So, since he was original sentenced to 25 to life, and has only served 23 years, is it wrong for me to ask, and pray for, the fulfillment of his full sentence? Is that a negative prayer? That the penalty handed down be carried out?
posted
Actually, Trevor, most Christian faiths (I'm not using "all" because there is bound to be one that might be debatable) started out as ethnic exclusive, too. Also, Rastas are not totally race exclusive. They are Afro-centric, not exclusive. That site put things a bit ham-handedly from what I know of Rastafarians.
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Against You presume to put Man's judgement before God's judgement which is the wrong thing to do because Man is flawed and God is not, ergo God knows what is best.
God's will be done.
For As I let my subscription to God lapse (I don't subscribe?), I'd say go for it.
God knows (if we accept most conventional definitions) what's in your heart and what's in your mind and He will probably be an understanding sort.
And when all is said and done, you want to try and preserve your family's peace of mind for as long as possible.
posted
Jutsa, it was the first comprehensible site I came across when I Googled (and evidently others found the same one). Should we look further and find another?
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posted
"Started out" and "current practices" are two different things.
And I submit my knowledge of Rasta is probably less than yours.
However, I am commenting on the earlier poster's dislike and not from any real concern of my own. So if the Rastas do cheerfully accept believers outside of racial lines, more power to them.
It'll make the first poster more approving, I suppose.
quote:"Started out" and "current practices" are two different things.
Actually, what I'm saying is that not only are you incorrect about their being racist, but that you are comparing a religion that is less than a century old to one that is nearly 2000 years old. All things are not equal.
Mabus, the best I can say is that perhaps you should begin with something like this if you want a more accurate description of them. They are not black-only. Many different ethnicities have become or were Rastafari. What they reject is a Euro-centrism in favor of an Afro-centrism.
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posted
It's not about winning, it's about understanding. If you want to understand it, you have to approach it with a certain amount of determination to understand it. There is plenty of noise out there on the web to distract us from understanding, which makes searching via Google so difficult. It's easy to get the wrong impression of something we don't understand.
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posted
Jutsa, thank you for the link. I did not intend to jump to the conclusion that they were racist, but the initial link strongly suggested it. As I said, they seem admirable enough--no worse than any of the mainstream religions--and this site removes my concerns about apparent black racism as part of their faith. Posts: 1114 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Well, it's easy to argue that they started out that way. Some of them would argue back that it was used as a tool by some black supremacists early on. One way or the other, there was definitely a feeling of black supremacy before that has long since been removed from the Rastafari faith, though.
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* Babylon is an important Rastafarian term, referring to the white patriarchy that has been oppressing the black race for centuries through economic and physical slavery. Rastafarianism is defiance of Babylon.
could be interpreted as being racist....
Anyway, I think this all is pretty much a moot point for the topic at hand. I don't have any real problem with Rastafarians if they choose to NOT shoot people!
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Farmgirl, that quote you took is a misquote and out of context with the rest of the page. Read further, and you will see it explained that the white-centric defiance is based on the Euro-centric idea of Western culture, which they believe they do not share heritage with, which has also been known to be oppressive to other cultures. That's like picking out a single verse from the Christian bible and claiming that this is the sole doctrine from which the faith is derived.
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posted
Sometimes, in the dreary sleepy hour before work ends, I get all psyched up and post difficult posts, then go home and wait to see how they brew up over night.
Usually I'm disapointed that they have disappeared.
This one is bubbling along nicely.
I believe that you can pray for a prisoner to remain in prison, as long as the goal you keep in mind is truely a good goal--to keep peace and order in society, to help enlighten the sinner, to keep your family safe.
However, to say, "That man is bad and needs to be punished, so smite him." is not a good thing.
The same goes to the football game where you can pray that your side plays well, remains safe, has fun, learns and makes no mistakes. Praying for an opposing team to fumble the ball, however, is tacky.
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