Bob Marley’s Spiritual Legacy: Unveiling the Man Behind the Music

TFD – Delve into the fascinating spiritual journey of Bob Marley, whose music transcended genres to become a powerful expression of faith and liberation.

Dean MacNeil was unable to eat. unable to get any sleep. Because something “tore a hole in the soul of my family and me,” he was operating on automatic pilot emotionally.

In the summer of 1991, MacNeil and his younger brother Scott had driven from Connecticut to Vermont. They went jet skiing, hiking, and spent a lot of time listening to reggae legend Bob Marley, who was Scott’s favorite musician.

A few weeks following the trip, at midnight, there was a phone call. Scott had perished in a vehicle crash. When the automobile of another youngster crashed into a tree, he was a passenger. He was returning home after seeing a reggae performance. MacNeil was inconsolable.

However, he took solace in Marley’s music. When he resumed listening to Marley’s songs, he noticed something: almost all of them contained biblical verses strewn throughout like precious stones. In addition to being lengthy biblical quotations, the lyrics encouraged the listener to believe that they could “never be blue,” as Marley states in “Forever Loving Jah,” a reference to the name of God used by the Rastafarian religion, regardless of the “changes” and “rages” they were going through.

According to MacNeil today, “that accident really sent my sister, mom, dad, and myself into a tailspin.” “But Bob Marley’s music is what got us through. Hearing these words of optimism and tenacity helped us deal with the sadness and the despair. I went to the classroom of Bob Marley, because my very survival depended on it.”

The Marley proverb, “You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice,” took on new significance for MacNeil. He finished his master’s in theology and began teaching Bible studies at his church. Along with writing a book titled “The Bible and Bob Marley: Half the Story Has Never Been Told,” he also started performing music.

As a new blockbuster film honors Marley’s life, MacNeil and others boldly assert that Marley’s spiritual influence equals or surpasses his musical legacy. In many respects, the two are linked. Scholars and lovers of Marley argue that it’s time to stop downplaying or erasing Marley’s “subversive spirituality.”

According to MacNeil, Marley’s music was influenced by the Bible almost as much as his guitar. “You really need to know the Bible to understand Marley’s message.”

Marley’s lyrics are saturated with Biblical verses

Fans of Marley today do not typically hear that about his legacy. Ever since his tragic passing in 1981, Marley has been regarded as a musical icon.

His happy face appears on posters in college dorm rooms, T-shirts, purses, key chains, scented candles, lip balm, and iPhone cases. Time magazine named his record “Exodus” the greatest album of the 20th century. The BBC named his song “One Love” the song of the century. Some critics even say Marley was the most influential songwriter of the 20th century.

The majority of this Marley may be seen in the popular movie “Bob Marley: One Love,” which is currently in theaters. It provides a window into Marley’s life in the late 1970s, when he rose to prominence in his native Jamaica as a symbol of reconciliation.

However, many people do not consider Marley to be a religious figure for another reason. The present movie only briefly mentions a less honorable part of Marley’s personal life: he was a married man who may have fathered at least 11 children, some of whom were born before he married Rita Marley.

Thus, how can a man who smoked marijuana and fathered children out of wedlock be seen as a holy man?

The way Marley lived and died holds the key to the solution. Let’s start with his songs. A biblical scripture marked the start and finish of his singing career.

According to MacNeil, Marley would frequently begin concerts by reciting verses from the Bible. At the age of 17, he recorded his first song for publication, “Judge Not,” which was inspired by Matthew 7:1, where Jesus instructs his disciples to “judge not, that ye be not judged.”

“Redemption Song,” which asks, “How long shall they kill our prophets while we stand aside and look?” was the last song on his farewell album. Luke 13:34, which states, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,” served as the basis for it.

“His faith played a fundamental role not only in his music but also in his entire lifestyle and approach to life, which Rastafarians would refer to as his ‘levity,'” according to British journalist and educator Vivien Goldman, who became close to Marley while serving as his publicist.

Marley invented a new species of musician: the holy rocker. Other musicians like Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash sang about their faith. But none cherished the Bible like Marley. Several biographers have noted that while on tour, Marley would often withdraw to a secluded spot on his bus to ponder scripture. He would then return to the rest of his bandmates and debate — not over women or song credits — but the meaning of biblical verses.

Classic tales exist of musicians who lived and breathed their instruments. It’s said that Jimi Hendrix slept with his guitar. Marley approached his Bible in the same way.

According to Goldman, Marley was never seen without his worn King James Bible, which had images of the former Ethiopian ruler Haile Selassie I on the inside cover and a photocopy image of the Lion of Judah in full regalia on the cover. Rastafarians view Selassie, who passed away in 1975, as a Black messiah and the second coming of Jesus.

According to Goldman, the author of “The Book of Exodus: The Making and Meaning of Bob Marley and the Wailers’ Album of the Century,” “His spiritual practice was undoubtedly an important aspect of his life.”

“He would find time no matter what; even in a crowded airport, he would move to the side to read his Bible.”

Some see the Bible and God as emblems of oppression. Both have been used as justifications for imperialism, homophobia, and slavery. Marley, however, believed that God was a liberator—a savior from both personal and governmental oppression.

He sung, “Jah come to break down persecution, rule equality, wipe away transgression, and set the captives free,” in his song “Exodus.”

According to MacNeil, it’s nearly hard to listen to a Marley song without running into something about the Bible. After looking through 83 Marley songs, he found 137 biblical allusions and quotations (98 allusions and 39 quotations).

