
ABOVE: Reggae music legend Winston Rodney aka Burning Spear performs live in New York City on July 6, 1996. He is wearing a shirt bearing the image of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia aka Ras Tafari. (Photo by Bill Tompkins/Getty Images)
Do you believe or say that Rastafarians are Christians? Let us know. We will report our findings and fact-based opinions later.
Now, classic reggae music remains one of the world's most popular rhythmic genres all over the world, especially in the Caribbean, Africa, New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Saint Louis.
The art form is known for its messages taken directly from the Holy Bible - not in a Prosperity Gospel type of way but in an Orthodox Christian way.
Most if not all reggae performers are Rastafarians on some type of level.
Are Rastafarians Christians?
Some say yes, some say no. I tend to believe that it depends on the individual and not the movement as a whole because I do not like to stereotype or typecast any group into a monolithic definition.
Even within bona fide cults, there are people who want to break free.
I would say that at least some Rastafarians are Christians because the movement is truly based on the Holy Bible - both Old and New Testaments.
Rastas strive to live life in order to be welcomed into Holy Mount Zion aka the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven.
Many people believe that the Rastafarians are a cult because they unashamedly view His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I as the incarnation of Almighty God - as Christ in His kingly character.
I would say do not blame the Rastafarians for following the Holy Bible, including the Davidic Covenant that is God's promise to ancient King David of Israel to forever provide a son to sit on the throne as the Jewish and Christian people's king.
The promise is controversial to some who believe that Jesus ended the Davidic covenant, being the last descendant of King David to inherit the covenant throne.
But the covenant is forever.
Ethiopia, of course, has for centuries had a huge population of Jews and Christians.
Remember Operation Moses, the international project that brought Ethiopian Jews back to Israel after the diaspora? Those African Jewish people, pejoratively called Falashas, are well-known for their claim to be members of the ancient 12 tribes of Israel.
Ethiopian history recognizes Emperor Selassie i as the last descendant of King David to inherit the covenant throne, ruling as the world's elder statesman of his era, honorably representing and accepting his role in the royal line of David and Solomon.
That is a big reason why he, properly named Ras Tafari, is the subject of so many reggae songs.
His coronation titles come straight from the Bible: King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Officials from all of the world attended his coronation in Ethiopia, so it is no secret about him.
He was also named Time Magazine Man of the Year during the Mussolini-Hitler era, and accomplished so many other achievements that time and space does not allow to discuss in this post.
He remains the last emperor of Ethiopia. A truly Biblical state that is the last nation to be represented by the Davidic covenant, according to Ethiopians and Rastafarians.
Again, the Davidic Covenant stands forever, and Ethiopians have laid claim to the throne of David for almost 3,0000 years.
You might ask, "Can you be a Christian and worship a man?" Rastafarians would say that Jesus was a man - the incarnation of Almighty God.
"We know and we understand. Almighty God is a living man." - Bob Marley, Get Up, Stand Up
The man born Tafari Makonnen was raised in the lineage of David and Solomon's noble family, like Jesus was born a part of. Tafari became a prince or Ras and eventually Emperor of one of, if not the world's first Christian nation, according to Ethiopian tradition and the Bible's Book of Acts 8.
Let it be known that Ras Tafari never publicly claimed to be Jesus Christ. So, any false prophet claims against Him are invalid, according to Rastas.
He did claim to be descendant from King David and King Solomon - just like 224 of Ethiopia's other emperors did before him, starting with the son born to Solomon and Makeda the Queen of Sheba (Ethiopia).
The two Biblical rulers named their child Menelik, and he became the first emperor of the East African-based nation that claims to have inherited the Davidic Covenant.
Ethiopians believe that he brought the Ark of the Covenant as well as the lineage of King David back to Ethiopia with him after visiting Jerusalem - an epic Ethiopian history cited by Rastafarians.
What do you believe? Are Rastafarians Christians? Let us know in the comments.
Very good, interesting and educational reading. Yes, I believe that some but not all are Christians.