Art And Religion

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You Tube Video- Slide 6

The Boboshanti

In Geertz definition of religion he talks about a system of symbols. These systems of symbols help to define and represent that particular religion. The video “Documental Rastafari - La Orden Boboshanti” talks about one particular Rastafarian society. The Boboshanti live in the mountains in Jamaica, and are considered to most religious compared to other Rastafarians. Some of the symbols portrayed in the video are:
-The color of the houses on the mountain, are mainly red, green, yellow, black and white. Colors such as red, yellow, and green are the colors of the Rastafarian flag. The color holds an important significance to that belief system.
- These individuals also build their own houses on the mountain.
- The clothes that certain individuals wear. In terms of men: some wear a long black and white robe. Attached to the front of their robe is a letter R, in red. The female, particularly “The Mother” is dressed in a red robe ad head piece similar to that of a Catholic nun.
-The men also wear red turbans that are wrapped in the shape of a crown.
-Dreadlocks is also another cultural distinction.
- There is also hand painted signs of verses from the Bible. Majority of the signs shown have a green background.
- Another symbol is the fire that they keep burning at the top of the mountain.

Bob Marley portrayed Rastafarism through is music. His songs such as Exodus, I Shot the Sheriff, and Redemption Song all depict his beliefs and feeling and compassion for Rastafarism. Marley’s songs told us about what they believed, however I tried to picture the way in which they lived through his music. The Boboshanti are a very isolated group, they have a routine that everyone lives by. The Boboshanti lifestyle is very different than that of Marley’s. The Boboshanti seem more geared towards probably going to Ethiopia.

Rastafari

The book Rastafari by Ennis Barrington Edmonds, I think is very interesting. Coming from a Caribbean background, I had always heard about Rastafarism, however I never really knew the ideology behind it. I had also heard of individuals such as Marcus Garvey, Paul Boyle, and Bob Marley. In know that in the Caribbean that the way in which the individuals wear their hair is often called "rast", and also they refer to each other as a "rastaman." The first chapter of the book really shed light theological side of Rastafarism. Focusing on how different aspects of religion and character traits. The video on Marcus Garvey I thought was informative. During the movie when his son said that he never saw him smile or laugh, and that he was always working. Even in the pictures displayed during the video, not one of the showed him smiling. The impression of Marcus Garvey is that he was a man with a mission. He knew exactly what he wanted and made things happen. In the eyes of Rastafarians he is a prophet because he challenged the norm, and went far.

Kebra Negast

The Ethiopian story Kebra Negast gives the Ethiopian society a since of belonging. This story allows for Ethiopia to trace its past back to the very beginning. When something has history in today's society it holds a certain prestige. The fact that Ethiopian can trace it history back to the time of Solomon and Queen Sheba, gives that society of status that is unique and rich. During that time Solomon was considered a powerful and righteous ruler that people praised. Since the Ethiopian society can trace their history back to Solomon, it shows that they had great and powerful rulers in their past. This also demonstrates that they are a flourishing society.

In one of my earlier blog I talked about how the seperation and overlap between religion and government. At the end of that blog I left two questions unanswered. Yesterday I saw the preview for the movie "MILK." During the preview one of the politican turned to Milk and stated " the public values the family life." At that point I began to think about gay marriage, and how that plays a role in government and religion. I began by looking at arguements for and against religion. I came across an article named Acceptance of Homosexuality by: Frank Turek. In this article he explained reasons why gay marriage and homosexuality should not be allowed. This article gave me an insight into the way in which some individuals think. Personally I am a supporter of equal rights, however I think that it is important to understand or try to understand both sides of the stituation.

I have posted an link to this article, the title of the link is called All About Wordview. This website also has a wide range of articles on other topics. This articles are either for or against a particular ideal.

If you are also interested in other ideas that Frank Turek has he wrote a book called:

Correct, NOT Politically Correct: How Same-Sex Marriage Hurts Everyone
by Dr. Frank Turek

and co author another book called:

I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist

by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek

Abstract

The article “The Analogical Mind; Perspectives from Cognitive Science” by Dedre Gentner, Keith J. Holyoak, and Boicho N. Kokinov focuses on analyzing and applying metaphors and analogies. In the first part of the article, they applied the ideals of an analogy and metaphor to a boat race. This article gives the reader an abstract way of looking at figurative language. This form of interpretation can be applied to the study of religion. One of the interesting things about interpreting religion is that it has multiple meanings. Looking at religion in a literal sense only allows for the reader to get one basic understanding of what is being portrayed. When reading the Psalms in class we mentioned that the Psalm’s are generic and universal. Basically meaning that it is written in a way that no matter the person’s circumstances they can relate to it.

Religion is a controversial topic. Over the years multiple religions have emerged around the world. I also began to look at how much religion has influenced society of the years. In class we talked about the boundary lines that are created by religion. In every religion their are certain guidelines on how to live your life, and explanations for things that you probably can't understand. In our current society we constantly preach the ideal that religion and government separate. I personally believe that religion and government should be separate. I think that fact that people have so many different religious beliefs and morals that it would basically create chaos if one group tries to govern. I think that in many aspects religion and government do overlap. One of many controversial topics today is gay marriage/ same-sex marriage. According to certain religions marriage defined as a union between a male and a female. Also that homosexuality is frowned upon. On the other hand people raise the argument that according to the law everyone deserves equal rights, dispute their sexual orientation. So the overarching question that arises is:

How separate is religion and government?
Where exactly do we draw the line between religion and government when they do overlap?