I'm having trouble overstanding this

[adeakw]

Greetings Brothers & Sisters

I wouldn't want to sound ignorant but if I do, please forgive me.
To me, RastafarI is so simple meaning Love, Life, Roots, Nature and Simplicity but at the sime time RastafarI can be very confusing. Haile Selassie was a member of the Christian Church, which is the same religion that was forced upon our Ancestors, and still is being forced on us. Don't get me wrong, I love and respect His Imperial Majesty but didn't he embrace a religion that opressed and still opresses us (even though, some don't even realize it)? We Africans, are not Christians, Muslims or whatever. These were strange to us for many, many years.

Blessed Love!

[African_Disciple]

Greetings, Brethren. InI will try to tell you what I know. True, original Christianity which His Majesty spoke of, comes from ancient Ethiopia. Haile Selassie I was of Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Ethiopia is an ancient Christian Empire and Christianity was not imposed there by Europeans for it begins from times when Queen of Sheba met King Solomon and as we know, Ras Tafari is direct descendant of this Royal Ethiopian line. When reading the boards I also noticed that some Rastafari brethren say that Rastafari and Christianity can't be together. White Christianity is full of hipocricy and lies, that is true... It was re-arranged and brainwashed by Europeans (Romans) to gain power over the people and keep them in slavery. You know, icons of a blond Christ, using the Bible during slavery and hypocricy of modern church... Bun vatican! heheh.
To better overstand the matter InI think you should read Jah words in Haile Selassie I speech called "Spirituality". And, very good reasoning here - I already posted this link once, but in your question I think it can be helpful so here it is again: http://www.nyahbinghi.org/nyahbinghi/Isuschristos.htm

Blessings, keep the fire burning!

[Kebo]

Jesus and Moses are part of the same Bible - Moses was an Egyptian/African and so probably was Abraham - and where did Jesus study the ancient mysteries.

[emrukunanti]

Blessed Love!

If yu managed to read my post" I man a humble african" yu will realise that that is the same issue InI was tryin' to address.  Rastafari livity is a problem to the tru African in his roots and culture.  Here in a Zimbabwe wi roots is wi communicate with Jah thru our ancestors not Yesus Kristos.  Even our cultural diet is contrary to that of rastafari coz wi nyam pork. But, however, InI can only say to you follow the teachings of his imperial Majesty and those of Yesus Kristos but in an African way. After all, the bible contains nuff black people history that is distorted and hidden.
 
Raspect !

[adeakw]

Greetings, Brethren. InI will try to tell you what I know. True, original Christianity which His Majesty spoke of, comes from ancient Ethiopia. Haile Selassie I was of Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Ethiopia is an ancient Christian Empire and Christianity was not imposed there by Europeans for it begins from times when Queen of Sheba met King Solomon and as we know, Ras Tafari is direct descendant of this Royal Ethiopian line. When reading the boards I also noticed that some Rastafari brethren say that Rastafari and Christianity can't be together. White Christianity is full of hipocricy and lies, that is true... It was re-arranged and brainwashed by Europeans (Romans) to gain power over the people and keep them in slavery. You know, icons of a blond Christ, using the Bible during slavery and hypocricy of modern church... Bun vatican! heheh.
To better overstand the matter InI think you should read Jah words in Haile Selassie I speech called "Spirituality". And, very good reasoning here - I already posted this link once, but in your question I think it can be helpful so here it is again: http://www.nyahbinghi.org/nyahbinghi/Isuschristos.htm

Blessings, keep the fire burning!

Blessed Love African Disciple
Having said all that, is Ethiopian Christianity (EOC) different from the Western Christianity? I mean I know the differences between the two as for now but I am talking about its history. How are the EOC's teachings different from the fables about the god that my Ancestors were told by the Europeans? So even before they came to our land and started spreading the funny stories about their god and their religion, there was Christianity already in Ethiopia? How then did my Ancestors and the Europeans know the same religion? One or the other must have initiated it. Christianity must have originated first in either one continent, it couldn't have originated in Africa and Europe at the same time. And I think that it's Europe where it comes from since I have been told many times (even by Christian priests) that Christianity is a white religion. Christianity = Christianity. EOC = Christian church so how come some will say that it is no the same lies?

[adeakw]

Blessed Love!

If yu managed to read my post" I man a humble african" yu will realise that that is the same issue InI was tryin' to address.  Rastafari livity is a problem to the tru African in his roots and culture.  Here in a Zimbabwe wi roots is wi communicate with Jah thru our ancestors not Yesus Kristos.  Even our cultural diet is contrary to that of rastafari coz wi nyam pork. But, however, InI can only say to you follow the teachings of his imperial Majesty and those of Yesus Kristos but in an African way. After all, the bible contains nuff black people history that is distorted and hidden.
 
Raspect !

