A useful source on Rastafarianism
GEM 05:04:24

A couple of weeks back, on the Let’s Talk ZJB radio talk show here in Montserrat, a caller in the 9 pm call-in segment raised several typical Rastafarian talking points:

1] The inappropriately “white” Jesus of older Sunday School art [NB: he was a Semite, and so probably looked much like a Bedouin Arab does; cf. http://www.bibarch.com/News/News-Genetic-Brothers.htm and http://www.barzan.com/kevin_brook.htm on Abraham’s family and – given that the Kurds inhabit the region where the Northern Kingdom was exiled in 722 BC – perhaps some of the “lost tribes”];

2] His alleged status as a Nazirite [NB: this is based on an error, cf. Num. 6:1 – 7 with Matt. 11:16 – 19; for, Jesus of NazARETH drank wine, strictly forbidden to NazIRITES];

3] Christian failure to teach from the whole Bible (instead focussing on certain NT books and texts, especially from the writings of Paul; cf. http://www.angelfire.com/pro/kairosfocus/resources/PAUL_AND_CHRIST.htm );

4] The demand that Rastafarian thought be given an equally credible seat at the dialogue table [cf. http://www.angelfire.com/pro/kairosfocus/resources/straight_or_spin.htm ].

The resulting, subtly strained, on-air discussion set me to thinking. For in fact, while the questions the caller raised are significant, normally the church in the Caribbean does not devote much thought or effort to what is after all a regionally rooted, commonly encountered challenge to the orthoodox Christian faith; one that especially appeals to disaffected young men who are looking for roots in an African cultural identity. Indeed, while in fact several scholarly studies have been done and can be found in various libraries, I know of no handy reference on Rastafarianism and the issues it raises that is suitable for use by -- and commonly available to – Christians and others across the region who often encounter this sect and its teachings.

Why is that so?

On reflection, and with a bit of shame, I have to admit that, partly, this reflects the facts that (1) by and large, Caribbean Evangelicals are not long on scholarship, and (2) perhaps partly as a result, we do not really take Rastafarianism and the concerns and issues it reflects and projects seriously. Indeed, Rastas are quite commonly viewed as just a bunch of Ganja-smoking, half-baked, ill-educated -- or even half-mad -- malcontents. And, where we move beyond such ill-judged contempt and sweeping dismissals, the focus tends to be on the need for rootedness in Africa and the plight of the Black Man, so the serious theological and historical issues that lurk just below the surface of their claims are simply set to one side.

Neither response is acceptable, if we are to “truth it in love” as Paul counsels in Eph. 5:14 - 15.

Rastafarianism did in fact arise in Jamaica in the 1930’s as a movement of protest in a world where the black man was – and to a greater extent than we are willing to admit, still is – the principal victim of the global world and its trading system that began to emerge in the 1490’s when the Portuguese rounded Cape Horn and sailed on to India, and when one of their former captains, Columbus, sailed across the Atlantic and reached the Caribbean. That painful, and yet unfinished history has to be fully addressed, including the under-reported but pivotal and often painful role of the dissenting churches, black missionaries and church leaders such as George Liele, Sam Sharpe and George William Gordon in our liberation struggles. [Cf. http://www.angelfire.com/pro/kairosfocus/resources/Carib_liberty.htm ]

But equally, while we must appreciate the contribution of Rastafarians such as Bob Marley to the emergence of a comfortable black consciousness, if Christians are to retain street credibility, we must fully and fairly address the theological, historical and philosophical issues and concerns that the movement raises.

For instance, first and foremost, Rastafarianism is about viewing the last Emperor of Ethiopia as the biblical Messiah and God incarnate, so a proper response must begin with a brief and objective look at his history such as we may find at the Wikipedia site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haile_Selassie_of_Ethiopia . There, we will see that Haile Selassie’s life-story is partly inspiring, but partly tragically spoiled with the incompetence and corruption that so often taints those who hold absolute political power. We will also learn that Tafari Makkonen (his birth name; “Ras” means “duke”) was a life-long member of the Orthodox Christian Church of Ethiopia, and that he sent Christian missionaries to gently correct and guide the Rastas to a sounder faith in Christ when he realised (on an April 1966 state visit to Jamaica) that there was a sect in the Caribbean that was trying to worship him.

So, now, let’s talk . . . AMEN.

An Era Passes
GEM 05:04:06a

Over the past few days, through global TV coverage, the world witnessed the passing of Pope John Paul II, and that of one of the ~ 1 billion members of his global flock, Mrs Terri Schiavo. These events were epochal, and so they help us achieve that understanding of our times that will help us know what we should do. [Cf. 1 Chron 12:32.]

For:

1. As John Paul passed away, we saw a curious blend of responses. On the one hand, there were accolades to a great man who first resisted Nazi tyranny in his native land, Poland as a nineteen-year-old youth. Then, across a long career as a priest, Bishop, theologian-philosopher, and finally, Pope, he helped liberate hundreds of millions of victims of Communist tyranny in Eastern Europe and reached out across ancient enmities, quarrels and hurts to bring healing and seek reconciliation. But at the same time, while the New York Times could easily find sharp critiques it was reduced to an all too revealing inadvertently published line in its online obituary: “need some quote from supporter.” Why? Simple: the late Pope was a Traditionalist, especially on morality.
   
