*SPOILERS AHEAD*
The Positive
T'Challa, the young King of Wakanda, continues the journey of personal growth he began in Captain America: Civil War. His path of maturing to become a wise and thoughtful leader is a highlight of the movie and its driving force.
T'Challa, the young King of Wakanda, continues the journey of personal growth he began in Captain America: Civil War. His path of maturing to become a wise and thoughtful leader is a highlight of the movie and its driving force.
His love interest Nakia is a humanitarian who is more than willing to give up material comforts, the love of her life and even the possibility of becoming queen in order to devote herself to helping others. She rescues victims of human trafficking, cares for the poor and speaks up for them boldly.
The pair comes to realize that Wakanda must no longer be selfish with it's resources and that they should not use them to conquer or provide weapons, but should employ them to help the downcast in society and improve the lives of people all over the world. The film draws a critical picture of the way our world utilizes wealth and resources and calls for action.
Because of the abundance of white, male superheroes, I was very glad to see the addition of such a strong and fantastic woman to the Marvel Comics universe and I was hopeful that The Black Panther would turn out to be a role model as well. While his character and resolve is admirable, it is unfortunate that the writers chose to include some very dangerous pagan practices in the movie, which tarnish its otherwise positive message and noble protagonists.
The Pagan
The people of Wakanda worship the false goddess Bast. In Egyptian mythology and worship, she was the cat goddess. In fact, they worshipped cats because of her. In the world of Wakanda, she is portrayed as the panther goddess. She is credited with giving the Black Panther his powers to protect the people. My concern is that they have used an actual false diety from the real world as the object of worship in this movie. Exodus 34:14-15 forbids the worship of any god but the one true God.
The people of Wakanda worship the false goddess Bast. In Egyptian mythology and worship, she was the cat goddess. In fact, they worshipped cats because of her. In the world of Wakanda, she is portrayed as the panther goddess. She is credited with giving the Black Panther his powers to protect the people. My concern is that they have used an actual false diety from the real world as the object of worship in this movie. Exodus 34:14-15 forbids the worship of any god but the one true God.
For you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God--Do not make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land, or else when they prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices
Young T'Challa and his entourage also engage in ancestor worship. They venerate their ancestors, seeking dead people out for wisdom and advice. This is an extremely serious offense that blatantly defies God.
No one among you is to make his son or daughter pass through the fire, practice divination, tell fortunes, interpret omens, practice sorcery, cast spells, consult a medium or a familiar spirit, or inquire of the dead. Everyone who does these acts is detestable to the LORD, and the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you because of these detestable acts.
In the movie, men take a drug made from a type of flower that puts them into a near-death or comatose, trance-like state. They are then buried and speak to their dead ancestors. This is similar to what the Ba'al worshippers did, lacing wine with drugs to get high and communicate with false gods and spirits to receive visions. The ancients also used mediums and other practices to communicate with the dead. Some Native American tribes continue to engage in a similar practice using peyote to get high, go into a trance and communicate with their "spirit guides," who Christians understand to be demonic, evil spirits. As we read in the passage above, these practices are explicity forbidden by Scripture. Speaking to spirits or the dead is a serious sin and it is unfortunate that they included such a dangerous, real-life religious practice in this movie. After the trance, the men are re-born as the Black Panther and given special god-like abilities.
These practices do not free or strengthen people, they enslave them. As evil and disgusting as the institution of physical slavery is, spiritual slavery, the enslavement of a human soul, is far worse. Over the millennia, millions of human beings have been enslaved by these pagan, occult practices. True freedom is found in Jesus Christ.
Using mythology in a superhero story is nothing new as we have seen in Thor, Wonder Woman and other movies. The problem with Black Panther is that the practices it depicts are real, pagan acts of worship which have taken place for thousands of years. When a person engages in any type of necromancy, séance or trying to commune or speak with the dead, they open themselves up to demonic influence and spiritual harm. The word pray means to ask or inquire. This is why Christians should never attempt to pray to a Saint. The only time an ancestor ever answered a prayer in the Bible is when Saul used a medium, the witch of En Dor, to attempt to conjure up the ghost of Samuel. Samuel appeared and pronounced God's judgement on Saul. 1 Chronicles 10:13 informs us that consulting with this medium was one of the reasons Saul was rejected by God and killed. In addition, when a person worships a diety other than the one true God, they open themselves up to the influence of Satan and grant him power in their lives.
I really like the character and noble actions of T'Challa and Nakia. I hope they prove to be interesting, virtuous, dialogue-inspiring additions to the Marvel franchise. The pagan aspects of this origin story are a continued source of concern which will need to be monitored.
Using mythology in a superhero story is nothing new as we have seen in Thor, Wonder Woman and other movies. The problem with Black Panther is that the practices it depicts are real, pagan acts of worship which have taken place for thousands of years. When a person engages in any type of necromancy, séance or trying to commune or speak with the dead, they open themselves up to demonic influence and spiritual harm. The word pray means to ask or inquire. This is why Christians should never attempt to pray to a Saint. The only time an ancestor ever answered a prayer in the Bible is when Saul used a medium, the witch of En Dor, to attempt to conjure up the ghost of Samuel. Samuel appeared and pronounced God's judgement on Saul. 1 Chronicles 10:13 informs us that consulting with this medium was one of the reasons Saul was rejected by God and killed. In addition, when a person worships a diety other than the one true God, they open themselves up to the influence of Satan and grant him power in their lives.
I really like the character and noble actions of T'Challa and Nakia. I hope they prove to be interesting, virtuous, dialogue-inspiring additions to the Marvel franchise. The pagan aspects of this origin story are a continued source of concern which will need to be monitored.
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