The Genius of Bob Marley’s “One Love / People Get Ready”

Posted on February 9, 2023 by J Richard Middleton

Bob Marley’s “One Love / People Get Ready” transforms Curtis Mayfield’s original song in the direction of mercy and grace for “hopeless sinners.”

“One Love” was clearly influenced by the Curtis Mayfield song “People Get Ready” (recorded with the Impressions in 1965). The way Marley quotes (and changes) the lyrics of the Mayfield song amounts to a critique of the self-righteousness of many in the church (and in the wider society).

Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready“

Mayfield’s song is about the salvation train and what it takes to get on board. The second verse says:

Open the doors and board ’em
There’s hope for all
Among those loved the most

But the next verse goes on to say:

There ain’t no room for the hopeless sinner
Who would hurt all mankind just to save his own (believe me now)
Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner
For there is no hiding place against the Kingdom’s Throne

“People Get Ready” is a wonderful song that functioned as an anthem in the American civil rights movement. And I have no intention of denigrating the song or the way it functioned.

Mayfield’s song makes a clear distinction between “those loved the most,” who have a place on the salvation train, and “hopeless sinners.” It claims that there’s no room for these sinners on the salvation train; they are “hopeless.”

While the song goes on to say that we should have pity on these sinners, the reason is that they will inevitably experience judgment (with “no hiding place”).

Now, I don’t deny that there is a real distinction to be made between someone who seeks love and justice and the person “who would hurt all mankind just to save his own.” Nor would Bob Marley.

The question is whether we can decide who fits into which category and so who is excluded from the salvation train. Who do we think are the “hopeless sinners”? This is especially important in our time of toxic polarization and identity politics in American society.

Marley himself had to address this sort of polarization in Jamaica, given the tradition of warring gangs, each of which was aligned with one of the two main political parties.

Bob Marley’s “One Love”

So Marley uses these key lines from “People Get Ready” in “One Love,” while changing “against the Kingdom’s Throne” to “from the Father of Creation.” Whereas “Kingdom’s Throne” suggests judgment, “the Father of Creation” suggests one who loves us.

That is why Marley prefaces these lines with his desire that the sinners be saved (“there will be no, no doom”).

In the quote below, “Armagiddyon” is Marley’s phonetic spelling of Armageddon, the symbolic place of the final battle between good and evil. Marley suggests that we should be fighting this battle now; and we should be fighting against evil (not against the sinners).

Let’s get together to fight
this Holy Armagiddyon (One Love!)
So when the Man comes
there will be no, no doom (One Song!)
Have pity on those
whose chances grows thinner
There ain’t no hiding place
from the Father of Creation

But perhaps the most profound lines of all in the song come in the first verse, where Marley challenges those who are scandalized by the radical forgiveness the gospel offers to sinners (that’s why they and “pass all their dirty remarks”).

Let them all pass all their dirty remarks (One Love!)
There is one question I’d really love to ask (One Heart!)
Is there a place for the hopeless sinner
Who has hurt all mankind
just to save his own?
Believe me: One Love . . . .

Note that Marley rephrases the statement in Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” that there is no room for these “hopeless sinners” into a question, raising the possibility of their redemption.

You can download the entire lyrics to “One Love / People Get Ready” here.

Both in his music and in his life, Marley actively sought to turn even “hopeless sinners” from their ways so they could be reconciled to God and to others.

The 1978 Peace Concert

A famous example is the 1978 Peace Concert in Kingston, Jamaica, in which Marley got Michael Manley and Edward Seaga, the leaders of the two opposing political parties in Jamaica, to join hands on stage as he prayed a blessing over them.

You can read an account of the events that led up to the concert in this 2022 article in the Jamaica Observer.

This documentary about the concert also explains the situation that led up to the concert (and the temporary reconciliation between rival political gangs; sadly, it did not last).

The actual concert footage is quite long. If you want to see the section where Bob calls up the leaders of the two political parties and pronounces a blessing on them, go to the 1-hour and 17-minute mark (this section is about four minutes long). Bob’s antics on stage remind me of a Pentecostal preacher calling down the power of the Spirit.

