ENTER THE CHRISTAFARIANS  

To put it shortly: Christafarianism  is so influenced by the “Evangelical House of Christianity ” that it easily integrates into the already existing structures of this House.

In this chapter we will see how Christafari is actively and admittedly trying to achieve this by creating a sub culture in CCM , according to the principals founder Mark Mohr has learned in his evangelical education.

We will also see how these efforts are explained as spiritual events with biblical precedents.

Throughout this essay we learned how certain “methods of communicating the gospel[2]” are applied in the Heavy Metal scene [3], where many run around with Satanistic symbology, committing all kinds of wickedness.

Nothing but respect for those people who feel they are called by JAH to bring the message of His Salvation to a group of people who think that Satan is the way to go.

Nothing but overstanding if these brethren and sistren use Heavy Metal music and long hair to get that message across to an audience that seems to listen only to a band like that.

After all, this whole long hair and heavy music thing is neutral, so why shouldn’t they make use of it?

Of course, for some the music is the lifestyle, but then there are others with the same lifestyle that favor a different kind of music.

Of course, for some the Satanistical elements  are serious, but then there are many more Satanists.

And of course, music that promotes Satanism , white supremacy, murder and hatred is dangerous.

So it is also logical, that within the Christian world a complete “White[4] Metal” culture  was born. With all the elements of Heavy Metal Culture a Christian can possibly integrate in his life. And without all those elements that cannot be combined with being a Christian.

This enables many young people who grow up in an evangelical environment, not being allowed to listen to any other music than CCM , to still enjoy the music of their choice, and to dress like their age group.

Music of their choice?

Yes.

Because it didn’t only happen with heavy metal music. (I just detail it because of its importance in Christafari’s Roots. Keyword: Bob Beeman.)

It happened with almost every style. And it is still going on. For every musical genre you will find a Christian version.

Whatever you feel about it, it’s a fact that there is a whole generation growing up in evangelical churches, all loving different musical styles and all listening to the favorite Christian artist of their style.

Artists provided to them by the CCMIC, the Christian Contemporary Music Industrial Complex .

And when you research the CCMIC , which we will not do here, you will find out that all the Christian mainstream music labels are a subdivision of the world wide Musical Industrial Complex.

That means, that the Christian heavy metal artist who is signed to a major CCM label is signed up to the same company that also releases the Satanistic heavy metal.

What started out as a movement to tell contemporaries about the gospel, became a Babylonian money making machine. Where did we see that before?

Now, not all Christian artists are part of this money machine. But it is a fact that the Musical Industrial Complex makes a huge profit out of the fact that many Christian kids are not allowed to listen to any other music than CCM .

And when they grow up, making a conscious decision to follow Kristos at a certain moment in their life, most of them continue this practice to only listen to the Christian variety of the music of their choice.

And to look for other people in the same situation.

There are Christian concerts  in every variety, in every style of music. And festivals! A lot of these festivals even take place in big evangelical churches.

When you go to a Christian heavy metal festival, you will see a lot of “heavenly metallers” who look just like the “heavy metallers” you will find on a non-Christian festival. Long hair, t-shirts that look like commercials for horror movies, everything.

Now, Christian heavy metal music  is cultivated into a Christian heavy metal culture since the 1980’s. There are numerous albums by Christian heavy metal artists that have a small letters of recommendation printed on the cover, written by Pastor Bob Beeman .

Yes, the same Pastor Bob Beeman who ordained Pastor Mark Mohr.

And where we saw a rise of “Heavenly Metallers” in the 1980’s, Christian Heavy Metal lovers looking just like their Satanistic counterparts, today we see a carefully crafted rise of Christafarians, Christian Reggae lovers “looking just like” their Rastafarian “counterparts”.

They think.

How would they know what they are doing? How would they know that they are deeply offending the Rastafarian community with all that Christafarian imitation? They just think they are Christafarians , not Rastafarians, where their friends who are into heavy metal are heavenly metallers, not satanic metallers.

And they do not know that you cannot apply the same principal to Satanistic heavy metal freaks and Rastafarians .

How would they know? Remember, these people are not allowed to listen to any other music than CCM , so guess where they get their information from? Right, from the artists.

And we have seen how Christafari defines Rastafari.

And, how Christafari defines Rastafarians .

In public statements and articles they define Rastafarians as non-Christians who hate Yesus  and who attack Christian artists for their believe, and only after they are forced they will admit that this definition doesn’t apply.

