Bob Marley and Jesus: Rebel or Prophet?

Just got back from an amazing weekend at Greenbelt Arts Festival! they had a fantastic line up and i even got to see Daniel Beddingfield live, (was was better than i thought he would be!)
there is always so much to see and do at Greenbelt, that most of the talks i wanted to go to clashed with something else!! but the ones that i did go to were excellent.

everybody, at least once in their life should here John Bell speak... (in fact he is coming to Chester uni at christmas, but you did not here that from me!) he is passionate, open and tackled issues of civil partnerships, the femininity of Jesus and heaven. his broad scottish accent is to die for, and he has a very dry wit, which makes listening to him a real pleasure!

Shane Claiborne was pretty good too. i only got to one of his talks but will be ordering the rest from the shop as well as his latest book. to find out more about shane and his ministry visit www.thesimpleway.org

But the one talk that got me thinking for the rest of the weekend was the first one i heard on saturday morning by Bev Thomas called Bob Marley: Rebel or Prophet. Bev's specialty is race and christianity so i was looking forward to hearing her. She explained how Marley was a revolutionary of his time, and how he used music to speak out against injustice, racism and politics in Jamaica. Marley is of Mixed race desent. His father was a white Jamaican (and fairly wealthy cournel) and his mother was black Jamaican (and fairly poor) this meant that because he had lighter skin, people thought he was better than those with dark skin (the lighter your skin, the more popular you are, and more respected) Marley hated this and expressed his anger through his music. for him his songs tell a story of slavery, hope and freedom.

he was a voice for the voiceless! but of course not everyone liked this! some thought that he was rebelling from his culture and upbringing, denying who he was. Marley brought to the for front the injustice of the govenerment and asked people to rise up and stand up for what they belive in. to not be brain washed by the church who keep saying everything is going to be alright when we get to heaven, that we should suffer now, cos in heaven there is no suffering. the churches in the west indies dumbed down slavery and injustice and just another day, Marley stood up against that!

Won't you help me sing theses songs of freedom?

a bit like Jesus eh?

Now of course i'm not aying that Bob Marley was the Son of God, who came to take away the sins of the world, but he came with a message of hope.

Things can only get better when you stand up for your rights!

Marley died in 1981, but his music still lives on. his message still lives on. he wanted tomake a difference, and in some ways he did. he spoke from the sidelines, not in the heart of it, but being heard by thousands, make a stand, make a change!

Jesus the rebel?

i'll leave you with that one!