Do you have to be black to be a rasta?

[ihavenoideawhatsgoin]

I think so but I'm not sure.

[rainbowpower]

Yes, aint know cracka's gonna be part of dem fake christianity.

[UrsusKind]

yes

[peace_sells]

NO MAN!!
Jah made EVERYBODY! EVERY RACE!
Why would he make a faith which only a certain people could be part of. RASTAFARI IS TOTALLY INIVERSAL!
for EVERYONE!
Jah loves EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US!

[Nolan14]

I agree w/ Peace sell man. Y should any religion discriminate anyway?

[FunkyPhreshMama]

You do not have to be black to be rasta...
Where as it is one of the foundations that Blacks are superior to Whites, it does not refer to race...it refers to Black being the oppressed, white being the establishment, slavery, in other words...Bablyon.
Anyone who believes that you have to be black to be rasta only looks at the exterior of the cult. I'm sure everyone here has heard the song "War" by Bob, right? It was not written by Bob, as much as it was a speech by H.I.M. Heile Selassie I. to the U.N. in the 70's. And yes, it could be said, Heile Selassie I. was not Rasta, but instead Ethiopian Orthodox, but, his word is command as the living god, and he preached and harped on EQUAL rights.
Last point, Ras Brown (Sam Brown) who ran for Prime Minister in Jamaica ran on a basis of 21 points, or principles. One of them said (I can't remember exactly which one, I believe it was the 18th or the 19th) "We invite man of any color to join I and I in this struggle, as long as he realizes the evils that has been done."
Also, in addition, Rastafarian is, by choice, a leader less religion, in which we choose to be so, so that we may not be brought a stray by a self proclaimed prophet or messiah.

Jah Bless...

[incense+peppermints]

YAY! People used to make fun of me because I was always very interested in rasta, and they'd be like....YOU'RE JUST A WHITE GIRL! But I knew you didn't have to be black!!:)

[Zion]

A rasta is a primal human, who lives as close to the earth and love as possible. All humans are supposed to be rastas.

[Irish Hippy]

According to some Bobo Shanti (the second largest and less heard about group within rastafari), only blacks can be rastas... and they even go so far as to say that whites are decended from the amalkites of the bible. These guys are not your average Rasta that u see on the tv, they tend to stay away from the spot light. They wear turbans to cover their dreads and carry a sweeping brush to show they are clean and thus pure.
Their beliefs are different to the stereotyped (nyabinghi sect) rasta. One bobo that i talked to even said that Bob Marley was "a nothing" and "a confusion of genetics", because his father was white.
Maybe not all bobos are that extreme (i hope they arent). I can only talk from my experience of them.
Peace and Love

[Nimrod's Apprentice]

Nah you don't have to be black. Yet there are many other ways to interpret Christianity and still smoke weed if thats what your after. If you want dreds, a white mans straight hair cannont even get them the natural way, which is what dredlocking is all about. Not just because it looks so rad. Straight hair needs foreign products, instead greasy stringy longhair like Kurt Cobain or any rock icon of the 70s is the same effect on a white dude. It just shows how Jah spirals your hair in the natural way of the universe. So cut the aspects of the weed and dred locks out of it would you still want to be a rasta?

If you truly are beyond those aspects of the religion then I guess its fine to whoever beleives.

Also Irish Hippy, your picture there should show Adolf HItler and Ariel Sharon and the Israeli flag. Not the USA and Bush. They are the ones instigating a racist apartheid state, that is trying to force the thousand year native Palestinians out of their homeland.

[Alden]

I'm white...so what

[Terrapin Station]

Give Thanks and Praises unto Jah Most I.

Brothers and Sisters,

One cannot be Rasta inspite of the fact that one is white. One must be Rasta BECAUSE one is white. Rastafari is not about being something you are not. Rasta is living in FULLNESS, being exactly who and what Jah Almighty created the I to be. So if you are a White Rasta, be a true, strong, upful Iropean Rasta Person. Be everything that you can be and more. In Rastafari your cup will runneth over. ALL PEOPLE must be proud and free to be what God made them to be. Jah makes us all different colors, but these small differences really emphasize our similarities. Red and Yellow, Black and White, each is precious in His sight. Shame has no place in Rastafari. Be strong.