In my next post, I’ll recommend some writings that analyze the lyrics of Marley’s songs:

Kwame Dawes, Bob Marley: Lyrical Genius

Dean MacNeil, The Bible and Bob Marley: Half the Story Has Never Been Told

Hugh Hodges, Soon Come: Jamaican Spirituality, Jamaican Poetics, chap. 7: “Walk Good: Bob Marley and the Oratorical Tradition”

The Subversive Spirituality of Reggae

On February 17, 2023 I gave a presentation called “The Subversive Spirituality of Reggae: ‘Resisting against the System’ in the Music of Bob Marley & the Wailers,” in Rochester, NY. It was held at the Joy Gallery. Thanks to artist and RIT professor, Luvon Sheppard, for hosting us. The presentation was sponsored by the Rochester Jamaican Organization in celebration of Reggae Month.

Two New Books on the Imago Dei

Posted on November 13, 2022 by J Richard Middleton

Some years back I wrote The Liberating Image: The Imago Dei in Genesis 1 (Brazos, 2005). My purpose was to explore what the Bible meant when it described humans as created to be God’s image (Genesis 1:26–28).

I envisioned my primary audience as those involved in the discipline of theology—both scholars and students. The problem, as I perceived it, was that many theologians writing on the topic of the imago Dei had not engaged Scripture very much and seemed unacquainted with the excellent work done on the topic by biblical scholars. The theological books and articles on the imago Dei that I read tended to be too speculative; they engaged primarily with what other theologians (ancient and modern) had written and were not rooted in what the Bible actually says on the topic.

The Approach and Argument of The Liberating Image

Granted, the Bible doesn’t seem to say much on the topic of the imago Dei; explicit biblical texts seem few and far between. But by paying attention to context I attempted to show that the biblical writers had a specific understanding of being human in mind—namely, that humans are meant to be the representatives of God on earth, gifted with dignity and agency, and commissioned with the vocation of developing the world to the glory of God.

Among the various interpretations of the imago Dei, this view has been called the functional view (it highlights human action, not some faculties that make us human that we supposedly have in common with God); it has been called the royal interpretation (we represent the King of creation by our own “rule” of the earth); It has also been called the vocational view of the image (the focus is on the human vocation or calling in the world)—this is my preferred terminology.

To clarify this understanding of the image, I first addressed the history of interpretation of the imago Dei and laid out the assumptions I was working with—my methodology and hermeneutics. Then I engaged in a careful reading of Genesis 1:26–28 in the context of the creation account in Genesis 1:1–2:3, noting how this understanding of creation dovetailed with the rest of Scripture.

The next section of the book examined the ancient Near Eastern background to the idea of the image of God, focusing on the theology of cult images (idols) and the rationale for kings being called the image of their gods in Egypt and Babylonia/Assyria. I tried to show how the understanding of the imago Dei developed from attention to the biblical and cultural contexts of the term unifies the Primeval History (Genesis 1–11) as an account of human culture that was alternative to that found in the ancient Near East.

A final section of the book explored in more detail the ethics of the image, especially how the biblical imago Dei addressed the question of violence in our world. I attempted to show that we are meant to image God’s loving use of power, both as depicted in Genesis 1 and as modeled by Jesus. The book ended with these words: “In both creation and redemption, God so loved the world that he gave . . . .”

I’ve been very pleased by the reception The Liberating Image received, well beyond the community of theological readers. It has been read by theologians and by scholars in different fields (the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences), who have found it helpful for connecting their fields of study with biblical anthropology. The book has also been used by pastors and theological students, who have found it grounding for ministry in the contemporary world.

God’s Prism: My Popular Book on the Imago Dei

Almost from the very beginning, however, I began to receive suggestions from readers that I write a popular version of The Liberating Image, which would be more accessible to lay Christians.

That book is finally coming. I am working on a short book for Baker Academic, with the tentative title, God’s Prism: The Imago Dei in the Biblical Story (I’ve been using the idea of a prism to communicate the meaning of the imago Dei since a talk I gave at the University of Rochester in 1988).

*Presenting on the Imago Dei at Upper House, University of Wisconsin-Madison (July 2022)*

The new book will combine the ethical thrust of The Liberating Image (the use and abuse of power) with what I call a sacramental focus (this was a subtheme in The Liberating Image, but it wasn’t foregrounded).