   
2. Similarly, Mrs Schiavo suffered brain damage fifteen years ago, and her husband won a million-dollar settlement intended to maintain her for fifty years. However, she was starved and dehydrated to death on court order at the request of Mr Schiavo (who for the past ten years has been living with another woman by whom he has fathered two children). This was done despite serious questions from competent medical personnel about the accuracy of her “persistent vegetative state” diagnosis – for which not even a MRI scan has been done. Why? Because “progressive” legal thought no longer permits us to consider the point that such blatant adultery is an abandonment of the marriage, so Mr Schiavo retained his position as legal guardian. On his orders, key tests simply were not done. His argument was clear: Terri would not wish to live with such a low quality life, so food and water should be withheld till she died. And so, over the strong protest of her family and many others, that is just what was done. Chillingly, we know the underlying concept all too well from the recent, grim history of the late Pope’s motherland: “life unworthy of life” was Hitler’s rhetorical basis for euthanasia -- and it soon became the operating principle of the infamous Nazi death camps, such as the most infamous of all: the one they built in conquered Poland, Auschwitz. Thirteen millions perished in those camps, including six million Jews, but already we are forgetting the lesson.

In short, we are now seeing the cresting of a tidal wave of secularism and apostasy that insistently seeks to discredit and get rid of the much-resented restraints posed by biblical morality and its underlying Judaeo-Christian worldview, especially in Europe and North America. That is of immediate concern to us in the Caribbean, for when the North sneezes, we get flu or even pneumonia. For instance, only a few days ago, we heard about a Windjammer cruise ship with 110 nudist homosexuals that was turned away from Nevis on the grounds that it was an affront to public morality on our sister island. However, the incident soon became international news because it was indeed viewed as an affront -- to the “gay rights” claimed by the naked passengers and promoted in the major international media!

In a region where some 25% of both employment and National Income come from tourism, that clash between morality and economic interests is a serious, immediate concern. For, as we saw last year in our own local controversy over the proposed Gambling Act, we are now increasingly being offered a false “choice”: between prosperity and adherence to sound principle. “[A] false choice”? Yes, for sound society is rooted in principled restraint of our desires, agendas and passions. So, if we seek prosperity at the expense of moral principles rooted in respect for liberty, order, opportunity and justice based on our being equally created in God’s image, there can be no foundation for rebuilding our nation as a healthy, wholesome, truly democratic, God-blessed community.

Thus, the big challenge ahead is quite plain: how can we develop our nation without fatally compromising the moral principles that give us a community worth living in? To that issue, we must now turn our thoughts.

So now, let’s talk . . . AMEN

The Rebuilding of Montserrat, 8:
On St Patrick's Day
GEM 05:03:23a


Week before last, we the people of Montserrat celebrated St Patrick's Day, as our National Day. For, in 1768, there was an uprising as slaves tried to strike a blow for freeedom: they had observed that on Ireland's national day, their Irish masters would gather together and celebrate with much strong drink. So, what better day to strike for freedom?

However, their plans were detected, and the uprising became an abortive slaughter. So, on March 17th, we remembered their sacrifice as the first step to the freedom we enjoy today. But, also, there are several yet-burning issues that the 1768 incident surfaces:

1] St Patrick himself, as a 16 year-old lad in Britain, was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Ireland, where adversity helped him deepen his Christian Faith. He managed to escape after six or seven years and returned to Ireland decades later as a Missionary Bishop, with such great success that the anniversary of his death, March 17, 493, is Ireland's national day.

2] For instance, it is said that in his second meeting with the assembled pagan chieftains of Erin, he was challenged about the apparent illogicality of the Trinity. He plucked a three-leaf shamrock and began: "Is this one leaf or three? If one leaf, why are there three lobes of equal size? If three leaves, why is there just one stem? If you cannot explain so simple a mystery . . . how can you hope to understand . . . the Holy Trinity?" The Shamrock leaf, of course, has long been a national symbol of both Christian Ireland and Montserrat.

3] Over a thousand years later, the long-since Christianised Irish were under the English boot-heel and repeatedly rose up to try to liberate themselves. (Eventually, after decades of futile debate over Home Rule, the bloodily suppressed 1916 Easter Rebellion led to the creation of the Republic of Ireland, and to the lingering conflict in Northern Ireland.)

4] Many Irish settlers in the Caribbean came as indentured servants, often labouring under slave-like conditions for a period of up to seven years.

5] The Irish settlers in Montserrat came here from St Kitts, to find freedom to practice their Catholic Faith.

How then could men from a Christian nation whose patron saint was an escaped slave, and who themselves longed for liberty, then turn around and cruelly enslave and oppress other men? Why is it that the national day, named after that Patron Saint, has so often become an occasion for drunken revelry?

