The Movement International Recognition Of The Church Of Alexandria Essay

Organized religion is a duality between the religion and the church which represents it. Sometimes the representation of the religion is marred and flawed to those who view it because of the bureaucracy contained within. Unknown to those who gaze upon the dissolved morals and values of what is perceived to be the contradiction known as modern religion, it was never intended to be this way. Most religions started off as a sect, a minor detail on the fringes of the society it never wanted to represent. Rastfarianism is such a sect. The differences between Rastafarianism and a normal "mainstream" religion are numberless, including: no set membership, no authoritative leader, no offices of authority, no trained clergy and no involvement with

A lot of the early belief system of Rastafarianism was built off of hate for white people and what was have done to the black nation as a whole. Now Rastas stand against hate, jealousy, envy, deceit, craftiness, treachery, etc. Another belief that has changed over the time is that Rastas believed that Haile Selassie was god, but now most of the Rastafarian community know that there is a god besides him. They now call Selassie the second coming of

The Rastafari movement is a positive movement that promotes peace amongst all, self-respect, self -awareness, and respect for others.

These African religions are extremely important to many who wish to recognize their “roots.” In earlier centuries these “foreign” practices were banned by slaves attempting to hold on to their culture, and over the years they have come to represent a sense of liberation and freedom to be African (Brereton, A History of Modern Trinidad). Overall nowadays the country's differing religious groups coexist and generally respect each other's beliefs and practices. People of one faith openly participate in celebrations of another faith [www.state.gov.htm].

Reggae is a genre of music that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. It is known for the heavy and strong emphasis on the bass within the background beat. Reggae was perceived as a kind of music used to express feelings about the social, political, and economic hardships in Jamaica during the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was performed by musicians from black ghettos who used unhurried beats to make a style of music of their own. Reggae became an important part of the lifestyle of many Caribbean islanders; expressing a sense of pride of their Caribbean culture.

While, as a Jamaican descent my family has a more dependent deposition and most Jamaican families have patriarchal ties. Both culture side has a strong belief in Christianity; however, my Jamaican family is more liberated and not held down by the deep-rooted conditioning of Christianity instilled in by slave owners. With Jamaicans have an understanding from Rastafari education, many have a deeper connection to the

The Rasta movement is monotheistic. Rastas believe in one God in which they call “Jah”. Jah is shortened from Jahweh or Jehovah. Rastas believe that man and the holy spirit are one and the same. They use the phrasing “I and I” instead of “we” to illustrate this belief. Though many of the Rastafarian beliefs come from the Holy Bible, Rastafarians have developed their own objectives separate from Judaism or Christianity, as well as their own traditions. One of the more prominent messages from Rastafari is the rejection of the power structure in society that keeps people oppressed, and the unequal rights of

These alternative faiths are favourable for those who have had dissatisfaction in traditional religious expressions, but still wish to seek personal fulfilment in their lives. Rastafari is an example of a new religious expression that aids its African adherents in the search for personal fulfilment through the ideas of black supremacy and the back-to-Africa movement. Rastafarians lead an alternative lifestyle, with dietary customs of being vegetarian or vegan, using drugs such as cannabis and not cutting any of their body hair. Alain de Botton states that we should be able to ‘pick and choose from religion’ (de Botton, 2012, ABC), which is relevant to the concept that humanity is entitled to both agree and disagree with certain components of religion that benefit their personal fulfilment. As appose to traditional religious that are bound by time consuming rules, new religious expressions are able to ‘adapt and respond quickly to social pressuring issues’. (Hartney, 2011, ch. 16). The inability for traditional religious to adapt to an individual, oriented society has given rise to new religious expressions and spiritualities to contribute to humanities search for personal fulfilment and meaning in a modern day

Selassie did not view himself as a god, but his actions and the prophecy that was told by a strong leader in Africa Marcus Garvey who believed in bringing all Africans together and started and hosted movements geared towards his goal in America and in Africa. “Look to Africa where a black king will crowned he shall be redeemer.” (Pg.,) In Rastafarianism they believe that God is back, while in regular Christian views he imagined without a true race or seen as white that is supported by paintings on light skin with long slightly wavy brown hair. There some similarities that Christianity and Rastafarianism have, but are different when it passed the belief of a just one God that is seen as weird to non-westernized

In 1964 Marley had his first child, Rita then Ziggy, KyMani, Damien, Rohan, Stephen, Julian, Sharon, Cedella, Makeda, Karen, Stephanie, and Robert. As we all know Bob Marley was Rasta which held many Christian beliefs like the existence of a truine God. They called him Jah who had sent divine incarnated son to earth in the form of Jesus (Yeshual). That made himself manifest as the divine person of Haile Selassie.

Marley was a Rastafarian, a Christian-influenced, personal religion with many subgroups and a loose, flexible set of beliefs revolving mainly around the ritual use of marijuana and the idea that Africa, particularly Eastern Africa, was God’s favored land, referred to by Rastafarians as Zion. Some Rastafarians believe that the last emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie I, was the resurrected Jesus

According to an online source “Rastafari is a daily celebration of African Roots and Culture. The purpose of Rastafari is to guide one to live clean and pure that a person may be deemed “fit” (by Jah) to Enter Holy Mount Zion.” (Rastafari & Jamaican culture, 2014). Normally if a Rastafari is seen they have on the colors red, green, black and gold “Red signifies the blood of those killed for the cause of the black community, Green represents Jamaica's vegetation and hope for the eradication of suppression, Gold symbolises the wealth of Ethiopia and Black signifies the colour of the Africans who initiated Rastafari” ( BBC,2009). This way of life was first introduced by a Jamaican activist/ National heron Marcus Garvey, which was then made worldwide famous by a Jamaican reggae artiste know as Bob Marley, who constantly made references in his songs about his way of life and beliefs.

When an average person hears the word Rastafarianism, several things come to mind. Some examples would be the stereotypical images of dreadlocks (long braids or natural locks of hair), the smoking of ganja (marijuana), the busy streets of Trenchtown, and the reggae rhythms of the one and only Bob Marley. Unfortunately, those things are not necessarily the makings of what truly embodies the Rastafari culture.

Rastafari is, before it is anything else, a way of life. It offers approaches and answers to real problems black people face in daily living; it promotes spiritual resilience in the face of oppressive poverty and underdevelopment. It produces art, music and cultural forms, which can be universally recognized and appreciated. More important, Rastafari provides a positive self-image, an alternative to people who need and cannot find or accept one elsewhere. Even with its black foundation and orientation, Rastafarianism is open to anyone, of any race, who chooses to discover and is able to accept it.

Like in the earlier years, it can be seen in this story that Christianity was the most dominant and highly accepted religion in Jamaica. Having contrasting beliefs and practices, individuals would be shunned and ostracized. The author illustrates this idea by showing how Darren’s passionate beliefs in Rastafarianism had resulted in him being kicked out of his house. He was told to “never to come back until he had given up that Rasta foolishness.” Today, the Caribbean has become religiously diverse with a tolerance for different