More than a Song
Most people meet Rastafari through a Bob Marley song, a red, gold, and green flag, or a head of dreadlocks. Behind those stands something deeper than a style: a people's cry that they were stolen, that Babylon has not let them go, and that God has not forgotten Africa.
Rastafari began among the poor of Jamaica in the 1930s, and scholars estimate 700,000 to 1 million followers worldwide. Courtesy matters here. Many dislike the word Rastafarianism, because they want no “ism,” no creed, and no church office. Many would call it a way of life, not a religion. There is no single leader, and its houses, often called mansions, differ widely. So treat what follows as a map, and ask your friend what he believes.
We place Rastafari with the world religions, not the cults. It grew up reading the Bible and it speaks of Christ, so we ask the same questions of it as of any group in What Is a Cult?. To say that a man who died in 1975 was Christ returned is to preach another Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:4). But Rastafari has no creed and no central office, and some Rastas confess Jesus as the only Savior. We judge teaching, not hearts, and we ask each person what he is trusting.
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For Deeper Study
- Rastafari: A Very Short IntroductionAmazon Ennis B. EdmondsA brief, fair academic survey of history, belief, and practice. Not written from a Christian point of view.
- The RastafariansAmazon Leonard E. Barrett Sr.A classic study by a Jamaican-born scholar of religion. Not written from an evangelical point of view.
- Chanting Down Babylon: The Rastafari ReaderAmazon Nathaniel Samuel Murrell, William David Spencer, and Adrian Anthony McFarlane, eds.Essays by scholars and Rastas, and a good place to hear Rastas in their own words.
- George Liele's Life and Legacy: An Unsung HeroAmazon David T. Shannon, Julia Frazier White, and Deborah Bingham Van Broekhoven, eds.The story of the Black Baptist who carried the Gospel to Jamaica. Written from within Baptist history.
- A Multitude of All Peoples: Engaging Ancient Christianity's Global IdentityAmazon Vince L. BantuAn evangelical scholar shows that Christianity was global from the start, in Africa and Asia as well as Europe. Academic in tone.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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Engaging Other Religions
Sincerity is not the same as truth: every religion makes exclusive claims, and Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father.
Open Doctrine