It seems that alot of the rastafarians just complain about how they have been opressed by babylon. I mean if you really cared, why not move to Ethiopia instead of staying in "babylon" and complaining? I know it's their right and the africans were truly mis-treated, but it still kind of bugs me. thanks.
a true rasta doesn't just complain, he acts towards turning the darkness of babylon into light. zion isn't simply a physical place, it is a state of mind. some rastas see it as their duty to not only acknowledge babylon, but to fight it from the inside.
Haile selassie I JAH rastafari said 'reparation before repatriation' fix where you are, before you go to the fathers land. I live firmly in babylon right now, england and boy do i wanna leave but i know i can help people see the truth in this world of lies, so i gotta stay n do my job. One day i will got to zion or ethiopia, whether its in this body or in the everlife. rasta bless.
Babylon is the materialistic state that the world as a whole is in. Honestly, moving to Ethiopia (ie Zion, Mount Zion etc...) would do nothing for one who wants to escape it, as materialism exists there as well. Plus the Rastafarian religion has come a long way since the days of Leonard Howell and the belief in the black race as being somewhat superior, and the whites being the prime agent of Babylon. Nowadays love and anti-materialism are much more stressed, in fact most true rastas that I've known and run across don't believe any one race is better than another. I myself love to learn about various religions and see eye to eye with many rasta morals/beliefs, it's just that I don't subscribe to the idea that Haile Selassie is Jah (God) incarnate, nor do I really even believe in their notion of "God". Far to many people these days associate themselves with this beautiful religion simply because they think it is cool to do so (in large part due to their use of ganja). It's real annoying actually, most of them don't even have a clue as to what a groundation or nayabingi is.