Jah Love.

"....until the philosophy which hold one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned: That until there are no longer first-class or second-class citizens of any nation; until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes; that until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race; that until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained. And until the unhappy and ignoble regimes that hold our brothers in Angola, and Mozambique, and in South Africa in subhuman bondage are toppled and destroyed; until bigotry and prejudice and inhuman self interest have been replaced by understanding, tolerance and goodwill, unti all Africans stand and speak as free beings, equal in the eyes of all men as they are in all the eyes in Heaven. Until that day, the African continent will not know peace, We Africans will fight, if necessary, as we know we shall win, as we are confident in the victory of good over evil. (made to the United Nations on Oct. 4, 1963 in New York City)"
From H.I.M. Haile Sellassie himself

[Nimrod's Apprentice]

Just dont do it for the weed and dredlocks or else your a poser.

[heron]

Ive got natural dreads Nimrod, just dont brush my hair, European hair locks up, only an idiot would thing otherwise. I have never used anything, except bees wax occasionally to cut down "frizz". I have nice curley Alpine hair though.

As to rasta, it is a black religion, its africacentric, and very semitic, and not european at all. "Jah" is just one more version of the asshole Semite god who wants all to think he is the only one. Why go Rasta? The Christian version loves everyone apparently too dont he?, so does the Jewish one.

Why would you want to be rasta if you are white? You want to wear dreads, smoke pot, and burn nag champa? Be a bob marley fan, dont bring religion into it.

[Ostard]

Many people trust in it.

[FunkyPhreshMama]

Ive got natural dreads Nimrod, just dont brush my hair, European hair locks up, only an idiot would thing otherwise. I have never used anything, except bees wax occasionally to cut down "frizz". I have nice curley Alpine hair though.

As to rasta, it is a black religion, its africacentric, and very semitic, and not european at all. "Jah" is just one more version of the asshole Semite god who wants all to think he is the only one. Why go Rasta? The Christian version loves everyone apparently too dont he?, so does the Jewish one.

Why would you want to be rasta if you are white? You want to wear dreads, smoke pot, and burn nag champa? Be a bob marley fan, dont bring religion into it.
Heron, Heile Sellassie never claimed to be God, not once...when a group of Rasta's went to Ethopia and requested a meeting with him, he had them thrown out for looking so shabby...

It is true that rasta has many features close to the Christian and Jewish faith, but it is born out of slavery and poverty.

A true rasta is not about "getting high" or wearing dreads, there are many rasta sympathizers that for various reasons do not wear locks. For pot, a leading brethern leader, Count Ossie, said "To much Kaya makes for a feeble mind"

I understand that you can't identify with it, but I don't understand why you bash it

[heron]

I never bashed rasta, like I could have at least, i was pointing out the afrocentric philosophies, I was bashing white suburban posers.

[BannedInDC]

I dont see the point of being a rasta if you're white, it's not really relative to you in any way if you are.

[FunkyPhreshMama]

what do you mean?

[Nimrod's Apprentice]

Its just like trying to be a Samurai because you study Bushido.

Its like yea you can be an excellent martial artist and follow the ways of Bushido but unless you lived in Feudal Japan and served an Emporer. Your just a tad out of character no matter how "true" you are.

[sandpedlar]

"Y should any religion discriminate anyway?"
I know, huh? And yet...



Ras Tafari six fundamental principles:
- Hatred for the white race.

- The complete superiority of the black race.

- Revenge on whites for their wickedness.

- The negation, persecution, and humiliation of the government and legal bodies of Jamaica.

- Preparation to go back to Africa, and

- Acknowledging Emperor Haile Selassie as the Supreme Being and only ruler of black people.

~according to rastafari "universal prophet" Leonard Howell.

[FunkyPhreshMama]

" - Hatred for the white race.

- The complete superiority of the black race.

- Revenge on whites for their wickedness."

where did you find this information???????

