Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Rastafarianism: An Ethiopian Answer


The above video was made for an Urban Religions class at Princeton Theological Seminary in 2004.  The upshot: Haile Selassie, an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian, did not understand himself to be the Messiah. But yes, Christians who thought slavery was permissible are to some degree responsible for leading some to that unfortunate conclusion.  That said, Bob and Rita Marley both converted to Ethiopian Orthodoxy at the end of their lives, showing this form of indigenous African Christianity to be of special advantage in engaging Rastafarians.