Did Haile Selassie accept being considered God by the Rastafarians?

Answer 1

The answer to your question that is most easily researched comes from newspaper accounts at the time of the arrival of H.I.M. on the island of Jamaica - Jamaican & other Nations papers covered H.I.M. movements & activities extensively after speeches to Org. of African Unity & League of Nations - Black American newspapers in some cities covered H.I.M. & Garvey - my father related being called to gather around the short -wave radio by his father to listen to the broadcast of the coronation of H.I.M. - the crowning of a King/Emperor in Africa was considered by many bible-reading lay/regular Black folk to be the fulfillment of biblical prophecy according to my maternal Grandmother.

Bottom Line: Research the media ( also photo archives) of the time.

Short answer: H.I.M. was surprised, (refused to leave airplane at first because of surrounding crowd), somewhat shocked and rather vocal about NOT being seen as divine or Divinity.

As a former Rastafarian, I too believed Haile Selassie to be Messiah. Upon further research and a fervent desire for truth (even if it was different from what I already believed), I came across a radio interview in a song by Christafari. Here in this interview Haile Selassie plainly denies being anything other than a man. He himself worshiped Jesus Christ and fellowshipped with very prominent Christians. While in Exile, he stayed in Wales with Reese Howells-a bible believing Christian known for his many miraculously answered prayers( http://www.Amazon.com/Rees-Howells-Intercessor-Norman-Grubb/dp/0875081886 ) Haile Selassie was a good man in many respects. He was a great leader and a strong Christian. He loved the bible and believed it to be flawless. He belonged to the Ethiopic Coptic church (that Bob Marley was baptized into 3 weeks before his death). Rastafarianism only makes sense if you are high, indoctrinated, and then kept high. There are so many holes in the religion itself, I'm surprised to find as few books on the subject. Matthew 24:23-28 makes it very clear to not believe anyone if they ever tell you that Jesus has returned. Jesus with His own mouth said he would come in such a way that everyone on earth would not only know, but that the earth would immediately be overrun with ALL of the angels. (the bible says there are more angels than the stars in the sky. There are enough stars in the sky to have everyone who ever lived own 1.3 TRILLION stars!) Believe the Messiah when He speaks. If Haile Selassie was Christ, then He lied in the book he sees as perfect. Haile Selassie was Not Jesus Christ. He was a great man and a passionate leader. Why isn't this enough?

That answer is not true. Haile Selassie I never once said he was not God.

Here is a quote from the book Reggae Routes: The Story of Jamaican Music By Kevin O'Brien

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Former Senator and Gleaner editor, Hector Wynter, tells of asking him, during his visit to Jamaica in 1966, when he was going to tell Rastafarians he was not God. 'Who am I to disturb their belief?' replied the emperor.

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And in regard to the interview where the man above says "he plainly denied", there was no denial, he didn't once in his answer say that he is not God.

Selassie I is One with Jah, Selassie I is Jah.

A lot of people use the interview answer below to say that Selassie is not Jah. But it is just misinterpretation of his words.

Bill McNeil: "there are millions of Christians throughout the world, your Imperial Majesty, who regard you as the reincarnation of Jesus Christ."

Selassie I: "I had heard of that idea. I also met certain Rastafarians. I told them clearly that 'I am a Man,' that 'I am mortal,'(I have heard that an Ethiopian that listened to this interview said that Selassie I never said mortal) and that 'I would be replaced by the oncoming generation, and that they should never make a mistake in assuming or pretending that the human being is emanated from a deity.'"

When I look at RasTafarI's answer, this is how I understand it. He showed the people that he is a Man, and will be replaced by the oncoming generation. Selassie I was born of mother and father, just like I and I, so he didn't flow out (emanate) of God, any more than I and I. Both I and I and Selassie I come from the lineage of Adam and Eve.

Notice that he said that the humans we see have not emanated from God, but he never said that a human cannot be God. I and I can be God, but only by being One with Jah. I and I can't be God separate from Jah, as two gods. But I and I can only join with Jah, to be One with HIM, as One God.

Selassie lives by the example of Christ, so he became One with Jah by his destiny and livity. And all of I and I can also be One with Jah, by I and I livity. Selassie I said that "we should never make a mistake in assuming or pretending that the human being is emanated from a deity". This statement shows I that no man, not even the Son of Man Christ, emanated (or flowed out) from God. Christ was born of his mother Mary, and by his destiny and livity became One with Jah.

Jah first sent Christ born from a virgin, to show I and I the way to live. But afterwards, people made the excuse that they can't live without sin, or be One with Jah. They made the excuse that because Christ was born differently, that it was possible for him to live this way, but not for us, because we are born from mother and father.

So Jah sent RasTafarI to I and I, to show I and I the way to live. Haile Selassie I was born of mother and father, just like I and I, so we no longer have the excuse that we can't live without sin and be One with Jah. If Selassie I can be born like I and I, and still live without sin and be One with Jah, then I and I can do the same.

So I and I should know that it is not about I and I coming out of God to be One with Jah. But it is about I and I going to God to be One with Jah. And I and I go to God by living in His way and listening to His instruction and joining ourselves with the Most High.

Jah RasTafarI is One with Jah, and like I already said about One. One is One in completeness, no separation, and no parts. And I and I are supposed to be One with Jah also, this is the way to reach Zion, because no sin shall not enter in.