[sandpedlar]

Why, do you doubt that it exists? Are you rasta and never encountered this?
I think that's interesting...

Here's Howell's The Promised Key
http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/tpk/index.htm

which is a condensed version of The Royal Parchment Scroll of Black Surpemacy...
http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/rps/index.htm

Selassie denounced racism, but, as we all know, religions sometimes stray from their original intent.
Rastafarianism is an Afro-centric,specifically Ethiopian, religion that has many interesting branches; mainly Garveyites and followers(whether conscious of it or not) of Howell, who was racist and believed that Salassie was the messiah who fulfilled all old testament prophecy which was mistakingly attributed to Christ.

[Nimrod's Apprentice]

Christ was the ultimate apothecary. IF you want to be a rasta just be a true christian. You can smoke weed and take drugs.

If you want dredlocks make them.

IF you want to support a black ethnocentric spinoff of Christianity then its up to you.

Just be a Christian. Even Bob Marley talked of a one love religion, beyond ISMS.
Sick and tired of Ism schism.

Being a rasta is just following another Ism.

Whatever though I don't personally have a problem with it, but like my bushido/samurai comparison I feel that there are other ways to be a Christian and smoke weed and have long hair and dreds without having to classify yourself as a "Rasta".

[sandpedlar]

That's right.

[heron]

well said you two, i said similer and was accused of bashing.

[FunkyPhreshMama]

do you guys really believe that it is all about long hair and dreads?

my husband follows rasta very closely, and is by no means a christian, nor is he white...and heron, i did not mean to cause bad blood...but please do not think that any white person believes in it because of reggae or bob or kaya, or whatever else...

[Xac]

my husband follows rasta very closely, and is by no means a christian, nor is he white...
Ok now i am confused, i thought that Rasta generally consider the Old and New Testiments to be true and are therfore Christian. If this is not so then what do Rasta believe?

[FunkyPhreshMama]

i meant to say, nor is he black...

rasta tends to be a leaderless religion...my husband does not believe that jesus christ was the messiah, since he was not of king david's line, so, instead, H.I.M. is the living god.

[Nimrod's Apprentice]

Well if you beleive in the conspiracy somewhat hinted at in Da Vinci Code he was of King Davids line. Mary Magdeline was of the House of Benjamin.

Their offspring sarah was a mixture of the two bloodlines and the true leader. Not Selassie. Who is only a Davidic Descendant via solomon and a Queen with no ancient Royal Affiliations.

[heron]

H.I.M.? that shitty emo band with the heart star thingy? ewww =P

[FunkyPhreshMama]

I hope your kidding...His Imperial Majesty

[heron]

of course i was kiddin, thats why i stuck my tounge out.

[heron]

SO, your husband honestly believes that whats his name prime minister guy is the semitic messiah the bible predicted? Why didnt he help the Jews out then?

Im sorry, but thats, well, retarded. Jesus is the better candidate by far, at least he tried to start a revolution. But, whatever you want i guess.

[sandpedlar]

"do you guys really believe that it is all about long hair and dreads?"

Of course not. In fact, my post indicates that far more than outward appearances are necessary.
And the majority of rastafarians DO believe in the old testament, interpreted in a different way, ie. Selassie as messiah, again, dictated by the OT prophecy, ie white establishment as Babylon, reference to Zion etc. All come from the OT.

[sandpedlar]

" Why didnt he help the Jews out then?"
Excellent...

[SLammon420]

A rasta is a primal human, who lives as close to the earth and love as possible. All humans are supposed to be rastas.How can you be living "as close to the earth as possible" when you're sitting behind a computer?Just curious.

[FunkyPhreshMama]

SO, your husband honestly believes that whats his name prime minister guy is the semitic messiah the bible predicted? Why didnt he help the Jews out then?

Im sorry, but thats, well, retarded. Jesus is the better candidate by far, at least he tried to start a revolution. But, whatever you want i guess.
What revolution? Jesus is just as poor of a candiate as a messiah as you or me or Heile Sellassie...The only account that we have of Jesus is the account of four of his closest friends and followers who did not write his story as it happened, but instead wrote the story from complete memory up to 40 years later

It is like an old fisherman who keeps telling the same story, and fish keeps getting bigger...

