ATTN: BOB MARLEY a CHRISTIAN..?!..help me confirm..

[dohyun]

If anyone knows Reggae and Bob Marley, they would know that Bob Marley was a Rastafari and believed in that religion like no other. They believed the Ethiopian King, Emperoror Haile Selassie was the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ, and worshiped him and even smoked Ganja to pay tribute to him. They read the Holy Piby.

MOST of all the reggae made back in Bob Marley's time was music that worshiped Selassie. Every reggae artist was a Rastafarian. In fact the religion came before the music.


It really, really, really surprised me to find out that Bob Marley, who was so passionate about his music and his Rastafarian Religion, became a Christian!!!! 7 months before he died, on his death bed, he converted into Christianity, and confessed/weaped ect....Man were fellow RASTAs pissed off...even later, his backup singer,Judy Mowatt, converted also.

What Im really curious about is whether Bob Marley followers KNOW this?? And whether i can get some confirmation and some verification. I have only a couple sources,,but it does seem it all pans out.

I see people praising Marley for his beliefs all the time, and I'm not sure whether or not they know he converted over. Truth is, the media has downplayed this, heck, i dont remember them talking about it in a Bob Marley documentary. anyways..

 

[pulse8]

I'm not sure, but I like his music. I would like to know this as well, though. I've never heard anything about it, though.

 

[Red Dawn]

<< became a Christian!!!! 7 months before he died, >>

Another great Artist, Cat Stevens became a Sunni Muslim and walked away from his music(and he is still alive).Though he might not have been a cultural icon like Marley was, his music was as deep. Of course Marley being associated with smoking Dope had a lot to do with his popularity.

Bob Marley also had a lot of political clout in Jamaica during the days of the Socialist Government of Manley. There were attempts on his life and he was often sought out by opposing political parties. By the time he supposedly converted he was so wracked with Cancer that I doubt he was able to think clearly and he was but a shell of the Creative Genuis and Social Guru that he had been. For anyone to make a big deal out of him converting to Christianity is just a desperate attempt to validate their own beliefs.

 

[Ultima200]

Wow i never new this. Not a big deal but I have seen many documentaries on him and NONE of them mentioned this.

 

[FrontlineWarrior]

Well, in a way Rastafarianism is like Christianity. Sort of. Ok not really. But sort of.

 

[FrontlineWarrior]

I also I agree with Red in a way. What does it really matter whether one man converted to some religion on his death bed? Regardless, Marley was a man of influence and I would argue - wisdom. He wasn't exactly a saint, but the message in his music was a big influence on me, even as a non-Rastafarian. (and no I don't smoke weed)

Marley had faults. I think we can appreciate his contribution regardless of these faults. We shouldn't have to seek to make him a saint in every respect in order to learn from the good that he did.

 

[EvanFerguson]

I don't think it really matters..........his songs are legendary

 

[DannyLove]

would it really matter to know if he was a Christian or not? Either way his music is nice and all, but how different would your life be if you knew the answer....

IMHO, it doesnt really matter.

danny~! nothing to get our &quot;ATTN&quot;

 

[yakko]

I believe it since he died of stupidity.

 

[thraashman]

Well with the amount of pot that man smoked, I wouldn't be surprised. He would have had very little intelligence left by the time he converted, so I believe that he could have.

 

[FrontlineWarrior]

hey thraashman, nice low blow. :|

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

<< and even smoked Ganja to pay tribute to him >>

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

BWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

 

[FrontlineWarrior]

<<

<< and even smoked Ganja to pay tribute to him >>

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

BWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! >>



smoking marijuana was a ritualized part of the religion.

 

[djchemistry]

Well if you guys ever listened to his lyrics, then you'd know that rastafarianism was a huge part of his music. Some would argue that rasta was his music. So him converting would be a big deal. However, since he was about to croak I give it less weight then if he converted during his heyday as an International star.

Also, Bob Dylan converted to christianity for awhile and even produced a christian album. Not many people know that nor do they like that album. He soon un-converted and unconverted his music too.

 

[Thump553]

Yakko: How is dying of brain cancer a sign of stupidity?

Dohyn: where did you hear this from? I've been a semi-casual fan of Marley for years and never heard of this conversion, and it wasn't mentioned in the excellent PBS documentary on him shown a few months ago.

