Monday, January 17, 2022

rufus is in the bible


So lately I've been living in a Hebrew Israelite / Kemetic / "conscious community" YouTube rabbit hole and I intend to share bits and pieces as I digest and reflect on it some more. But one idea I've been mulling over is how the children of Israel were originally an African nation (they came into Egypt as a largish family and after generations of intermarriage they became a nation of millions by the time of the Exodus).

It reminds me of how in the Kevin Smith film Dogma, Chris Rock plays the Black 13th Apostle named Rufus. And even though in the film Rufus complains that he was censored from the Bible because of racism, one of my favorite factoids related to the film is that Rufus is actually in the Bible:

And they compelled a passer-by, Simon of Cyre'ne, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. - Mark 15:21 (Note that Cyrene is in Africa, in Libya). 

And again

Greet Rufus, eminent in the Lord, also his mother and mine. - Romans 16:13


(Warning: Depending on how "prudish" you are, you might find the scenes on the vulgar side)




Monday, January 03, 2022

more of the elephant parade


 

haile selassie the mahdi?



Recently I've "met" someone online who is a Muslim / Rasta / Ethiopian Orthodox Christian. (I'm not sure if that does justice to exactly how he identifies).  But he did put forward the interesting notion that Haile Selassie was the Mahdi. He was basing his views on statements from Ibn al-Arabi, and hadith about an Abyssinian being prophecies to destroy the Kaaba along with other sources. 

I don't agree with that position, but I wonder if it we could view him as a sort of antitype to Ashama, the Negus of the first Hijra. 

RESPECT!: An Islamic Tribute to HIM Haile Selassie & My Abyssinian (“Rasta”) Brethren