In the esoteric domain of theological lexicography, the doctrine of Rastafari more often is defined as cult than as religion. But the religiosity of the faith is not easily refuted.
Influenced by traditional Judeo-Christian religious thought Rastafari is a theistic system of belief and worship drawing its scriptural authority from the commonly accepted Bible of the Christian church. Yet it is not merely a derivative of Judeo-Christian teaching; the brethren (followers) of Rastafari bring to the scriptures a unique, afrocentric interpretation that varies radically from that of the uninitiated on important theological issues.
Recently The City Sun spoke with the visiting Elders of the Rainbow Circle Room-the House of the Order of Nyahbinghi One of several Rastafarian sects in Jamaica. The Nyabinghi believe in a global theocracy to be headed by Emperor Haile Selassie I, whom they proclaim to be the promised Messiah and incarnation of the Supreme Deity. It is their perspective of Rastafari which is represented in this article.
It is important to note that the Nyahbinghi differ significantly from other Rastafarian sects on important questions including the inherent divinity of Emperor Selassie I
Additional sources have been used to compile sources for this article. Except where otherwise indicated, however, the direct quotes are those of the Nyahbinghi Elders.

To the orthodox theologian, the most unsettling assertion of Rastafari is the inherent divinity of His Imperial Majesty (H.1.M.) Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, who the brethren proclaim to be the true and living God. Rastafarians consider the Bible the chronicle of their African history, albeit truncated by European translators who intentionally confused certain portions of the Scripture to obfuscate the facts and prevent the African people from recognizing their Israelite ancestry

The religion takes its name from Ras (Prince) Tafari of Ethiopia, who assumed the name Haile Selassie (Might of the Trinity) at his coronation in November 1930. To his new name Ras Tafari also added the titles"King of Kings", "Lord of Lords", and "Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah".

The coronation of the Negus (King) amid great pomp and ceremony at St. George's Cathedral in Addis Ababa gave new meaning to the ideology of African Nationalism earlier embraced by followers of Marcus Mosiah Garvey in Jamaica. Garvey's philosophy of African Fundamentalism had exhorted Africans everywhere to"canonize our own saints, create our own martyrs and elevate to positions of fame and honor Black men and women who have made their distinct contributions to our racial history."
 

"Never forget your God," Garvey had warned followers."Remember we live, work and pray for the establishing of a great and abiding racial hierarchy, the founding of a racial empire whose only natural, spiritual and political limits shall be God and Africa, at home and abroad!"
Although Garvey himself never visited Africa, his teachings had galvanized Africans throughout the diaspora under the revolutionary slogan,"One God, One Aim, One Destiny."

In the theology of Rastafari, Garvey is a great prophet, analogous to John the Baptist. Selassie's accession to the throne of Ethiopia evoked among Garveyites powerful recollections of his earlier exhortations:
"Wake up, Ethiopia! Wake up, Africa! Let us work towards the one glorious end of a free, redeemed and mighty nation. Let Africa be a bright star among the constellation of nations. Africa for the Africans; those at home and those abroad."
Some 14 years before the crowning of the Negus, Garvey reportedly had told his followers in Jamaica, "Look to Africa for the crowning of a Black King; he shall be the redeemer."

Selassie's accession to the throne was hailed by Garveyites as the fulfillment of that prophecy and an incontrovertible indication that the Messiah had come to deliver his people from Babylonian captivity and return them to the Promised Land of Africa. The Garveyites later would become the first Rastafarians.
 

Secular and Scriptural
The brethren of Rastafari require no second bidding to cite numerous secular and scriptural bases for their belief in the divinity of H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie. Indeed, devotees of the faith do not consider the matter to be one of belief, but of knowledge. In doctrine of Rastafari, belief implies there is room for doubt; knowledge eliminates the opportunity for disbelief.

Evidence of the Emperor's divine lineage is revealed in the first article of Ethiopia's constitution, which affirms:"imperial dignity shall remain perpetually to the line of Haile Selassie I, descendant of King Sahle Selassie whose line descends without interruption from the dynasty of Menelik I, son of the Queen of Ethiopia-the Queen of Sheba, and King Solomon of Jerusalem."
The titles which H.I.M. has taken unto himself also are considered sufficient proof of his divinity, since they are identical to those titles reserved in the Holy Scripture for the returned Messiah. The books of Revelation and Psalms reveal that identity to the brethren;

"Glorious things are spoken of thee, oh City of God, I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: Behold Philistia, and Tyre; with Ethiopia; this man was born there." Psalms 87:3-4

"And he hath on the vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords." Rev. 19:16

"And I saw an angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book and loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much .... and one of the elders said unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the root of David had prevailed to open the book and to loose the seals thereof." Rev. 5:2-5

H.I.M.'s claim to the throne of Solomon makes him a lineal descendant of the root of David. It is the same root that produced Jesus Christ who, the brethren say, was one and the same with Selassie but of "an earlier dispensation."

In their prayers and rituals, Rastafarians also refer to H.I.M. as Jah, an abbreviated form of Jehovah and appearing in Psalm 68:4,"Sing unto God... extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH."
And to those who are inclined to doubt the ethnicity of the returned Messiah, the brethren offer additional scriptural references:

"I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair on his head like pure wool." Daniel 7:9

"For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am Black; astonishment hath taken hold of me."- Jer. 8:21

Their Afrocentric interpretation of the Scriptures inevitably brings the brethren of Rastafari into conflict with others who interpret the same Scriptures differently. But the faithful believe theirs is a divinely inspired perspective,"an inborn, spiritual revelation that comes to Rastafari from the creative power of His Imperial Majesty." It is an interpretation revealed only to those who" walk in the fields of righteousness and are in harmony with Nyabinghi."
Ras Sam Brown, elder of the House of the Order of Nyabinghi, explains the revelation of Divinity in his widely respected Treatise on the Rastafarian Movement: "Unlike all orders of religion, the culture of Rastafari was not handed down from father to son, as the people of Christendom. We who have perused the volumes of history know that in this 20th century a king would arise out of Jesse's root, who should be a God for his people and a liberator of all the oppressed of earth. We the Rastafarians who are the true prophets of this age, the reincarnated Moses and Joshuas, Isaiahs and Jeremiahs.....are those who are destined to free not only the scattered Ethiopians (Africans) but all people, animals, herbs and life forms.... God came in many bodies to reign forever in Rastafari, the holy one of Israel, whose ray of light shall finally dim the eyes of the dragon and through whose power all those of many nations who embrace the faith and uphold its laws shall live forevermore with God...."