Greetings emrukunanti.
Yes, I read the post you are talking about. It gave me a lot to think too. I don't know who God is and I'm not going to say God is white-Jesus Christ, I'm not going to say God is black- Haile Selassie for it's just stupid to paint God in our own color. I know that there is GOD and he may not be even called God, but there is something that gave me life, made all these beautiful things around me. But why do we try to really know who HE is? It's beyond our mind. Its enough for me to know that He gives lifes, creates the sun, the moon, the planets and us- humans. He created all so-called people's gods which include the white god the christians praise, Haile Selassie I, and many many more gods of different religions and beliefs. People made religion and corrupted it, we spread propaganda, spread something that we DON'T know for sure even though we may think we know it. God/Supreme Being/Something Immortal there is for sure and its something InI know for I AM. Let it be and let us live the life He/It gave us. Let us be righteous, let us know what is Good and what is evil. Man free.

[African_Disciple]

Greetings, adeakw. I hope I can answer your questions.

How are the EOC's teachings different from the fables about the god that my Ancestors were told by the Europeans?

Answer from wikipedia of how Orthodox Ethiopian Church differs from Roman Catholic:
(The full name of EOC is Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church)
"Tewahedo refers to the Oriental Orthodox belief in the one single unified Nature of Christ; ie, a belief that a complete, natural union of the Divine and Human Natures into One is self-evident in order to accomplish the divine salvation of humankind, as opposed to the "two Natures of Christ" belief (unmixed, but unseparated Divine and Human Natures), called the Hypostatic Union) promoted by today's Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches."

EOC doesn't divide God and Man as catholics do. And Rastafari also teaches that Jah lives in every man and every man's body is his own church. If you will find some pictures of Jesus from EOC, you will see that he is always portrayed as an African and europeans always portrayed Jesus white. As I also have read, colonization and enslavement was "justified" by a science of proto-social darwinism, which taught that white people were the perfect race and so could go everywhere to "enlighten" and they thought that they kinda "had the right" to opress other peoples and their culture was superior. I don't believe European church was meant to be built on love as they tried to convince Africans, just look at all that "holy inquisitions", crusades, power striving and child molesting. Misinterpretation at least... conspiracy at most.. So they took the Bible and went on a "great mission" all round the world preaching about dying and going to heaven while robbing and killing people. That's my opinion.

So even before they came to our land and started spreading the funny stories about their god and their religion, there was Christianity already in Ethiopia? How then did my Ancestors and the Europeans know the same religion? One or the other must have initiated it. Christianity must have originated first in either one continent, it couldn't have originated in Africa and Europe at the same time.

First, before the birth of Christ, Judaism came to Ethiopia after Queen of Sheba made a visit to King Solomon in Jerusalem and converted there to Judaism. She had a son with him, named Menelik who was to become a heir of Ethiopian kingdom and first Emperor of Ethiopia. He also went to meet King Solomon and continued this religion in Ethiopia in its pure form. As for Christianity itself, it's coming to Ethiopia is mentioned in the Bible, in Acts 8:26-27 and further in the chapter when Philip the Evangelist explained the Ethiopian eunuch a Passage from Isaiah and he requested Philip baptize him. When eunuch (who was a Royal official) came back to Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Othodox Church took its beginnings.
Christianity came to Roman Empire after Jesus was crucified by Pontius Pilate. Apostle Peter started preaching Christianity in Roman Empire and forming churches started in Rome. Then followed persecution and accepting into state religion. So, as we can see, Ethiopians didn't initiate Christianity from europeans, but Judaism existed there even since Old Testament.
But however, I wouldn't want to be baptized in any church because InI see Haile Selassie I as Almighty. Bless!

[adeakw]

Greetings brother. Give thanks for sharing the wisdom. Everything you said makes sense but it contradicts with what others say. So christianity comes from africa?  It's not a white religion like most people think?  Eoc was never a part of the roman catholic church? They never splet? Since ethiopia was the first established christian country on earth then christianity can be considered as our own black religion?

[African_Disciple]

Greetings brother. Give thanks for sharing the wisdom. Everything you said makes sense but it contradicts with what others say. So christianity comes from africa?  It's not a white religion like most people think? Since ethiopia was the first established christian country on earth then christianity can be considered as our own black religion?

Well, adeakw, as I overstand Judaism is a nearest ancestor of Christianity and it is a teaching of Moses, a Hebrew, who lived and studied in Egypt as Kebo said, and here we must take a notice that biblical Israelites were indeed a black people, I truly believe that but I need some personal research too. I don't think that Christianity could come from Europe because even though officially Roman church established earlier than EOC, Ethiopia before that already had Judaism but Romans before Christianity were worshipping different gods including Egyptian Goddess Isis.

Eoc was never a part of the roman catholic church? They never splet?

There in fact was a Catholic mission to Ethiopia attempted by Portugal, they tried to turn Ethiopia to Jesuit. It happened when Ethiopia asked aid from Portugal against Adal sultanate and Portugal didn't miss its chance to convert somebody else to Catholicism. Roman Catholicism even became a state religion but met a heavy resistance and was later abolished. All Jesuit books were burned and Ethiopia came back to Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.