One of Marley’s best songs is “Forever Loving Jah.” Marley is paraphrasing a verse from Proverbs 3 when he sings, “Because only a fool lean upon his own misunderstanding.” Additionally, Marley’s album “Exodus” is named after a well-known Bible passage that is treasured by both Christians and Jews.

MacNeil remarks, “He’s not just quoting the Bible.” “He is putting effort into it. He’s making sense of it. He is relating it to his personal encounters. He’s making it relevant to a wide audience.”

He was a Rastafari religious apostle.

Marley also popularized the Rastafari faith, which reached a broader audience. Perhaps no musician has contributed more to the spread of a religion than Bob Marley. His worldview was centered on Rastafarianism.

However, in the years following Marley’s passing, his political and religious views have been watered down to a vague, stoner-inspired cry of “One love, one heart.” One fate. Critics refer to this as the “Disneyfication” of Marley’s heritage.

However, the Rastafari faith is far tougher and more rebellious. It was born out of the immense suffering that Afro-Jamaicans went through for many years. For instance, the slave trade was more deadlier in Jamaica, the birthplace of Bob Marley, than it was in the US Deep South. Compared to all thirteen North American colonies combined, more than twice as many slaves were transported to Jamacia. According to Adam Hochschild, the author of “Bury the Chains,” a chronicle of the British abolition movement, the majority were tortured, raped, and worked to death.

Writing of the slave trade in the Caribbean, Hochschild described it as “a slaughterhouse.”

Under British colonial control, Afro-Jamaicans continued to live in abject poverty, endure immense misery, and be denied political rights. Marley was born in rural Jamacia to a White father and an Afro-Jamaican adolescent mother. The violent history of Jamaica is a necessary understanding of both him and the Rastafari faith, which originated there in the 1930s.

Professor of religious studies at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, Deepak Sarma, describes Rastfari as a religion of resistance that combined Christianity, Judaism, and Afrocentrism.

“Even though it is frequently classified as a religion, it is also a revolutionary ideology intended to make up for the wrongs done by the slave trade, British imperialism, and the colonization of Jamaica and other Caribbean countries.”

Marley considered himself called to music.

“I was sent here by God.” He once claimed, “He sends me to do something, and nobody can stop me.” “I stop if God wants me to stop. Man is incapable of it.

Rastafarians, though, are known primarily by many casual observers for two elements of their religion: dreadlocks and the smoking of marijuana. Leviticus 21:5, which states, “They shall not make baldness upon their head, nor shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in the flesh,” is the Old Testament verse that served as the inspiration for the dreadlocks. For Rastafarians, marijuana, often known as “ganja,” was a sacrament that helped them become more spiritually aware.

Many credit Marcus Garvey, a Black Jamaican activist who led a “Back to Africa” campaign in the first part of the 20th century and advocated Black pride and self-reliance, as the creator of the Rastafari religion. Selassie is also a central figure to Rastafarians in ways that puzzle some outsiders: How can Rastas worship a Black political figure who was also seen by some as a dictator?

Marley’s former publicist, Goldman, remembered questioning Marley if it was wise to worship Selassie. She wrote that her query, which left him speechless, was:

Are you saying that I should worship a white god?

The reason Marley’s spiritual message endures is because it is global.

It is simple for an outsider to believe the idea that Rastafarians hate White people if they become fixated on the sourness of Marley’s remark regarding a White god. However, Marley’s religion didn’t take that turn, which is one of the reasons his spiritual views are still relevant today.

Marley did not restrict racial injustice.

When questioned if he was biased against White people, he once responded, “I can’t be prejudiced against myself.”

“You know, my mother was Black and my father was White. They can refer to me as half-caste, whatever. Personally, I don’t support either the Black or White men. I dip on the side of God, the one who made me and brought me out of the Black and White.

Marley was more than just a man of convictions. They also played a part in his death.

Marley went to the doctor in 1977 after he discovered a dark tumor beneath his big toenail. A uncommon type of skin cancer was identified as his diagnosis. In order to stop the cancer from spreading, the doctor recommended that Marley amputate his toe. He chose a less intrusive treatment instead of complying with the Rastafarian ban of “cutting of the flesh,” which led him to refuse the procedure.

Eventually, the cancer spread. On May 11, 1981, Marley passed away in Miami while attempting to spend his last days in his cherished Jamaicia. A 36-year-old exercise and health food enthusiast passed away.

Marley received honors at a state funeral held in Jamaica at Kingston’s National Arena. His treasured Gibson Les Paul guitar and his engraved Bible, which had the opening verse, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want,” from Psalm 23, were interred with him.

A few years before to his passing, Marley stated in an interview that having a proper relationship with God is the key to feeling everlasting.

“Neither in flesh nor in spirit do I believe in death. I do not believe in death. I genuinely know God, declared Marley.

His music has established a lasting legacy. In the decades after his passing, Marley’s reputation has only increased on the global scene. Ironically, Marley—a vociferous opponent of materialism and capitalism—made a posthumous $16 million through his estate in 2023, second only to Beatles member John Lennon, according to Forbes magazine.

Naturally, Marley was not referring to that kind of immortality. He mentioned a legacy that was “ever-living.” In his beloved song “Three Little Birds,” an abandoned child from the Jamacian slums, who experienced poverty and abandonment, confided in his listeners. “Don’t worry about anything; everything will work out in the end.”

Somewhere in the world right now someone is playing a Bob Marley song to help them get through a difficult time — the kind that tears a hole in someone’s soul.

Marley was accurate. Regarding his music and spiritual teachings, death is nonexistent.

Today more than ever, he is alive.

“More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew” was written by John Blake.