Greetings in that Divine and Most Precious Name of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
I am very glad this was posted. Bro Bob Marley needs to the respect he deserves amongst the more conservative Christian communities, both Orthodox and otherwise. People get way to caught up on their own biases, stereotypes, and prejudices regards things like Black nationalism, colonialism, cannabis use, Rastafari, etc etc..
Bob Marley did so much for the world, and all across its surface people have rallied with his music and songs for the greater good, moving for freedom, moving for equality, moving for love. Bob Marley wrote a song called "Zimbabwe"
http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/61717/ and within four years sang those very words at the Zimbabwe Independence Day rally in front of hundreds of thousands of people! Could you imagine that? A song you sang became a living reality and a new anthem for people across the world? Bob Marley came from colonialism, came from oppression, so he knew intuitively how to give voice to those who need freedom, from oppression be it physical, or even more important, spiritually.
Orthodox Christianity is about spiritual liberation, and that is why inevitably in Bob Marley's own search he had to become Birhan Selassie. Further, as Bob Marley served as an example for so many masses of people to find freedom, inspired so many folks to become Rastafari, he also led so many of us within Rastafari to come to Orthodox. There have been over 40,000 documented Rastafari baptisms into the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and probably countless others, I am one of those, who started all this curious and dancing to Bob Marley records. Who would've thought that chanting the tune Rastaman Chant would one day culminate with me chanting Ge'ez Ethiopian Orthodox Liturgies? God is good to us all.. God Bless you Bob Marley, and God have Mercy on his soul!
everybody loves bob marley all over the world its the same old story and if they ever find some men on the moon I'm sure they would know a Bob Marley tune stay blessed,
habte selassie