I'm sorry, just like debating christianity, it will come down to faith...

We will never convice you, you will never convince us!

[heron]

study jesus more. he was a revolutionary leader.

Im not christian, i think its all bullshit, your beliefs fall under that same umbrella.

[FunkyPhreshMama]

the same revolutionary leader that when his apostels tried to save him from the rabbis told them no?

please...every time a people are oppressed there will be a person that stands up and teaches things that are considered revolutionary...Jesus was the then called Jews answer...but even he did not fill the prophecies that were supossed to describe the messiah!

[heron]

And Selleassie did?

[Nimrod's Apprentice]

Selassie only had royal blood. He didn't do any of the miracles and everything included in the hero myth of Jesus Christ. The royal blood was the only thing they had in common. However Christ was the revolutionary leader.

Its also kinda funny how this supposed royal blood Emporer Selassie's home country Ethiopia was fingerfucked on and off by Italy, during his lifetime.

Anyone see an odd coincidence? Descendant of a holy king of the Old Testament. Italy, who could basically be said was run by the Vatican and a combination of wealthy families.

Italy tied up Ethiopia long enough for no one to give a shit about Selassie. While the depression and WWII were beginning.

A perfect scam by the Vatican. Funny how Mussolini went looking for hte holy grail and the Ark in Ethiopia during this time as a justification for them to be there. Just so happens a biblical descendant became king. Funny how Selassie FLED on his people, who were used to seing Warrior kings.

He knew there was no reason he should stick around. When the Vatican is after him.

This is why The whole "Rasta" ideal didn't catch on to anyone outside its target ethnicity.

You obviously know about Marcus Garvey. It was an African Ethnocentric movement. It was a response to the white ethnocentricity of Catholic to Faschist Italy in the case of Ethipia, and British to Independant ruled Jamaica.

The Jamaicans basically pulled another crapest of the Jesus Christ wish wash. Idolizing and making a man whos power was only of his blood some kind of Immortal or Messiah, which he was not.

He beleived that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. He really did not even want to be Idolized. He didn't even want the Jamaicans to move back to Ethiopia, and said that they did not even understand the Ethiopian Orthodox Church or thier culture.

The only possible link Selassie has with Jesus Christ is the fact that Christ as a person must've looked very simliar. Very Black, Very Semitic.

[FunkyPhreshMama]

alright, expect for that under Sellassie I, Ethopia was the only country to ever get rid of the colonial force, and when he "FLED" on his people, it must have been how napoleon fled on france...a thing called exile...
Listen, Queen Sheba and King Solomon, if you know the story, you would see that the ethopian royal family has more then just royal blood...that's why king solomon gave the ethopian royal family king david's throne...huh...was that a requirement for the messiah?

well...like i said...i will never convince you you will never convince me!

[sandpedlar]

Since all the records of lineage were burned in the sacking of Jerusalem in 70, how does one tie Selassie directly to King David? And, by the way, in reference to an earlier post, according to the NT gospels, both Mary and Joseph were descendants of David.

"i will never convince you you will never convince me!"
What an unreasonable thing to say. How will I not be convinced by reason?
If you have something reasonable to say, if I am honest, I would hope that I would be convinced.

[sandpedlar]

And Garvey disdained smoking dope.

[heron]

How about we dont worry about man-gods and messiahs? How about we be our gods, and let nature be our Mother.

I worship my ancestors gods, who lots of which were people, have their own myths, etc. But its wheat with the chaif, i dont believe the mythos to be fact.

You want to be one with nature? forget rasta, forget Salassie, take off your shoes, take a walk in the woods, and see where our gods really are.

[FunkyPhreshMama]

Of course Garvey disdained smoking...so does any rasta, if kaya isn't smoked in combination with nyabinghi, or used as a sacrement...and i would love for you to show me using the bible how mary came from king david's line...

[heron]

Mary was Josephs cousin.