The answers are as painful as they are simple:

1] Until a dozen Christians -- through the heart-softening impact of the great evangelical awakening then occurring in Britain -- founded the first antislavery society in London in 1787, no-one had dared to challenge slavery as an institution. So, despite Biblical rebukes to oppression, injustice and kidnapping, generally slavery was at most seen as a personal misfortune rather than an inescapably illegitimate institution. And, it would take fifty years for their campaign to triumph in the teeth of bitter, well-funded and clever opposition.

2] The lifestyle of many of the slave-masters of 1768 also speaks loud and clear: men who celebrate the memory of a great Christian Missionary by becoming drunk plainly and sadly know little of the gospel, and live less of it. Indeed, the Britain of that era was so corrupt that William Wilberforce said that many men pretended to be worse than they really were, or they would not have credibility with the leading men of the time. No wonder a major strategic focus of his campaigns against slavery and dozens of other major social ills was "to make goodness fashionable."

In short, while the gospel naturally works to save souls, renew minds, improve lives and transform institutions and communities, it is clear that this is in the teeth of the social implications of sin-darkened understanding, sin-hardened hearts and sin-numbed consciences. And, as (1) the controversies over gambling and (2) the bitterly challenged success of Uganda's common-sense, traditional morality-based ABC strategy to combat HIV/AIDS demonstrate all too plainly, that has major implications for us as we seek to rebuild our nation as a healthy, wholesome, truly democratic, God-fearing community. AMEN

The Rebuilding of Montserrat, 8:
On St Patrick's Day
GEM 05:03:23a


Week before last, we the people of Montserrat celebrated St Patrick's Day, as our National Day. For, in 1768, there was an uprising as slaves tried to strike a blow for freeedom: they had observed that on Ireland's national day, their Irish masters would gather together and celebrate with much strong drink. So, what better day to strike for freedom?

However, their plans were detected, and the uprising became an abortive slaughter. So, on March 17th, we remembered their sacrifice as the first step to the freedom we enjoy today. But, also, there are several yet-burning issues that the 1768 incident surfaces:

1] St Patrick himself, as a 16 year-old lad in Britain, was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Ireland, where adversity helped him deepen his Christian Faith. He managed to escape after six or seven years and returned to Ireland decades later as a Missionary Bishop, with such great success that the anniversary of his death, March 17, 493, is Ireland's national day.

2] For instance, it is said that in his second meeting with the assembled pagan chieftains of Erin, he was challenged about the apparent illogicality of the Trinity. He plucked a three-leaf shamrock and began: "Is this one leaf or three? If one leaf, why are there three lobes of equal size? If three leaves, why is there just one stem? If you cannot explain so simple a mystery . . . how can you hope to understand . . . the Holy Trinity?" The Shamrock leaf, of course, has long been a national symbol of both Christian Ireland and Montserrat.

3] Over a thousand years later, the long-since Christianised Irish were under the English boot-heel and repeatedly rose up to try to liberate themselves. (Eventually, after decades of futile debate over Home Rule, the bloodily suppressed 1916 Easter Rebellion led to the creation of the Republic of Ireland, and to the lingering conflict in Northern Ireland.)

4] Many Irish settlers in the Caribbean came as indentured servants, often labouring under slave-like conditions for a period of up to seven years.

5] The Irish settlers in Montserrat came here from St Kitts, to find freedom to practice their Catholic Faith.

How then could men from a Christian nation whose patron saint was an escaped slave, and who themselves longed for liberty, then turn around and cruelly enslave and oppress other men? Why is it that the national day, named after that Patron Saint, has so often become an occasion for drunken revelry?

The answers are as painful as they are simple:

1] Until a dozen Christians -- through the heart-softening impact of the great evangelical awakening then occurring in Britain -- founded the first antislavery society in London in 1787, no-one had dared to challenge slavery as an institution. So, despite Biblical rebukes to oppression, injustice and kidnapping, generally slavery was at most seen as a personal misfortune rather than an inescapably illegitimate institution. And, it would take fifty years for their campaign to triumph in the teeth of bitter, well-funded and clever opposition.

2] The lifestyle of many of the slave-masters of 1768 also speaks loud and clear: men who celebrate the memory of a great Christian Missionary by becoming drunk plainly and sadly know little of the gospel, and live less of it. Indeed, the Britain of that era was so corrupt that William Wilberforce said that many men pretended to be worse than they really were, or they would not have credibility with the leading men of the time. No wonder a major strategic focus of his campaigns against slavery and dozens of other major social ills was "to make goodness fashionable."

In short, while the gospel naturally works to save souls, renew minds, improve lives and transform institutions and communities, it is clear that this is in the teeth of the social implications of sin-darkened understanding, sin-hardened hearts and sin-numbed consciences. And, as (1) the controversies over gambling and (2) the bitterly challenged success of Uganda's common-sense, traditional morality-based ABC strategy to combat HIV/AIDS demonstrate all too plainly, that has major implications for us as we seek to rebuild our nation as a healthy, wholesome, truly democratic, God-fearing community. AMEN