Woe unto you segregationists whose policy is only to create divisions among men. Woe unto ye hireling shepherds, for ye see the wolf coming to catch the sheep and ye flee away. Woe unto ye hired servants who commit yourselves to destroy your fellow man. Woe unto ye politicians who misused the power given you by God. "...It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of Judgement than for thee." (Matt: 11 21-24)
"If we are not careful we will drink in all the poison of modern civilization and die from the effect of it." said Marcus Garvey. Bob Marley, in a more positive way, spoke concerning this war. "Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned, everywhere is war - And until the ignoble and unhappy regime that holds our Brothers in Angola, in Mozambique, South Africa is toppled and utterly destroyed, everywhere is war."
Bob Marley, internationally known not only as the King of Reggae music, but also a freedom fighter, through his prophetic and liberation messages fought against oppresion and discrimination. By his determination, he stood against the evil acts of this century of ours. Like his predecessors, Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and other pioneers of civil rights, he saw the suffering of the poor and the corruption of this world where millions of lives are being affected by different elements everywhere on this planet earth. He saw that man is still in the yoke of bondage.
As a emancipator he said "free yourselves from mental slavery, no one but ourselves can free our minds." In his message, he told the oppressed not to give up their rights when he exhorted "Get up stand up, stand up for your rights-- don't give up the fight."
Marley was always concerned with the condition of the third world man, for he believed as St.Paul says in (Gal 5:1) "...Christ has set us free." By which he meant that man was made free to become what is human, to love and respect each other and walk in the spirit of brotherhood.
He believes that as long as man is enslaved by nuclear weapons and other powers, he is not free to be human and to serve God. As a prophet and universal man he spoke effective words against the indignity of all human beings and was able to touch the hearts of everyone who listened to him.
(Planting the seeds of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the New World, Abba Yesehaq p.16)
“...Bob was really a good brother, a child of God, regardless of how people looked at him. He had a desire to be baptised long ago, but there were people close to him who controlled him and who were aligned to a different aspect of Rastafari . But he came to Church regularly. I remember once while I was conducting the Mass, I looked at Bob and tears were streaming down his face ...When he toured Los Angeles and New York and England, he preached the Orthodox faith, and many members in those cities came to the Church because of Bob. Many people think he was baptised because he knew he was dying, but that is not so…he did it when there was no longer any pressure on him, and when he was baptised, he hugged his family and wept, they all wept together for about half an hour.”
(Abba Yesehaq Nov 25, 1984)
Marcus Garvey, the pioneer of the freedom movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and others are responsible for opening the eyes of the oppressed today and in years past. They all saw the suffering of the poor and the corruption of this world. As freedom fighters they strongly opposed racial discrimination, imperialism and colonialism. Furthermore, they prophesied that the struggle for freedom will never be stopped until all mankind are completely free and until justice is established and all forms of racism and apartheid abolished from the face of the earth.
Martin Luther King- The Civil Rights Leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in similar statement, encouraged the continuation of the struggle by saying: "As we stand here let us pledge ourselves to continue this struggle ... in the conviction that all God's children are significant as His white children, and we shall not stop until
we have freedom in all its dimensions." (National Stadium; Kingston Jamaica, June 1965)
Malcolm X- Unlike Garvey and Dr. King freedom is expressed by Malcolm X in a more radical sense. Malcolm X believed that freedom is impossible through negotiation. "I say that you and I will never get our freedom non-violently, patiently and lovingly."
"You get your freedom by letting your enemy know that you will do anything to get your freedom, then you will get it." He added that "freedom is gotten by ballots or bullets."
This form of obtaining freedom by "ballots or bullets." would be difficult to be encouraged and supported especially by peace-loving people who believe in settling matters threough peaceful negotiation. Yet, this unfortunate method is actively used in all parts of the world and it seems that no one is able to stop it. Thus, the only solution would have to be the total establishment of Human Rights, without which the whole world will continue to face war.
(Planting the seeds of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the New World, Abba Yesehaq p.12)
"...a greater future is in store for us; we have no cause to lose hope to become faint hearted. We must realize that upon ourselves depend our destiny, our future. We must carve out that future, that destiny ... Nothing in this world shall discourage us, but opposition shall make us work harder, shall bring us closer together, so that as one man the millions of us will march on toward that goal that we have set for ourselves."
Woe unto you segregationists whose policy is only to create divisions among men. Woe unto ye hireling shepherds, for ye see the wolf coming to catch the sheep and ye flee away. Woe unto ye hired servants who commit yourselves to destroy your fellow man. Woe unto ye politicians who misused the power given you by God. "...It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of Judgement than for thee." (Matt: 11 21-24)
"Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned, everywhere is war - And until the ignoble and unhappy regime that holds our Brothers in Angola, in Mozambique, South Africa is toppled and utterly destroyed, everywhere is war."
Oh racists "prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight, let every valley be filled, and every mountain and hill be brought low; and the crooked be made smooth." (St. Luke 3: 4-5)
“...Bob was really a good brother, a child of God, regardless of how people looked at him. He had a desire to be baptised long ago, but there were people close to him who controlled him and who were aligned to a different aspect of Rastafari . But he came to Church regularly. I remember once while I was conducting the Mass, I looked at Bob and tears were streaming down his face ...When he toured Los Angeles and New York and England, he preached the Orthodox faith, and many members in those cities came to the Church because of Bob. Many people think he was baptised because he knew he was dying, but that is not so…he did it when there was no longer any pressure on him, and when he was baptised, he hugged his family and wept, they all wept together for about half an hour.”
(Abba Yesehaq Nov 25, 1984)
The Ethiopian Tewahedo* Church is an indigenous and integral church of Africa. It is one of the oldest churches in the world, if not the oldest, and is one of the founders of the World Council of Churches.
"...His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I is the defender of the faith. He attends Church services regularly and strictly observes the frequent Fast days and Holy days. He never misses Sunday morning services. He brought a strong Unity among the Eastern Orthodox Churches with their central office being organized in Addis Ababa Ethiopia and the central committee of the world council of churches had it’s meeting in January 1971 in Addis Ababa through His Majesty."