[heron]

Was Selassie not the returned Messiah? Therefore both he and Jesus would be the Messiah right?

I read a about Rita Marley, said she converted after she was the scars on his hands.

I know its not all about long hair and dreads. Hell, my locks are part of my faith, they are each a prayer. I only have three large ones, lots of mini ones, it all comes from my being natural. I dont brush or wash it, so it naps up. But the bigger ones are specific prayers. I like bob marley, nag champa smells good, but i dont like the ethiopian flag SO i guess no rasta for me.

Oh yeah, an i am white!

I have a very Eurocentric faith, which is wrong im sure, since we arent allowed. But how is it, that "hippies" adopt such a racist religion as rasta?

I believe all people should be most proud of their race and cultures, but not to the point of putting others down. We are all from beautiful roots, and every one of us have had our struggles.

Thats one love, not rasta.

[Gratefuljefferson~]

If you have to ask if you can believe in something, then you probably don't believe in it anyway

[FunkyPhreshMama]

Mary was Josephs cousin.
Heron, I'm not even sure that we are talking about the same thing anymore...I believe that you are attacking something that my husband believes extremely strong, and, while i understand that it's a free speech forum, i'm not sure that it's right to pu down someone's believes, just like crusaders or any other form of religious right wing nut cases...

And as far as Mary being joseph's cousin, i'm not sure that it ever stated this, much less does it prove that she is from the same linage as david or solomon...

just a thought...this will be my last post in this thread, as i don't believe that it's even over the topic anymore!

[heron]

if joseph was from davids line, then natural his fathers brothers daughter would be too.

I am not attacking anything, i was well within thread topic on all of my comments.

I can put down what ever i want btw, if I find it retarded, i say so. What is more retarded that having your whole spiritual life and apparently fashion choices come from something not of your own. Why get the etiopian flag tattooed, when we have our own histories. Just a question. Its not fair to the culture you steal from, and disrespectful to the people of the religion, the black ones that is.

[hemp726]

google it.

[Love Fest1969]

Yes

[phaedros]

the same revolutionary leader that when his apostels tried to save him from the rabbis told them no?

please...every time a people are oppressed there will be a person that stands up and teaches things that are considered revolutionary...Jesus was the then called Jews answer...but even he did not fill the prophecies that were supossed to describe
the messiah!


A revolution of the mind

[Nimrod's Apprentice]

So everyone should now agree you do have to be black to be a rasta. Because you really do.

[youthwise]

so i think u should stop the fuss....seriously..is eithr one of u here black.....or at least from africa...or JA....c'mon people....think about this.....what about the white jamaicans that lived there between black people and between Rastas?huh?what do u think of them.....how do they look in the eyes of a "true Rasta"?



irie ital itation.

[heron]

Jamaica and rasta are different things man, just because you are white and live in jamaica doesnt make you a part of it. If anything, it makes you part of the problem because the whites were the ones oppressing them. So if you were white Jamaican natively, then youre the bad guy, if you moved there just to live in jamaica and be rasta, then you have problems.

I think that whites have just as much right to bitch about whites being rasta as blacks do. It is a shame to see someone support and believe in something that is actually against them. White people who want something like that should explore their own roots rather than usurping anothers.

[Salem Blair]

Heron is a wise man.. we should all listen to what he has to say because truly, it makes sence.

[Nimrod's Apprentice]

Tru dat

[salmon4me]

Hey incense...
No you don't have to be black to be a rasta. But you do have to be black to not look look a dumbass, when flashing gangsigns. For the good of the future of America how about changing that sig? FYI...I'm just kidding and you're cute btw.

[Snyfin]

I dont see the point of being a rasta if you're white, it's not really relative to you in any way if you are.Why be Christian if you're white? Everybody knows that the only true Christians are the ones from Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jeruselem!

HAHA

[heron]

Why be Christian if you're white? Everybody knows that the only true Christians are the ones from Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jeruselem!

HAHA

Who said Whites have to be Christian? If anything, all Europeans should be pagan....