 

[isildur]

. By the time he supposedly converted he was so wracked with Cancer that I doubt he was able to think clearly and he was but a shell of the Creative Genuis and Social Guru that he had been. For anyone to make a big deal out of him converting to Christianity is just a desperate attempt to validate their own beliefs.

<sigh>
(Not unlike that post as a desperate attempt to validate someone else's...)

...Or it is simply a manifestation of a typical American obsession with thinking that an &quot;authority&quot; in one area (a term I use loosely here, since we are talking about an artist, a class of people that Americans seem to think have elevated and informed opinions on any and all topics), is also an &quot;authority&quot; in another. This is a typical rhetorical fallacy in our day.
...but, there is a good point here = For anyone to make a big deal out of him converting to Christianity is just a desperate attempt to validate their own beliefs.
On this basis, it is interesting question and I don't think this was meant as an validation or invalidation of either belief system.

Well with the amount of pot that man smoked, I wouldn't be surprised. He would have had very little intelligence left by the time he converted, so I believe that he could have.

Marijuana has never been shown to cause any kind of permanent brain damage.

Also, what kind of cancer did Marley die of?

..must have been brain, otherwise Red's assertion that his cancer undermined his reasoning and stripped him of whatever attributes he had which had made him a &quot;social guru&quot; is bunk...

(unless of course, you meant to say that he was so heavily medicated when he made that decision that it cannot be taken as a serious, sober decision of the person that we knew publically as Bob Marley - granted this would be a difficult claim to prove or disprove, but hey, when has that stopped us?)

Edit: Seriously though, was it brain? I have no idea.

 

[yasha]

I've heard about this through a documentary on him. Too bad he took a dirt nap. I really liked his styff and wish he continued to make music and smoke that fine herb

 

[Stark]

Interesting I never heard that before. From a web search:



<< Question:

Was Bob Marley a Christian? I heard a rumor that he accepted Christ before he died. Is this true?

Answer:

Bob Marley is infamous for being reggae music's ambassador to the world. He was raised in the Christian church but strayed away as a youth. He dove into Rastafarianism and his career exploded as he toured around the nation preaching the beliefs of Rastafari.

It is also a well known fact in Jamaica that Bob Marley became born again 7 months before he died of cancer. Regarding this conversion, I quote two sources.

Arch Bishop Yesehaq head of the Kingston chapter of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Jamaica was initially sent to Jamaica by His Majesty to establish the church and to dispel the worship of Selassie. Selassie felt that if he personally commissioned someone to start a church that worshipped Christ and not himself, the Rastafarians would follow the true Christ. It was these reasonings and many others that eventually brought Bob Marley to be baptized into the Ethiopian Orthodox church by Arch Bishop Yesehaq. This conversion is well documented in Jamaica and was strongly criticized by many Rastas. In Yesehaq's interview with Ian Boyne on JBC's &quot;Profile&quot; (Jamaica's most popular talk show), he discusses this matter in great detail, explaining Bob's conversion as one whole hour of weeping sobbing and tears of repentance. Another confirmation of this fact is the following: If it was not for his denouncing Selassie as God, his conversion and baptism into the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and acceptance of their belief system, his funeral would have never taken place in their church. For the Ethiopian Orthodox Church does not hold any ceremonies (including funerals) for non-members.

To further back up this fact is the testimony of Judy Mowatt. She was one of the famous &quot;I-Threes,&quot; and a strong Rastafarian. Judy was initially disturbed by Bob's commitment to accept the doctrine of the Ethiopian Orthodox church and be baptized into their body. She and others were frustrated with Bob for forsaking all that he had stood for in his music and mission for so many years. However, almost twenty years later Judy Mowatt completely understands the commitment that Bob had made. For just a few years ago as documented in Reggae Report vol 14#6, Judy Mowatt became what she calls a &quot;fulfilled Rasta,&quot; by becoming a born again Christian. She believes that Selassie was a very godly man, but was not God. This belief was backed by two recordings that she possesses that are interviews with Selassie in which he discusses the fact that Rastafarians follow him, yet he clearly denies being God/Christ.