I plan to highlight the theme of God’s desire to make creation a cosmic temple indwelt by God’s glory/presence, with humans called to manifest that glory/presence through the way we exercise power on earth. The book will trace this theme throughout the entire Bible, from creation to the eschaton, showing the Bible’s thematic coherence around the imago Dei.

Grounded in this theme, the book will address implications of this sacramental-ethical understanding of the image for a variety of contemporary issues, all relating to human dignity and the use of power in the world.

I have been teaching the imago Dei this way for the past decade or more, both in courses at Northeastern Seminary and Roberts Wesleyan University and in public lectures I’ve been giving at churches and other groups of Christians in Canada, the USA, and elsewhere.

Whether or not the title God’s Prism sticks (publishers ultimately determine the title), I am hoping that this new book will be available in 2025, the twentieth anniversary of the publication of The Liberating Image.

***Being God’s Image: Carmen Imes on the Imago Dei***

In the meantime, however, I can point readers to a wonderful new book by Carmen Imes, called Being God’s Image: Why Creation Still Matters (IVP Academic), scheduled for publication in 2023.

This is a “prequel” to Carmen’s earlier book, Bearing God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters (IVP Academic, 2019), which is a popular version of her academic book, Bearing YHWH’s Name at Sinai: A Reexamination of the Name Command in the Decalogue, Bulletin for Biblical Research Supplement 19 (University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns, 2018).

The academic book won the R. B. Y. Scott Award from the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies (CSBS) for an outstanding book in Hebrew Bible and/or the ancient Near East. I was vice-president of CSBS that year (I became president the year after) and I personally presented Carmen with the award.

That was how I first met Carmen Imes.

Since then I have come to know Carmen as a wonderful Old Testament scholar, who cares passionately for the church. She writes (books, articles, blogs) and posts on YouTube with a view to teaching Christians more about the Bible’s vision for life, in the process empowering them to live for their Lord in all the ups and downs of life in this complex world.

I had the privilege of reading the pre-publication manuscript of Being God’s Image and writing the Foreword.

I can testify that this will be a most helpful book for laypeople in the church. You don’t need to be a theologian or a pastor to understand Carmen’s lucid writing. Yet she has sneakily woven serious biblical scholarship into what seems to be a breezy, conversational book addressed to ordinary readers.

When Being God’s Image is published, I invite you to delve into the book and allow your vision to be expanded. Carmen will help you to appreciate the tremendous love of God for all people and for all creation, a love that led the Creator to became incarnate in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, to bring healing and redemption to a broken world and a broken humanity. May this amazing biblical vision inspire and empower you to live toward your calling to be fully human in God’s marvelous world.

Panel Discussion of Abraham’s Silence at the Society of Biblical Literature, November 2022

Posted on November 2, 2022 by J Richard Middleton

My book Abraham’s Silence: The Binding of Isaac, the Suffering of Job, and How to Talk Back to God was published by Baker Academic in November 2021.

There will be a panel discussion on the book at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) in Denver, on November 21, 2022. There will be six reviewers, three Jewish biblical scholars and three Christian biblical scholars.

The panel discussion in Denver is jointly sponsored by two SBL program units: The Theology of the Hebrew Scriptures and The National Association of Professors of Hebrew.

I will give a response to the papers. As part of my response, I am considering sharing a “script” I have written of what Abraham might have said to God in place of the silent obedience recorded in Genesis 22 (we could think of it as the Aqedah in an alternative timeline).

If you will be in Denver, you are cordially invited to attend the session, 4:00–6:30 pm, Monday, November 21, 2022.

I have been pondering the topic of suffering, and appropriate prayer in the face of suffering, for a very long time, primarily through studying various biblical passages that address this issue. My focus has been on the lament psalms, the book of Job, and Abraham’s strange silence in Genesis 22.

I’ve given many talks and papers over the years on lament, Job, and Genesis 22, but I began working on integrating my reflections on these topics during my 2016 sabbatical in Australia. Everything came together in the last couple of years, resulting in the final form of the book.

You can access the Table of Contents and the Introduction of the book here (provided by the publisher).

An Earlier Panel Discussion on the Book

I was also privileged to be a respondent to a (virtual) panel discussion on Abraham’s Silence at the annual meeting of Eastern Great Lakes Biblical Society in March 2022. There were four reviewers.