PookyNMR wrote on Mon, 08 March 2010 03:28 |
Samc wrote on Sun, 07 March 2010 16:15 | These very 'stories', including the one about Queen of Sheba and Solomon are some of the foundation arguments on which Rastafarians base their beliefs.
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Could you elaborate? It's been ~20 years since I've studied Rastafarianism and I would find that interesting.
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In a nutshell, Haile Selassie (power of the trinity) is worshipped as God incarnate among followers of the Rastafari movement the name of which is taken from Haile Selassie's pre-imperial name Ras. meaning Head a title equivalent to Duke, and Tafari Makonnen.
His official titles, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, King of Kings, Lord of Lords and Elect of God, and his believed lineage from Solomon and Sheba, are perceived by Rastafarians as confirmation of the return of the Messiah as professed in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament: King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah and Root of David.
Rastafari faith in the incarnate divinity of Haile Selassie emerged in Jamaica during the 1930s under the influence of Marcus Garvey's "Pan Africanism" movement, as the Messiah who will lead the peoples of Africa and the African diaspora to freedom. His eventual coronation and titles gave credence to these beliefs in 1930. Haile Selassie's own perspectives permeate the philosophy of the movement.
When he visited Jamaica in 1966 he disappointed government and established church leaders because he never rebuked the Rastafari for their belief in him as the returned Jesus. Instead, he held a private meeting with some leaders of the movement and presented a few of the movement's leaders with gold medallions, the only recipients of such an honor on this visit. In fact this was thought to have quietly vexed some church officials and government ministers.
giving the 5"-6" diameter gold medallions was very significant, because they bore the official seal of the Emperor and allowed the holders to have an audience with him anywhere in the world without an appointment. Presenting this medallion at any Ethiopian embassy also guarantees official protection for its holder.
Rastafarians strongly believe that when Queen of Sheba left Jerusalem to return to Ethiopia, Solomon gave her the Ark for safe keeping, where it has remained since.