IN THE days of slavery, enslaved people were forbidden to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to one another. They were also taught to obey their masters, and the Bible was referenced by some Christian holders of enslaved people to support that...
Some people find Revival rituals entertaining and dramatic even though this is not their purpose. The caution is that they must not be imitated and staged for entertainment purposes as importantly, these rituals are purposeful and spiritual, and,...
THE FOLK religion known as Revivalism in Jamaica came out of the ‘Great Revival’ of the early 1860s. It is a syncretism of African spirituality and European religious beliefs and practices. It is called folk because it came from the psychology of...
MEMBERS OF Christian denominations in Jamaica participated in the transatlantic trade of Africans, and were holders of them on their plantations where they were subjugated to unspeakable human suffering until August 1, 1838, when the institution of...
MARVIN G. HALL has four children, the last three, girls, are with his wife, Sarah Hsia, and his son, 24 year-old Jared, is with Shakira Walton. It’s a blended relationship, full of love, laughter, camaraderie, commitment, and whatever else that...
The audience, which included tourism stakeholders and media practitioners from all over the world, listened in rapt attention as Jamaica’s tourism minister, Edmund Bartlett, talked about the state of tourism in Jamaica. This was during the Jamaica...
FLOWING NORTH into the Mediterranean Sea, the River Nile is widely regarded as the longest river in the world. And Nile Anderson’s mother, a geography teacher, and now principal of Savanna-la-Mar Primary School in Westmoreland, named him after that...
The great majority of the patrons who turned up at the recent ‘Fun in the Son’ free concert at the National Stadium went to see and hear Kirk Franklin more than any of the other artistes. His reputation for giving scintillating performances...
THE EASTER story is principally about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, be it fact or fiction, set in a real place. The moments before and after the impalement is what is mostly written and spoken about. But why was the man who claimed to...
MOSES BAKER, a coloured man, believed he was better than an old enslaved African named Cupid Wilkin, who was a Christian. Baker was converted himself after much encouragement and persistence by Wilkin. But, before the conversion, Baker became...
THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN preacher George Liele (Lisle) established the first Baptist church in Jamaica, along Windward Road in Kingston. He and some of his own converts were to establish more church across the island, mainly in the east and north of...
IN 1789, THE African-American Baptist George Liele (Lisle) acquired three acres of land at the corner of Elletson Road and Windward Road/Victoria Avenue in Kingston. In 1791, he built and started the first church in Jamaica to be led by a black man...
JAMAICA’S HISTORY and heritage are replete with notable men and women, some of whom had been elevated to the status of national hero, the highest national honour in the land. Others have been colourful folk heroes and heroines, from the people and...
Boston Bay in Portland is one of Jamaica’s more popular surfing spaces, and there are many local surfers who make use of this opportunity literally in their backyard. It is also a place where some people travelled across the world to experience. “...
THE PURPOSE of this series is to clarify the misconceptions that many Jamaicans have about Revivalism, a Jamaican folk religion that emerged from the Great Revival of 1860/1861. Revivalism is a confluence of African spirituality and European...
A REVIVAL worship session is a very active and energetic occasion. It is replete with loud supplications, ardent prayers, fervent preaching, fiery exaltation, personal testimonies, soulful singing, hypnotic drumming, spirited dancing (trumping,...
A HUMAN being is conceived when a sperm fertilises an egg, whether in or outside of a woman’s womb. It is not possible outside of these two situations, except if the woman is the Virgin Mary. Her baby, Jesus, it is written, was conceived...
THE CHRISTIANS say Jesus, the Messiah, sent by God, was crucified, ascended to Heaven, but will be coming back to redeem this world where bloodshed by violent means occurs daily. The Jews are still waiting for that messiah; they call him Moshiach....
FROM THURSDAY, December 7 to Friday, December 15, Jews around the world will observe Chanukah, one of the most important religious holidays in Judaism. It is inspired by the ‘miracle of the Maccabees’ and the ‘miracle of the oil’, collectively...
AT THE centre of all major religions is the unshakable belief in a divine – an omnipotent, omnificent, omnipresent entity that redeems its believers and offers them hope. And in some cases, as in Christianity, it is coming back to take them to a...
MEMBERS OF the Anglican, Moravian and Baptist churches were owners of enslaved Africans who were subjected to their every whim and fancy. They believed nothing was wrong with chattel slavery, and even used scriptures to support it. Not only were...
THE ETHIOPIAN Orthodox Tewahedo Church believes in one God, the Lord, the Father Almighty, maker of the heavens and Earth, and of all things tangible and intangible. He is one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father, who was with him...
A PLETHORA of sources say that The Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC) was established in the fourth century by St Frumentius and his brother, Aedesius. St Athanasius of Alexandria consecrated St Frementius as the first Bishop of Ethiopia during the...
THE ETHIOPIAN Orthodox Church (EOC) in Jamaica is not a popular denomination. It has a few branches in the country and is oft referred to as the “Rasta Church”. Yet, its origin goes way back to several centuries, making it much older than the...
Baptist Reverend Thomas Burchell arrived in Jamaica from England in 1822 and quickly developed a deep hatred for slavery. He was instrumental in convincing the Baptist Missionary Society (BMS) and other social organisations to lobby the British...