[Bumble]

Who said Whites have to be Christian? If anything, all Europeans should be pagan....

werd bro! we need to get back to our roots!

[Columbo]

I dont think you have to be black to be a rasta but it helps.
I have never actually seen a white rasta and just assumed this is because you would
need to have been brought up as a child into the kind of culture that would have easy access to the knowledge of what it truly means to be a rasta.
I mean a kid growing up into a culture where some or all would know well the philosophy and spiritual knowledge of that religion may aspire to rastafarianism. but a kid growing up with no idea of those values will not adopt enough learnt knowledge and experience, or indeed have role models that would influence the decisions

[borat]

Why be Christian if you're white? Everybody knows that the only true Christians are the ones from Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jeruselem!

HAHA
christianity is not an ethnocentric religion. It is for everybody. That is why it grew to its present size. Rastafari IS an ethnocentric religion, and in that aspect, you can't compare it to cristianity. However, you can compare it to judaism. Rastafari is for the blacks, judaism is for the jews. If you're neither, stick to a religion that wants you in their ranks. Really, there's thousands of them, and you can still wear locks and listen to reggae.

I love reggae music and many aspects of rastafari culture and lifestyle, but i find white rastafaris sad.

[prophet7]

Well according to H.I.M Emperor Haile Selassie I color is not the subject. Now every true Rasta accept H.I.M. as the King of Kings and follow HIS Words.

Well these are some of HIS Words which Bob Marley used in the song "War" :

"Until the philosopy which hold one race superior and another inferior. Until the color of a mans skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes. Until there's no longer first class or seciond class citizens of any nation - there will be war."

One Love
Prophet7

[prophet7]

Besides that Rasta is not a religion - it is a way of life. Big difference.

One Love
Prophet7

[FunkyPhreshMama]

Prophet... these two things (should) go hand in hand (even though sometimes people dont pracrice what they preach)... it is still a religion

[prophet7]

These 2 things do not go in hand for believing means "to have doubts." Rsata have no doubts. I have explained it to u on the other thread...again, I hope u overstand...

One Love
prophet7

[prophet7]

Meant Rasta...made a mistake in the spelling.

One Love
prophet7

[i_donatello]

How about we dont worry about man-gods and messiahs? How about we be our gods, and let nature be our Mother.

I worship my ancestors godsI agree with you. I worship my ancestors gods as well. I am of Irish and Scandinavian heritage and believe in Celtic paganism but that is besides the point.

"Rastafari developed among an oppressed people who felt society had nothing to offer them except more suffering. Rastas may regard themselves as if in conformance to certain visions of how Africans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa) should live, reclaiming what they see as a culture stolen from them when their ancestors were brought on slave (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery) ships to Jamaica (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica), the movement's birthplace.

The doctrines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctrines) of Rastafari depart radically from the norms of the conventional modern western mind, a trait of the movement deliberately encouraged by Rastas themselves. Unlike many modern religious groups that tend to stress conformity toward the "powers-that-be," Rastafari instead stresses loyalty to their concept of "Zion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zion)," and rejection of modern society (called Babylon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon)). "Babylon" in this case is considered to be rebelling against "Earth's Rightful Ruler" (JAH) ever since the days of king Nimrod (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimrod_%28king%29).

This "way of life" is not merely to be given intellectual assent, or "belief" as the term is often used; it is used for the finding and knowledge of one's true identity. To follow and worship JAH Rastafari is to find, spread and "trod" the unique path to which each individual Rasta was rightfully born. (Coincidentally, the word Rasta in various Indo-Iranian languages means "Way" or "Path.")

The religion is difficult to categorize, because Rastafari is not a centralized organization. Individual Rastafari work out their religion for themselves, resulting in a wide variety of beliefs nevertheless also covered under the general umbrella of Rastafari.

