God Himself and utterly unique in His human role (see the first chapter of John, Ephesians, Colossians, Hebrews. See also John 8:58; 14:9-11; Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:5).

Salvation: Salvation is not found in release from oppression on earth. We should fight social injustice, but this world is not all there is to life. Without the promise of eternal life in Christ anything done on earth would only be fleeting and have no eternal value (see Rom. 5; 1 Cor. 15; etc.).

Racism: According to the Bible no "race" is superior to any other (see Rom. 5; Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:11). "Race" based on skin color is also notoriously subjective - for color lies along a continuum with lots of middle ground. It’s not an objective classification.  So how many "races" are there really? One - the human race. Any belief system that does not recognize this and serves to raise one skin color group over another is unbiblical.

Marijuana: The smoking of marijuana is also clearly anti-biblical. Rastas attempt to apply their own interpretations to the bible's teachings by claiming that since God created the earth all good, then all can be used (Gen. 3:18; Ex. 10:12). But the word "herb" in Scripture refers to green plants or vegetables which the earth produces for food - not smoking (thus, if the Rasta's wish to be coherent they should smoke all plants!). All of God's creation is good in the sense of being perfect for its purpose, but to use a thing in a way that violates that order is actually evil. Smoking marijuana for spiritual use (or recreation) is to put people under an unnatural influence producing an altered state. This is considered "sorcery" (GK. pharmakia) in the Bible and is forbidden (see Rev. 21:8; cf. 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:12).

Conclusion

Rastafarianism has some admirable goals but these are overshadowed by their heretical doctrines, Scripture twisting, and socially unacceptable practices. While we should all fight for people's basic freedoms we ought not do so in an anti-biblical way.