Let me give you that example of this Rasta who was unpleasantly surprised to see just how Christafari portrays Rastafari in the Christian press and wrote a letter to Mark Mohr who then admitted that he misrepresented the faith of this particular Rastafarian[5].

He told his story to his Rastafarian Brothers in Kristos at a 12 Tribes Internet site. This is it:

Greetings to all in the name of Yeshuah!
 
This may be one Important topic, and InI think we should all do our best to let it be known. 
 
I recently got a magazine from an Assembly of God Pentecostal Church that had an article/interview with Christafari's Mark Mohr, and InI also recently got an e-mail from Lion Of Zion etertainment which is Christafari's Recording Label.  
Anyway both had something about Rastafari in them, the magazine which is called OnCourse, said some things trashing the Rasatafarian Faith, it wasnt a big section but it shouldnt have been there without Mark doing some research first. 
The e-mail I recieved recently had a statement by more that said "And God saved the best show for last, for it was in Amsterdam where even rastas held up their hands after the sinners prayer!" 
 
Anyway I took it upon I to send him an e-mail at the Lion Of Zion web site http://www.lionofzion.com (F.A.Q., contact us) to tell him that as a Rasta of the 12 Tribes of Israel origin that InI and most others that InI know/reason with do believe in Christ and not as Selassie but as Christ himself and explained that he should know these things before he says that kind of thing to anyone. 
 
I got a response from him that stated: "Ras, forgive me for misrepresenting your faith. (emphasis MD) You are one of a million rastas that I have met that does not worship Haile Selassie as God or Christ. Respect. When I referred to Rastas, I was speaking of those who follow AND worship Rastafari. 
Mark Mohr" 
InI have Raspect for that man to send me this e-mail, but if he believe that (That InI am 1 in a million) then InI need to do something because what InI believe is being distorted and falsified.  
Anyway InI urge all to spread the knowledge of our faith in anyway we can so that the truth be known. 
 
Much Love and Raspect!! OneLove, 
 Ras Aaron

I think it is sad to read stuff like this. It is sad to see how it is admitted that somebody’s Christian faith is denied when a Christafarian considers him or her a Rastafarian.

People actually suffer under this denial.

Too bad it never reaches the general public or the many interviews given in the Christian press. Only on the message boards on the Christafari website can you find these admittances.

Christafari founder Mark Mohr admits on his website that he is now carefully planting “Christafarianism ” as, what I we saw exposed in this essay, the evangelical correct way of enjoying reggae music and being like a Rasta.

And he even claims he is chosen by God  to do so!

The biography as posted on the Christafari website[6] is shockingly revealing.

You’ll find Mohr describing how “humbling” it is, as “Founder Of Christian Reggae Music ” when “the CCM (Contemporary Christian) industry refuses to acknowledge world music.”

After describing the apparent lack of Christian reggae in the CCM business industry , he then goes on to describe how he feels that “God has chosen” him to “plug that gap” in this same Contemporary Christian Musical Industrial Complex .

In other words: to get the music of Christafari and their label into the mainstream of the CCMIC  as well as other artists who will profit from this plug in the gap of Christian music.

He even compares this with the works of brothers like Moses and David: (emphasizes by the writer of this essay)

Why do you feel God chose you to plug this gap in Christian music?

Because I am not worthy to. On my own strength, I am the last person in the world that should be singing, much less pioneering this genre of reggae. But this is how God works, He always chooses the most unlikely and undeserving messengers to proclaim His simple message. I believe that God chose a weak person such as myself for this calling to prove to the world that it is Him alone that is strong. God uses the simple things of the world to confound the wise. By no means do I deserve to be a voice in the reggae industry. It is a black music started in the ghetto of Kingston Jamaica. I am a white guy that was raised in one of the richest cities in white suburban America. When I think about this from time to time it makes me laugh! I do not deserve this and should not be doing this. You could find more raw talent in any 10 year old Jamaican boy than in me. But once again, this is how God works. I believe that he chose me so that He would receive all of the glory. One look at the Bible and you will realize that this is how he chooses leaders; from Moses who was a murderer with a speech impediment to King David who was an unlikely shepherd. God must get the glory at all times-- I pray that my life gives him the glory that He deserves.[7]

Of course, it is nonsense to state that Jah would choose people to lead the CCMIC, a subdivision of the Global MIC[8], and that this “work” could be compared with the works of Moses  and David [9].

