Der Editor,

There appears to be a growing popularity in the theology of warring angels by both the proponents of the doctrine of ‘End Times’ and those who promote proto Hellenistic ideologies, without regard as to the real social and economic consequences of this and similar types of doctrines.

Black history is replete with experiences of conflicts and their costs. For those who study the Bible, one only needs to recall that the bellicose stance taken by Pharaoh in respect to the freeing of the Jewish slaves led to the weakening and eventual demise of that empire. An outcome which cost the ordinary inhabitants of Egypt dearly, as they themselves came under the yoke of alien rule.

Equally, the conflict between the sons of Solomon cost Israel its kingdom. The rulers of Aksum Kingdom (c 100 – c 940) a marine trading power, one of the most successful Black kingdoms known to mankind and led for an extended period of time by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, did their best to ensure peaceful relationships between the Kingdom of Kush, the Roman Empire, the Chinese, the Persians and Indians.

Equally, the conflict between the sons of Solomon cost Israel its kingdom. The rulers of Aksum Kingdom (c 100 – c 940) a marine trading power, one of the most successful Black kingdoms known to mankind and led for an extended period of time by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, did their best to ensure peaceful relationships between the Kingdom of Kush, the Roman Empire, the Chinese, the Persians and Indians.

Internally, with a diverse ethnic population, it pursued a policy of compromise, negotiations and marriages to ensure unity and peace within its borders. History records that the Aksumites were capable of war, but avoided warfare to the best of its abilities. The Aksum Kingdom of 702 however, was not able to maintain peaceful relations with the Islamic Empire and had fought wars with Umar ibn al-Khattab in about 640, and later with Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik in 702.

As a result of these wars, it lost the Dahlak Archipelago (which was recovered in the ninth century by the Emperor of Ethiopia) and later control of the Red Sea and most of the Nile to the Islamic Empire. Here once again it has been shown that a policy of conflict did not end in favor of the Black Kingdom.

Here in Jamaica, history has recorded the economic ruin and dislocation caused by the Morant Bay Rebellion in 1865. Towns such as Falmouth and Spanish Town never fully recovered from the consequences of the draconian rules enforced by the British colonial administration and direct rule, which stifled businessed and sent estates into ruin.

Again, in 1969, the social unrest which occurred in Kingston and the anti-Chinese actions taken by many not only led to the flight of businesses from sections of Kingston, and a death blow to Maxfield Avenue and surrounding areas, but also gave birth to the scourge of extortion. It was during this period that the adherents of proto Hellenist doctrines started the rumour of Mr Brown and the three-wheel coffin, equally as the repression of the Rastafarian community intensified.

It would be insane to make a claim in any form that ordinary Jamaicans and the wider business community benefited from this exercise, even though those with the narrowest of intent to promotion of their own self-interests did. Warring angels were once again unleashed on the Jamaican people between 1976 and 1981, angels which wreaked mayhem on entire communities, leaving paths of death and destruction in their wake. As a result of the unleashing of these “warring angels” the entire Jamaican economy was placed into a tail spin and thousands of Jamaicans became captives in garrison communities. Once again, it was shown that the theology of “Warring Angels” and the “End Time Doctrine” is of benefit to only the narrowest of cross section of the Jamaican people, those in search of power at all costs, without regard to the consequences such approaches hold for the Jamaican economy, the ordinary citizens and the business community which has to provide goods and services for all.

The avoidance and shunning by the rulers of the Aksum Kingdom of those who sought to carry “End of the World” theology among their midst did not come about as a result of stupidity, but rather as a result of a clear understanding of the message that was being carried.

Equivalently, Stalin’s attack on the Trotskyites who sought “World Revolution” was neither as a result of ego nor pure self-interest, but rather of a clear understanding of who stood to benefit from endless chaos in Europe, ie the proto Hellenists and the ‘End Time’ theologisers.

Basil Fletcher

Portmore, St Catherine

Basilfletcher1960@yahoo.com