My thoughts on P.O.D and reggae music

I was shocked and disappointed at a young age when Sonny Sandoval cut his dreadlocks. When asked in an interview about why he cut his long hair, Sonny said that he "felt God tell him that it was time for a change and a new level of maturity." Before i give my own opinion on his drastic change in musical style between "When angels and serpents dance" and "Murdered Love", i will take the time to give some background to some of the Rastafarian elements involved in P.O.D's music. 

Emporeror Haile Selassie was believed by Rastafarians to be the incarnation of Jesus Christ who would one day return to the earth for his people, the Rasta's. He is seen as conquering lion from the tribe of Judah and hailed as God. He was believed to be immortal until he died. Rastafarians attempted to give explanations to still uphold his divinity though his mortal body is gone forever. 

It is easy to get confused by some biblical terms used by Rastafarian Reggae musicians. Titles such as "Jah" and "I and I" or the oneness of persons have been used in reference to Haile Selassie, not Jesus.

 Bob Marley was seen as a great prophet of Haile Selassie as he spread the message of Rastafarianism and called for the unity of people to turn to Haile Selassie and leave Babylon, the western world. Bob Marley has popularized Reggae music before his death. Wearing dreadlocks in Rastafarianism symbolizes a dreadful fear of God. Smoking weed was also considered to be spiritual in the mind of Bob Marley and other Rastafarian's. 

What is a Rasta? There is no set standards, definition, or beliefs. You can wear dreads, smoke weed, and listen to Reggae in Jamaica and be considered Rasta just as you can have short hair, avoid weed, and live away from Jamaica while still being also Rasta. On the other hand, you can wear a rastacap, smoke weed, wear dreads, listen to reggae, etc. and not be Rasta. This is a very small movement in the world. 

In my view, i suspect that Sonny did not realize all of this as he said that they believe in Jesus Christ just as the Rasta's do, thus part of the reason he cut his dreads and drifted away from Reggae is because he realized some of the influences and anti-Christian lifestyle he was representing. Rasta's worshiped a black man, whereas Christians did not. While i respect his decision, i don't think that he had to go that far. 

The name "Jah" is found in the Bible:

Psalm 68:4

" Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him." 

We as Christians should know that it never belonged to Haile Selassie. The same biblical references to Zion, Babylon, and Jesus Christ all belong to the true son of God who lived years ago, never to Ethiopia and any other black, white, or red man. Even Haile Selassie hailed Jesus Christ, the true conquering lion of the tribe of Judah as king of kings and Lord of Lords. The rightful crown belongs to Jesus and not to any other man. To the creator God, we are all made the same which define the term "I and I." With spiritual discernment, we can wisely separate truth from falsehood. 

This is my opinion on P.O.D's change in musical influence and style. Worship dedicated to God does not restrict itself to one genre of music, but is open to all kinds.