Especially not when you realize how the Musical Industrial Complex is a direct arm of Babylon System , and how the Christian Contemporary Musical Industrial complex is a direct arm of the secular or Babylonian musical industrial complex .

When you want to reach the top there by selling your sounds like the new fresh vibes for the industry, and even explain that in an article on your website where you complain how Christian artists only get signed to a major Christian label when they have reached a certain commercially attractive level, how can this be explained and described a decision of the Most High to chose a leader to lead the children of Jah?

Nevertheless this is being done.

Was it Moses’  task to entertain the Israelites with music for their leisure, just like the Egyptian music, only without the mentions of Isis, so they could enjoy the beats of the Isisraelites (no typo)?

Was it David’s  task to introduce a brand new style of music to the Israelites? Kind of like the beats of the Philistines, but more original?

Although both leaders made use of music as a part of their function, they were not called to be mere musicians.

And I am a mere musician myself, too.

Their calling was of such a high order that significant parts in what we know as the Holy Scripture are written by or about these two men.

It is normal in American evangelical Christianity , to mix business and marketing schemes with biblical concepts  which deal with how the Body of Kristos functions. Perfectly normal that a pastor goes in business  with the things he does a pastor.

So normal, that it goes unnoticed for what it is and when somebody tries to change that by shouting out loud, that that emperor has no clothes and that the world is round, this one is being labelled as an obstruction for the “Kingdom of God”.

After all, the founder is a pastor too, and his connection with the Sanctuary  International Organization of pastor Bob Beeman  adds to his credibility as such.

Thus it can happen, that the carefully crafted sub culture of Christafarianism  provided a whole generation of evangelical Christian youths with a justification for pretending to be like a Rasta inside the borders of what is evangelical correct.

With that, they take away the doubt that Christian parents and pastors could have when they ask: “Isn’t Christafari a Mix between Rastafari and Christianity?” before they accept Christafari music in their home or churches.

Just one way of “leading the Reggae Branch of the CCMIC ”.

Is Christafari using a biblical concept of sharing the gospel, the good news, with your fellow man for a good position in what is mentioned by themselves as the “Christian Industry”?

Let’s see how Christafari states on their own website how they have planted Christafarianism in the CCMIC .

Why do you feel so many people get hooked into Christafarianism?

Our music is original and unlike anything out there in the Christian industry. This unique roots sound cannot be replaced by the latest industry manufactured pop sensation that is on the cover of CCM. We have created our own culture within our fan base.[10]

These words could still be found on the Christafari website in October 2004, in the biography of Mark Mohr.

This means, that Mark Mohr himself authorizes every sentence in that particular text. If he didn’t write it all by himself, he surely authorized every word of it.

From the name to the game to the fame: Christafarianism turns out to be the methodology and philosophy (“culture”) behind the promotion of Christafari as well as an alibi for those within the evangelical world who wants to be like a Rasta without becoming one.

So if the Rastafarians who accused Christafari of crimes against the Rastafari movement were looking for a “written confession”, I think that they would have found it in the above quote.

Where Christafari portrays Rastafari as a religion of which the members hate Yesus Kristos enough to attack people for their believe in Yesus and where they, based on a faulty biblical interpretation, transform the symbology and culture of Rastafari into this “culture” they themselves call “Christafarianism: the culture we created with in our fan base ”, is it then just to blame the Christafarians for treating the Rastas the same way Heavenly Metallers treat their Satanistic counterparts?

The Christafarians , or the “fan base” of Christafari. They hardly know anything about Rastafari or reggae. They listen to Christafari and read the statements in articles and on websites and booklets published by Christafari themselves and that is their source of knowledge and information.

Instead of taking away the false information on Rastafari, Christafarianism confirms until the last detail what the evangelical movement thinks about Rastafari.

An article published in CCM  Magazine (July 1996) stated under the title “key tenets of Rastafari”: “Rastafari is militant. Among believers, it’s an honour to kill someone who disrespects their god (emphasis in the original text)”[11].

This is the kind of information the fan base of Christafari, the Christafarians, receive. And many times, they have no other sources.

Like Peter Tosh say: “You can’t blame the youths, for they don’t know”.

But we can blame all those “Christian researchers ” who come up with these terrible lies called “descriptions of Rastafari”.

And we can blame the thinkers and workers who are actively promoting Christafarianism .

We can and must ask them (from this place and from many other places) to stop using and transforming the Rastafarian culture into a vehicle for their own promotion and lifestyle.

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