Regrettably Bob was not able to leave us any post conversion recordings, but he did give us some great music and a powerful spiritual legacy with his last minute transformation. And he is probably singing a true redemption song in Heaven right now! >>


Christafari



<< On 4 November 1980 Robert Nesta Marley was baptized &quot;Berhane Selassie&quot; in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (a Christian church) in Miami. Five days later, in a last attempt to save Bob's life, he flew to a controversial treatment center in Germany. In February 1981 Bob had his 36th birthday in the German clinic. Three months later, on 11 May 1981, Bob died in a hospital in Miami. >>

Rocknpop

 

[dohyun]

Ok well heres what i got to say.

This is obviously not a big deal to some, BUT like someone said earlier, to a Rastafarian, it might be a big deal.

Red Dawn, where did you hear about the severity of his cancer? anyways, What you said is an opinion and not the truth. That is because we will never know if Bob Marley truly converted and accepted JC into his heart. Only God and bob marley will know. You can't make it a fact that he was so messed up that it was impossible for him to convert. again, only them 2 would know. Other reasons for excusing his conversion(smoking to much weed causing brain damage, fear that he wouldn't go to heaven), whether true or not, dont apply either.

about what Djchemistry said, lot of artists soon did follow suit and converted over to Christianity, maybe bc of bob marley? but like what he said, lot of them unconverted, and probably found out theres no money in christian reggae.


overall im just interested that he converted and that others don't know and that i didnt know. Most people who just think his music sounds good obviously wouldn't care, but for people like me interested in reggae, rastafarianism, christianity, bob marley care, or maybe its just me.

 

[dohyun]

<< As many musicians in Jamaica have been Rastafarians, so many have been among the over 45,000 baptized into the church. Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, who later renounced the Church, are among them. But the most notable was Bob Marley who remained outside the Church for several years after Rita and the children converted, in 1972. Bob was under the spiritual guidance of the Archbishop but was baptized just a year before his death, after three aborted attempts to convert in Kingston. He backed out each time, says the Archbishop, after being threatened by other Rastas. Marley was finally baptized in the Ethiopian Church in New York where less resentments were less inflamed. The Archbishop christened him Berhane Selassie, &quot;light of the Trinity&quot;.


Not many knew then of Bob's conversion, but just about everyone found out when the by-then invested Abuna Yesehaq, Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the Western Hemisphere (he was installed in 1979), presided over his state funeral, in 1981. Bob's family was successfull in felling the customary line-up of profiteering Babylon clergy, insuring that the only rites said for Bob would be those of his officially adopted religion. The Church has also volunteered to bury other Rastas whose loved ones, insisting on burial by an institutional religion, could find not other to inter them: Jacob Miller and Garnett Silk are examples. Tosh, too, was buried by the Church, apparently at his family's insistence, but since he had &quot;cursed and cursed and cursed&quot; the Church, the Archbishop neither presided over nor attended the rites.
Curiously, the Archbishop downplays the disagreements over spiritual teachings while emphasizing what he seems to feel is a second phase of persecutions against Rasta, these against members of his church by other Rastas, exemplified by Bob's experiences, and by, he says, similar threats made to Judy Mowatt, who finally became a Pentecostal Christian. Nevertheless, his concealed bitterness comes forth when he talks about the project he and Marley launched, establishing a bakery in West Kingston's ghetto, on Haile Selassie Drive. &quot;But then they (other Rastas) captured it. They destroyed it,&quot; he says, still perplexed, &quot;because they said the Church is going to take the money. The bakery was not for us.&quot; Yesehaq recalls, too, that a year later, Bob's funeral was interrupted by &quot;the Twelve Tribes again&quot;, when someone came up to the altar during the service and &quot;in front of all those thousands of people, disturbed... it was embarrassing. But through the help of God, the service was completed in the right way.&quot; Others contend that the confusion was created by Bob's confidant, Alan &quot;Skill&quot; Cole, was out of sheer grief rather than spiritual sabotage. >>



from here

just another website that has some info ,there are a couple more out there.

 

[Red Dawn]

<< otherwise Red's assertion that his cancer undermined his reasoning and stripped him of whatever attributes he had which had made him a &quot;social guru&quot; is bunk... >>

It might be, it also might be right on the mark. Like it was said, he's the only one that knows for sure and he's not around to tell. A Scared person in great pain will look for comfort any way they can. If he got comfort out of his conversion then more power to him.