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rastafari.dubroom.org |
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This
section of the Dubroom is aimed at providing you
with information about/from the Movement of
Rastafari and about the Ethiopian Emperor Haile
Selassie. |
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HIM Haile Selassie's adress
to the Evangelicals (mp3)
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"As
Jesus Christ has said: "Where two or
three are gathered together in my name,
there I am in the midst of them." lt is
therefore Our expressed hope that these
words will be realized in their full
significance in this great assembly.
We are happy to be present in this famous
City of Berlin where Christian leaders are
assembled to consider ways and means of
spreading Our Christian Faith in the world.
We thank Mr. Billy Graham for inviting Us to
address this meeting. The propagation of the
Christian Faith among nations has become a
task of paramount importance in this age as
is evidenced by this great assembly of
Christian leaders.
As you all know, it is centuries past since
Our country, Ethiopia, accepted the Gospel
of Christ. We learn from the Holy Scriptures
that the first Ethiopian who confessed faith
in Jesus Christ was baptised only a few
months after the death and resurrection of
Our Lord. From then on Christianity spread
steadily among the Ethiopian people and
became the religion of the Ethiopians in the
Fourth Century. It is a matter of pride for
Us, a special cause for thankfulness to
Almighty God, when We recall that the
Christian Faith was introduced to Our people
by the Imperial Court and through the
instrumentality of the then reigning
Monarch.
Ethiopian history testifies that our
ancestors, who rose after the first
Christian Emperors, were men and women who
had great zeal and keenness for the Faith of
Christ and who did all in their power for
its propagation among our people. Many among
them, like Emperor Caleb who lived in the
Fifth Century and Emperor Lalibela and his
immediate successors who lived in the
Twelfth Century, have been canonized.
When the countries of the Middle East, North
East Africa and Asia Minor, where the Gospel
was preached by the Apostles, were over run
by and succumbed under a power opposed to
the Christian Faith, the sovereigns and
people of Ethiopia, firm in their deep love
for the Faith of Christ and supplemented by
the nature of their native land, put up
great struggles to preserve Ethiopia as an
island of Christianity. Deep is Our
thankfulness to our God for this grace.
Numerous are our ancestors, who throughout
the centuries consecrated and sacrificed
their lives on the battlefield that Ethiopia
might survive strong in her Christian Faith.
When, after all these worthy predecessors,
We assumed the leadership of Our people half
a century ago, We became acutely aware of
the magnitude of the sacred trust and
responsibility vouchsafed to Us to work for
the glory of God and the continued and
lasting welfare of Our people. During the
past 50 years not only did We labour that
Our people may lead a better life while on
this earth but We also did not spare Our
energy and treasure to develop their
spiritual heritage, the value of which no
human mind can assess.
We have laboured that the Holy Scriptures
and the books left to Us by the Church
Fathers be multiplied by means of modem
printing techniques and be distributed to
all not only in our modern language, but
also in Geez, our ancient language. Our
Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which was cut off
for centuries from her fellow Christian
Churches, has joined the World Council of
Churches and co-operates in the task of
strengthening the Faith and bringing about
Church unity. We have helped and will
continue to help the missionaries who are
sent from other lands to preach Gospel to
those of Our people who have not come to the
knowledge of God's saving grace. As the
unity of the Church is of great concern to
Us and, God willing, being hopeful that this
sacred objective might be achieved in our
day and age, We were happy to have convened
two years ago a meeting of the Heads of the
Oriental Orthodox Churches in Our Capital
City of Addis Ababa to deliberate on ways
and means of bringing about harmony and
unity in the Church.
We refer to all these only to indicate that
this age above all ages is a period in
history when it should be our prime duty to
preach the Gospel of Grace to all our fellow
men and women. The love shown in Christ by
our God to mankind should constrain all of
us who are followers and disciples of Christ
to do all in our power to see to it that the
Message of Salvation is carried to those of
our fellows for whom Christ Our Saviour was
sacrificed but who have not had the benefit
of hearing the good news.
Since nobody can interfere in the realm of
God we should tolerate and live side by side
with those of other faiths. However, if the
threat is posed we shall not fail to resist
with courage any such incursions. We wish to
recall here the spirit of tolerance shown by
Our Lord Jesus Christ when He gave
forgiveness to all including those that
crucified Him.
In these modern days, there are a multitude
of things published in print and broadcast
by radio which captivate the human mind and
spirit; many new ideas are disseminated by
the learned. Many wonderful appliances are
produced to make life more and more
comfortable. The rich powers have passed on
from exploring and exploiting this earth and
are vying with each other to explore and
conquer the moon and the planets. Knowledge
is increasing in a bewildering manner. All
this is good, wonderful and praiseworthy.
But what will be the end of it all? It is
Our firm belief that only what the Lord
wills will be done. We should be careful
that the results thus achieved by mankind
should not meet with the fate of the Tower
of Babel, the handwork of those people of
old which came to pieces in their hands. The
Apostle Paul says: "The wisdom of this
world is foolishness with God" and
"The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the
wise and they are vain." The reason for
this is because generally speaking man makes
himself and his wisdom the beginning and the
end of his aim in life, and we are convinced
that the end of this is destruction and
death.
Our Lord Jesus Christ says: "What has a
man profited if he shall gain the whole
world and lose his own soul?" Why did
the effort of those who tried to build the
Tower of Babel come to nothing? Was it not
because they tried to live apart from their
Creator, and because, vaunting themselves in
their wisdom, they tried to build a tower
whose top was to reach unto heaven and thus
make a name for themselves? It is Our
conviction that all the activities of the
children of men which are not guided by the
Spirit and counsel of God will bear no
lasting fruit, they will not be acceptable
in the sight of the Lord and will therefore
come to nought as the Tower of Babel came to
nought.
It is for this reason that the Church of
Christ, and especially Christian leaders,
have such an enormous responsibility.
However wise or however mighty a person may
be, he is like a ship without a rudder if he
is without God. A rudderless ship is at the
mercy of the waves and the wind, drifts
wherever they take it and if there arises a
whirlwind it is smashed against the rocks
and becomes as if it has never existed. It
is our firm belief that a soul without
Christ is bound to meet with no better fate.
Therefore 0! Christians, let us arise and,
with the spiritual zeal and earnestness
which characterized the Apostles and early
Christians, let us labour to lead our
brothers and sisters to Our Saviour Jesus,
Who only can give life in its fullest sense.
"
H.I.M. HAILE SELASSIE I, 225th DESCENDANT OF
SOLOMON, EMPEROR OF ETHIOPIA, IKON OF
KRISTOS IN HIS KINGLY CHARACTER.
in an adress to the evangelical congress in
Berlin, 1966, Berlin, entitled: "One
Race, One Gospel, One Task"
Berlin Friday, October 28, 1966
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