When Selassie talked about his faith

The Lutheran Church in Jamaica will on Saturday rebroadcast an interview done with His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I where the late ruler of Ethiopia spoke of his Christian convictions. The rebroadcast is slated to be aired on TBC FM at 9:30 a.m.

The interview was done in 1968 by Dr. Oswald Hoffmann, the then host of the ‘Lutheran Hour’ which for many years was broadcast on Radio Jamaica on Sunday mornings. The interview was conducted in the private office of the Emperor at his Jubilee Palace, in Ethiopia.

Contained in the transcript of the broadcast are seemingly clear expressions by the Emperor of his Christian worldview, including his personal faith in Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world. The Emperor, who was known to speak English very well, spoke in his native Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia. State protocol, Dr. Hoffman pointed out, necessitated the he conduct official business in the official language.

In the broadcast, entitled: ‘Christmas in Ethiopia’, the Emperor explained how he celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ. Speaking through an interpreter, he said, “The birth of our Lord is a joyous family event. However, I do not only rejoice with my immediate family, since the whole Ethiopian nation is my family.”

LUTHERAN CIRCLES

Dr. Hoffmann, who was born in 1913, is still alive. He is highly revered in Lutheran circles and has had various ministries named after him. He asked the Emperor “What is it that makes you want to follow Jesus Christ?”

His Majesty replied: “When Jesus Christ was born from Virgin Mary, from that time on He lived an exemplary life, a life which men everywhere must emulate. This life and the faith that He has taught us assures us of salvation, assures us also of harmony and good life upon earth. Because of the exemplary character of the life of Jesus Christ, it is necessary that all men do their maximum in their human efforts to see to it that they approximate as much as they can the good example that has been set by Him.

“It is quite true that there is no perfection in humanity. From time to time we make mistakes, we do commit sins but even as we do that, deep in our heart as Christians we know we have a chance of forgiveness from the Almighty. He taught us that all men are equal regardless of sex, their national origin and tribe and He also taught us, all who seek Him shall find him. To live in this healthy life, a Christian life, is what makes me follow Jesus Christ.”

SIGNIFICANT FAME

Emperor Haile Selassie I was born in 1892. He was the grandnephew of Emperor Menelik II. He himself became Emperor in 1930. He gained significant fame when in 1935 he led his troops to repel the invasion by Italy. He fled Ethiopia in 1936 and 1938 and appealed in vain for the intervention of the League of Nations for protection against Italy. He returned to Ethiopia in 1941 with British help and regained his throne. He instituted a range of social reforms and is still revered today in Ethiopia. He was overthrown in a coup in 1974 and killed in 1975. For many years mystery surrounded the circumstances of his death and the whereabouts of his body. In 1992 it was revealed that his remains had been found beneath a toilet in the imperial palace that after his death had become home to Mengistu Haile Mariam, the Marxist dictator who emerged from the chaos of Selassie’s overthrow in 1974, to run the country until 1991.

Emperor Selassie is revered as divinity among members of the Rastafarian community locally and internationally. For Rastas, His Imperial Majesty is not dead but very much alive.

In what was at times a tumultuous life, the Ethiopian leader said there were many instances when his Christian faith served to sustain him. “No matter what may befall a human being, he can always succeed in overcoming it in a time if he has the strength of faith and praise to God for inevitably He comes to the assistance of those that believe in Him and those that through their work live an exemplary life. This goes not only for Christians in my view, but for all men. I think God commiserates with those that find themselves in misfortune. In particular, when my country Ethiopia was invaded by alien forces several years ago, I was sustained in that period by my faith in God and in the abiding belief that justice, however it may take time, will ultimately prevail. If I did not have faith in the Almighty and in His righteousness and that justice inevitably prevails, then I would have lost hope and thus the interest of my country would have been ignored. Because I attempted to maintain my faith in Him and because all Ethiopians maintained their faith in the ultimate goodness of the world and in the grand design that the Almighty has for all men in the world, we were able to victoriously re-enter our country and rid ourselves of evil forces.

“If I did not have in my heart the love of God, I don’t think I would have acted in the manner that I did. The love of God brings a sense of religiousness in human beings. It gives him comfort for the future and assurance that right causes will ultimately prevail.”

FAITH IN THE ALMIGHTY

Asked by Dr. Hoffmann for his advice to persons considering the claims Jesus Christ made of Himself, the Emperor replied: “I would tell a person that is considering the claim of Christ for the first time that it is necessary to have faith in the Almighty, that it is necessary to have love, and that it is necessary to conduct oneself in a manner that we have been taught to do in the Bible. I would also advise him to read and study the Bible. I would also advise him to seek the secular knowledge, for the more one knows, the more he realises the need for a prime mover, the need for a Creator, a Creator who is good and the need for salvation and also for peaceful life upon earth. I will also tell him to learn and to think for himself the ways he would serve the Lord. In this thought and in this undertaking of his, he will inevitably find the way of serving his fellowmen. For his faith would then be manifested by his conduct. If Christians behave in this way, if we dedicate ourselves to this fundamental task, then we will have a peaceful world and will be assured of not transgressing against the will and the commandments of God.

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