THE EDITOR, Madam:
REV. MERVIN Stoddart's response to Peter Espeut's article on Rastafari in The Gleaner has brought more clarity to Rastafari. For this I am grateful, yet, Rev. Stoddart needs to become 'politically correct' regarding one particular term. One should not refer to 'Rastafarianism' because 'No ism, no schism' is a Rastafarian proverb, usually quoted to deny that there exists a religion called 'Rastafarianism'.
Rastafari is not just one more human sect or ideology but is reality itself, ultimate and invisible. Thus, no ism, no schism. I refer both Mr. Espeut and Rev. Stoddart to an article I wrote entitled 'Christ the Alpha and the Rasta: A Reflection of Christology Within the Emergence of Rastafari'. (Caribbean Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. 17, No. 1, April 1996)
Rastafari has clearly not defined itself in any rigid and fixed manner. By its very nature it remains open to God's re-incarnations. Even the basic "doctrinal" belief that Haile Selassie is divine is understood differently. It is the Twelve Tribes, of which Bob Marley was a member, that now accept the entirety of Christian Scripture. They also emphasise Jesus of Nazareth and hold that it is through him that all people are saved.
Nonetheless, members are still alienated from the established church for the obvious reasons.
Rastas challenge organised Christians in that they refer to what they see as the hypocrisy of those "Christians who claim to practice love while justifying many forms of oppression of those who uncritically accept many aspects of Westernisation in the name of their faith yet condemn indigenous black forms of expression as unchristian." (see Ian Boyne in "Jamaica: Breaking barriers between churches and Rastafarians" One World, No 86, 3-4, May 1983).
So, when we refer to Rastafari, let us all remember, "No ism, No schism."
I am etc.,
MARTIN J. SCHADE
E-mail:
mjschade@infochan.com
