Rastafari: a Christianity with a gnostic streak?
Indulging my curiosity a while back I stumbled upon a history of the Rastafarian movement. Being a big fan of Bob Marley* (his work is some of the most spiritual music of our century if not of all time), I was swept up into the Rastafarian movement's rich and diverse history and beliefs. Appraising their religious views, I was surprised to find a highly gnostic streak running through the whole system, complete with a Christ who reveals Himself through personal revelation and a Dickian Demiurge named "Babylon" after the entity in Revelations.
Like many gnostics, Rastas defy categorization because of their widespread refusal to establish universal dogmata and reliance on the individual quest for the truth, resulting in numerous variations and diverse beliefs:
Their religion is difficult to categorise, because Rastafari is not a centralised organisation; and it is left to the individual Rastafarians to work out the truth for themselves, resulting in a wide variety of beliefs entering beneath the general umbrella of Rastafari.**
A common Rastafarian phrase, "I and I," illustrates a concept of a personal relationship and ultimately, union with Jesus Christ. The phrase is used as a reference to one or more people, used as a substitute to "you and I," "I," and "we." This sentiment of E. E. Cashmore, scholar of Rastafarianism, "I and I is an expression to totalize the concept of oneness, 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," is strongly reminiscent of the gnostic principles of universal interconnectedness and essential spiritual oneness with the divine. The similarity with Christian Gnosticism does not stop at this. The Rastas describe a struggle with imperialist Western power, which they collectively deem "Babylon" after Rome's epithet in the Book of Revelations. They reject the normal modes of thinking and acting prescribed by the Western mindset in favor of non-conformity and rebellion against Western society. Salvation is an individual experience to the Rastas, and organized religion is highly suspect, as it is the product of political institutions more interested in control and power than the well-being of all men:
Babylon is an important Rastafarian term, referring to human government and institutions that are seen as in rebellion against the rule of JAH (Zion), beginning with the Tower of Babel. It is further used by some to mean specifically the white 'polytricksters' that have been oppressing the black race for centuries through economic and physical slavery. Rastafari is defiance of Babylon, sometimes also called Rome.
In this sense, Dickian Gnosticism and Rastafarianism share a central theme: that of the continuation of the Roman Empire, the Demiurge's flagship institution on earth, and the necessity of the human soul to escape the prison it creates.
Interestingly enough, many Rastafarians suspect that much of the bible has been squirreled away by the Demiurge. They express this in the roundabout accusation that Rome, the Western imperialist super-organism, stole half of the original Christian scriptures and destroyed them to prevent the common man from achieving spiritual enlightenment. This suspicion is given eerie credence by the discovery of the Nag Hammadi scriptures in 1945, discovered in Africa not far from Ethiopia, the Rastafarian Zion.
Some believe that only half of the Bible has been written, and that the other half, stolen from them along with their culture, is written in a man's heart. This concept also embraced the idea that even the illiterate can be Rastas by reading God's Word in their hearts.
Despite the lack of key scriptures, Rastas still trust the individual spiritual experience as having more weight than dogmas and strict doctrines. The truth can be ascertained through the human soul's own personal wealth of spirituality.
* A sample of gnostic lyrics in the works of Bob Marley
** the above quotes were conveniently located on Wikipedia.
Like many gnostics, Rastas defy categorization because of their widespread refusal to establish universal dogmata and reliance on the individual quest for the truth, resulting in numerous variations and diverse beliefs:
Their religion is difficult to categorise, because Rastafari is not a centralised organisation; and it is left to the individual Rastafarians to work out the truth for themselves, resulting in a wide variety of beliefs entering beneath the general umbrella of Rastafari.**
A common Rastafarian phrase, "I and I," illustrates a concept of a personal relationship and ultimately, union with Jesus Christ. The phrase is used as a reference to one or more people, used as a substitute to "you and I," "I," and "we." This sentiment of E. E. Cashmore, scholar of Rastafarianism, "I and I is an expression to totalize the concept of oneness, 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," is strongly reminiscent of the gnostic principles of universal interconnectedness and essential spiritual oneness with the divine. The similarity with Christian Gnosticism does not stop at this. The Rastas describe a struggle with imperialist Western power, which they collectively deem "Babylon" after Rome's epithet in the Book of Revelations. They reject the normal modes of thinking and acting prescribed by the Western mindset in favor of non-conformity and rebellion against Western society. Salvation is an individual experience to the Rastas, and organized religion is highly suspect, as it is the product of political institutions more interested in control and power than the well-being of all men:
Babylon is an important Rastafarian term, referring to human government and institutions that are seen as in rebellion against the rule of JAH (Zion), beginning with the Tower of Babel. It is further used by some to mean specifically the white 'polytricksters' that have been oppressing the black race for centuries through economic and physical slavery. Rastafari is defiance of Babylon, sometimes also called Rome.
In this sense, Dickian Gnosticism and Rastafarianism share a central theme: that of the continuation of the Roman Empire, the Demiurge's flagship institution on earth, and the necessity of the human soul to escape the prison it creates.
Interestingly enough, many Rastafarians suspect that much of the bible has been squirreled away by the Demiurge. They express this in the roundabout accusation that Rome, the Western imperialist super-organism, stole half of the original Christian scriptures and destroyed them to prevent the common man from achieving spiritual enlightenment. This suspicion is given eerie credence by the discovery of the Nag Hammadi scriptures in 1945, discovered in Africa not far from Ethiopia, the Rastafarian Zion.
Some believe that only half of the Bible has been written, and that the other half, stolen from them along with their culture, is written in a man's heart. This concept also embraced the idea that even the illiterate can be Rastas by reading God's Word in their hearts.
Despite the lack of key scriptures, Rastas still trust the individual spiritual experience as having more weight than dogmas and strict doctrines. The truth can be ascertained through the human soul's own personal wealth of spirituality.
* A sample of gnostic lyrics in the works of Bob Marley
** the above quotes were conveniently located on Wikipedia.
posted by sparkwidget | 7:32 PM
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