Christianity and Rastafarianism-a Discussion of Six...

Christianity and Rastafarianism A Discussion of Six Similarities Christianity and Rastafarianism are both rooted in Judaism and draw from the Hebrew sacred scriptures. Rastafarianism evolved as a reaction to the Christianity that was imposed upon African-American slaves and their descendents. There are several other aspects in which these two religions are similar, the purpose of this paper is to explore some of those similarities. The Christian religion began around 2000 years ago in Judea, which is now Israel. Christianity began with Jesus of Nazareth and his disciples. Jesus traveled from village to village, teaching in the synagogues, and healing those who were sick and suffering. He challenged the authorities to†¦show more content†¦Rastafari’s believe Tafari Makonnen, who was crowned Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia on November 2nd, 1930 is the living God incarnate, called Jah. He is the black Messiah that will lead the worlds people of African origin into the Promised Land of full emanc ipation and divine justice. This is partly because of his titles King of Kings, Lord of Lords and Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah. These titles match those of the Messiah mentioned in the book of Revelation, in the Christian New Testament (Rastafari). Second Similarity-The Creation of the World: Just as the Christian Bible begins with, â€Å"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth†, (Holy Bible) The Holy Piby, the Rastafarian Bible, begins with, â€Å"From the beginning there was God and he spake and all things were made that are made†. Both of these sacred texts go on to state that God made man for his glory and then made woman for man, God called the man Adam and the woman Eve. (Holy Piby) Both of the sacred texts also agree that God rested on the seventh day and said that men should also use the seventh day as a day of rest. Third Similarity-Worship Practices: Christian worship centers on meetings or services held on Sunday. These services consist of Biblical readings, communion, and music either with or without instrumental accompaniment, prayer, a teaching from the Bible in the form of a sermon and a collection of tithes. Other forms of worship, such