One major difference between RasTafarI and Christianity is that RasTafarI are only those that live RasTafarI. But Christians are people that live how ever they want and are still called Christians, as long as they come to church once and a while and repent, or every sunday in some people's opinion.
RasTafarI is a livity, and if a person doesn't live as RasTafarI, then they are not RasTafarI. It is not a classification, it is a way of life.
Many Christian think that the requirement of being a Christian is going to church, and they look down on others that don't. But they don't care about Christ's example and don't care about Christ's teachings.
I have nothing against people choosing to go to a church establishment. But if someone tell I that I must go to church, then I can't agree with that. Because I know that Jah won't reject people that live for Him but will reject those that don't. And I know that the requirement of Jah is to live for Him, not go to church or do any of the other traditions that people do, those are requirements of man, not Jah.
A person can go to a church building and live for Jah, or not go to church and still live for Jah. And on the other side, a person can go or not go to a church and not live for Jah, but live differently.
Haile Selassie I is a true Christian, he lives according to the ways and example of Christ. So I and I call Iselves RasTafarI, because it is this Christian example that is I and I example.
Selassie I say,
On this occasion I address all those within Our Empire. Our Christianity is not restricted to a given church and I stress above all that We do not wish to make distinctions. My advice to all is to fulfil the Ten Commandments. You are aware of the contents of the Ten Commandments and can elaborate on it. If the nation for which I am the Emperor follows and accepts this, since its also what I accept and follow, I would believe our country is not only historically Christian but also actively Christian.
Interview with Dr. Oswald Hoffman
Here are some reasonings I made before concerning the church.
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The way I see it is like Yesus Christ said the the liars:
Luke 11
52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.
So they haven't embraced and taken in the teachings of Jah, but they have access to it. And on top of that, they fool others to prevent them from learning the teachings of Jah.
The Vatican would not be so rich if they Lived and taught their people the Truth about Christ teachings. That is why they keep people away from the Truth. Part of the downpressors like to do good, but that part is mostly to do good to themselves. So doing bad to others is acceptable to them if it is doing good for their own selves.
We can't fool ourselves into thinking that their wickedness is not intentional. Many of the people who go to the churches are not spreading the illusion intentionally, but the decision makers are surely doing it intentionally. Some people in this world are only concerned with their own happiness, so good or bad doesn't matter to them, as long as they enjoy theirselves and retain their power.
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I think the churches have misinterpreted the meaning of Christ dying for our sins. The way I see it is the reason why we are saved is because of what Christ taught I and I about how I and I should live.
He sacrificed himself for I and I because by teaching the things that he taught, Christ knew that he would be killed. But he risked his life to teach these things anyway. This is the sacrifice that I see.
That is why I feel that it is so important to live by his words. He sacrificed himself to teach I and I these things. If he didn't speak the things that he spoke, they would never have crucified him.
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Selassie I brought order to the church. He was the Head of the church and Defender of the faith. Selassie I changed some of the corruption in the church, for example, Selassie I took some of the land that the church gathered from the people, and He gave this land back to the people, where it belonged. Many in the church hated him for doing this. I look to Selassie I, not to the church that Selassie I rebuked. And I look to Jesus Christ, not to the church where he knocked over tables and rebuked for their wickedness.
If Selassie I was presently attending a particular church, I would be there for sure. But I don't see that the churches of today are living up to the Christian ways.
And did the I ever see Selassie I or Jesus Christ telling people that they must go to a church establishment. I and I congregation and church is I and I people, so I am living how Selassie I live when I go to I church. Christ never showed I and I that I and I must be a member of this or that, or that I and I must go to this or that church. He showed I and I how to live.
Mark 9
38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.
39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
Luke 9
49 And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.
50 And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.
It is the church leaders that try to make us think that we must go to church to be saved by Jah. They teach these things to maintain their business, and keep money coming into their establishment. People go to their churches, and hardly learn anything about the Bible or what Christ said. The church reveals a small portion and keeps the rest hidden. So only the people that choose to read the Bible theirself will see how to live as a Christian, because this livity is not taught in the church.
Luke 11
52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.
If a person wants to go to a church establishment, that is their choice. I will not tell them that they are doing something wrong by going, I will only tell them that if they don't live in Christ ways, then they are doing something wrong. And in the same way, I won't go to a church establishment just because someone tell I that I should, especially when I see that the church is not living in a Christian way.
Selassie I say,
Obstacles, Sectional, tribal and other divisive factors often pose major obstacles to national development. In their expanded sense, as narrowly national and ideological interests, they threaten unity and progress.
No one is today so foolish as to believe that any one nation constitutes a perfect monolith of faith and ideology. Nor could anyone wish that there should be such utter vanity of thought and aspiration.
Tolerance
I don't deal with Domination (Denomination), because I will have no other person dominate I and lead I in the wrong direction. I will learn from all people that I can learn from, but it will be only me and Jah that will lead I, nobody else.
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Ark I
RasTafarI
Haile Selassie I
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