Ethiopia accepted Christianity as her sovereign faith after being a Judaic nation for centuries before Christ. Her political seat being the Throne of David makes this event uniquely significant in that Judaism as a religion or as a nation had no existing empire. By this, we mean that after the destruction of Jerusalem in 588 BC and the dispersion of the Israelites, the Jews, as a nation, were unable to reconstruct an independent state anywhere in the world except for the empire established in Ethiopia. Therefore, Ethiopia represented the only nation to have made such a transition from Judaism to Christianity. When one makes a thorough study of the traditions of the biblical Jewish nation, one will understand that a Jewish nation could not be reestablished without the Throne and seed of King David. Therefore, Israel as a place remains to be the fragmented ruins of a past flourishing Jewish state. The Roman invasion and occupation of Jerusalem created an atmosphere of tension and political unrest that continued and subsequently led to the destruction of this once glorious city, which used to house the Ark of the Covenant. All this occurred before the birth of Christ, who was to be the major element in the events that were to lead to a New Way.

Ethiopia accepted Christianity as her sovereign faith after being a Judaic nation for centuries before Christ. Her political seat being the Throne of David makes this event uniquely significant in that Judaism as a religion or as a nation had no existing empire. By this, we mean that after the destruction of Jerusalem in 588 BC and the dispersion of the Israelites, the Jews, as a nation, were unable to reconstruct an independent state anywhere in the world except for the empire established in Ethiopia. Therefore, Ethiopia represented the only nation to have made such a transition from Judaism to Christianity. When one makes a thorough study of the traditions of the biblical Jewish nation, one will understand that a Jewish nation could not be reestablished without the Throne and seed of King David. Therefore, Israel as a place remains to be the fragmented ruins of a past flourishing Jewish state. The Roman invasion and occupation of Jerusalem created an atmosphere of tension and political unrest that continued and subsequently led to the destruction of this once glorious city, which used to house the Ark of the Covenant. All this occurred before the birth of Christ, who was to be the major element in the events that were to lead to a New Way.

This anthology explores Rastafari religion, culture, and politics in Jamaica and other parts of the African diaspora. An Afro-Caribbean religious and cultural movement that sprang from the streets of Kingston, Jamaica, in the 1930s, today Rastafari has close to one million adherents. The basic message of Rastafari—the dismantling of all oppressive institutions and the liberation of humankind—even has strong appeal to non-believers who are captivated by reggae music, the lyrics, and the "immortal spirit" of its enormously popular practitioner, Bob Marley. Probing into Rastafari's still evolving belief system, political goals, and cultural expression, the contributors to this volume emphasize the importance of Africana history and the Caribbean context. Author note:Nathaniel Samuel Murrellis Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, and Visiting Professor at the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology in Kingston, Jamaica.William David Spencerserves as Pastor of Encouragement at Pilgrim Church in Beverly, MA, and was an Adjunct Professor of Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary's Center for Urban Ministerial Education in Boston. He has authored, co-authored, or editedThe Prayer of Life of Jesus, Mysterium and Mystery: The Clerical Crime Novel, God through the Looking Glass, Joy through the Night, 2 Corinthians: Bible Study CommentaryandThe Global God.Adrian Anthony McFarlaneis Associate Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY. He is author ofA Grammar of FearandEvil–A Husserlian-Wittgensteinian Hermeneutic.

The classic work on the history and beliefs of the Rastafarians, whose roots of protest go back to the seventeenth-century maroon societies of escaped slaves in Jamaica. Based on an extensive study of the Rastafarians, their history, their ideology, and their influence in Jamaica, The Rastafarians is an important contribution to the sociology of religion and to our knowledge of the variety of religious expressions that have grown up during the West African Diaspora in the Western Hemisphere.

"Rastafari practitioners have continually resisted social sciences definition of what outsiders called a millenarian movement. They maintained against these efforts of categorization that Rastafari as a lived and living philosophy combines ancient roots with ever emerging routes. These historical, dynamic and creative dimensions challenge any homogenizing attempts to freeze the 'movement' in time and space. African origins are as important as Diasporean experiences for Rastafari in the manifold struggles to downstroy slavery and oppression. But the strong universal appeal towards the realization of equal rights and justice implodes analytical and practical limitations of a Black Atlantic culture. This volume brings together contributions from well-known Rastafari practitioners and social scientists as a counter to the unilateral politics of outside definition, identification, and misrepresentation. They discuss Rastafari as an experimental philosophy; its historical and contemporary global culture dimensions and its contribution to issues such as decolonization, reparation and repatriation. "

Going far beyond the standard imagery of Rasta—ganja, reggae, and dreadlocks—this cultural history offers an uncensored vision of a movement with complex roots and the exceptional journey of a man who taught an enslaved people how to be proud and impose their culture on the world. In the 1920s Leonard Percival Howell and the First Rastas had a revelation concerning the divinity of Haile Selassie, king of Ethiopia, that established the vision for the most popular mystical movement of the 20th century, Rastafarianism. Although jailed, ridiculed, and treated as insane, Howell, also known as the Gong, established a Rasta community of 4,500 members, the first agro-industrial enterprise devoted to producing marijuana. In the late 1950s the community was dispersed, disseminating Rasta teachings throughout the ghettos of the island. A young singer named Bob Marley adopted Howell's message, and through Marley's visions, reggae made its explosion in the music world.

Learn the religious beliefs and practices of the Rastafarians. A great Rasta book for those who want to become a Rastafarian. Written by a Jamaican Rasta Woman, this book explains Rasta beliefs, how to convert to Rastafarianism, the true ways of dress as a Rastafarian, and the meaning of Rasta. Find out all about Rastafari culture, and what it means to follow Jah Rastafari, Emperor Haile Selassie I, according the the Rastamans way of life.