Socially, Rastafari is a response to racist negation of black people as it was experienced, both in the world as a whole (where Selassie was the only black leader recognised in international circles), and in Jamaica, where in the 1930s black people were at the bottom of the social order, while white people and their way of religion and system of government were at the top. Marcus Garvey (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Garvey)'s encouragement of black people to take pride in themselves and their African heritage inspired the Rastas to embrace all things African. They teach that they were brainwashed while in captivity to negate all things black and African. They turned the white image of them--as primitive and straight out of the jungle--into a defiant embrace of the African culture they see as having been stolen from them when they were taken from Africa on the slave ships (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_ship). Africa is associated with Zion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zion). Africa/Zion is the starting place of all human ancestry as well as the original state of mind that can be reached through meditation and the ganja (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganja) herb.



Most Rastas now espouse a belief that racial animosities must be set aside, with world peace and harmony being common themes. In fact, some Rastas say that it is not a "religion" at all, but a "way of Life".Today, many Rastas are not just Black African, but are as diverse a crowd as White, Māori, Indonesian, etc. Most Rastas do not identify with any sect or denomination, and thus are encouraged by others in the faith to find inspiration by themselves, though there are three prominent mansions of Rastafari (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansions_of_Rastafari): the Nyahbinghi, the Bobo Ashanti and the Twelve Tribes of Israel. By claiming Jah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jah) as the returned Jesus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus), Rastafari is a new religious movement that has arisen from Christianity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity), much as Christianity arose from Judaism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism)."


- wikipedia.org

Yes, I believe that it was a state of mind for them because they were being oppressed by the whites back then and times have changed. It should be respected reguardless of what race you are. If you live by it fully and it makes you happy, then let it be. To me a religion is created by freedom from another religion which you do not agree with fully and then rules are applied or changed and cultures are mixed. Either way people who claim to be Rasta and dont follow all of the "rules" and use it as an excuse to smoke ganja are being disrespectful. As for the dreadlocks... they didnt originate from Rastas....the Egyptians were the first... then the Hindus... Vikings (and other Germanic tribes)... Celts... Aztecs... etc.

I'm sorry that this may appear as a rant ... but I cant help it.


And this may be an interesting subject to talk about now... you may already know this but I didnt... with all this research I found this.

In paleoanthropology the recent single-origin hypothesis (RSOH, or Out-of-Africa model, or Replacement Hypothesis) is one of two accounts of the origin of anatomically modern humans, homo sapiens. According to the RSOH, anatomically modern humans evolved in Africa between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago, with members of one branch leaving Africa about 100,000 years ago.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_origin_hypothesis

Then all of this wouldnt matter anyways.

[RivaWitch]

Who said Whites have to be Christian? If anything, all Europeans should be pagan....Fist post here! & by Gods you have spoken what I have been saying for many, Many years. Europeans ARE Pagan we come from Pagan ancestors. Christianity is a Middle Eastern creation that steamed from Judaism. It does not belong to people of European blood.

[Reefer Rogue]

Truthfully, to be a rasta, you would have to be black because the originals were black and the philosophy stemmed out of this oppression to black people. You can follow everything in the philosophy to the ital diet to the growing of dreads on the spiritual journey dedicated to Jah. You can smoke two joints in the morning, noon and night, but you can't go to Zion. I am white and pondered on the rastafari movement for sometime but i decided not to be a hypocrit. The orginal mansion members were all black. I will say this though, your life is yours, do with it what you will, but i suggest living in peace and Inity. There are lots of guys who wear dreadlocks who is 1 million miles away from rasta, they are like night to day, seen? I know the concept of rasta means rightousness. Beware of these wolves. True rastas will respect the love of jah and treat you equally regardless of skin colour. Why should one be judged by the colour of their skin, instead of the qualities they show from deep within. One love.

[yumyum2k5]

i see this question in any place rasta's gather, and in any sense, why not look to rastafari himself.

In jah's speech to the UN in, i believe it was 1969 he actually said 'the color of a mans skin is of no more significance than the color of his eye' and then bob marley later made that whole speech into a song called 'war'.

So if rasta himself says skin doesnt matter, then skin doesnt matter, and what about blind rasta? they dont know the difference between black and white, human is human, ya know? if we shut our eyes everyone is the same color.

Its ONE LOVE, not 'some love, some not love'

jah bless all.