When I first saw Black Panther, I was taken away by the scene when T’Challa ingests the heart-shaped herb after becoming king of Wakanda. The heart-shaped herb is the source of T’Challa’s powers as Black Panther, but that wasn’t what grabbed my interest. What caught my attention was how similar this ceremony is to Baptism, so much so that I’ve used it as an example in my Christian Formation classes. Please note that Black Panther is rated PG-13. Dying and Rising to New Life in BaptismPaul in Romans 6:3-11 speaks about how through Baptism we are buried with Jesus in His death. Full-immersion Baptism speaks to this powerfully with the image of the person being brought all the way underwater, as if drowning. A key part of the heart-shaped herb ritual is burial. T’Challa, after ingesting the herb is buried. In a very true sense, T’Challa actually experiences death here, being transported to the Ancestral Plane where the dead, including T’Challa’s father T’Chaka, are still alive (T’Challa spoke of this place to Natasha Romanoff in Captain America: Civil War). Paul also says in Romans 6:3-11 that just as we are baptized in Jesus’ death, so too are we baptized into Christ’s Resurrection. This is the hope of new and everlasting life that we have in Jesus Christ, which is central to the Christian faith. Just as we are dipped below the water in Baptism, so too are we then raised from the water, symbolizing the new life we now have in Christ Jesus. We see T’Challa do the same thing. First, he rises, as if from the grave, in the Ancestral Plane. This is similar to how we will rise in the Resurrected Life after death. It is in this place that T’Challa greets those who have gone before him in the line of Black Panther, which I will speak more about below. T’Challa also rises once again in the land of the living back in Wakanda. This is similar to how we rise from the waters in Baptism. The Communion of SaintsBaptism is the way in which we are initiated as Christians. It is how we become members of the church, also known as the Body of Christ, also known as the Communion of Saints. This is the group of people beyond time and space who have followed Jesus Christ and dwell with the Lord in life everlasting. For T’Challa, ingesting the heart-shaped herb is how he is initiated as King of Wakanda in the full role of the Black Panther. When he is buried, T’Challa enters the Ancestral Plane, where he sees a group of panthers in a nearby tree. One jumps down, revealing himself as T’Challa’s late father T’Chaka, who greets T’Challa (more on their conversation here). This is the Wakandan equivalent of the Communion of Saints. T’Challa joins them through his initiation by ingesting the heart-shaped herb. They dwell in the Ancestral Plane, that place where life continues after this life is over. They even take on the appearance of Bast, the one through whom their power comes. Notable Differences Between the Heart-Shaped Herb Ceremony and BaptismT’Challa ingesting the heart-shaped herb is very helpful in explaining what goes on in Baptism. However, it is not a perfect analogy. For one, in Wakanda only Black Panthers go through this ritual. Not so with Christians. For us, Baptism is open to all, no matter what, although I would recommend knowing what it is you’re getting yourself into first.
T’Challa goes through this ceremony multiple times in the film. Baptism is a one-time event. However, while we are made a new creation in Jesus Christ through Baptism, we all still struggle with our old lives and tendencies from before. I would argue that T’Challa’s need to re-ingest the heart-shaped herb is similar to our own need to continue to grow in Christ Jesus throughout our lives, and I will speak more on this topic later. Also, while Baptism is a one-time event, there are services in the church for re-affirming our baptismal vows. These take various forms in different denominations. Most importantly, the difficulty with using T’Challa’s experience in relation to our own is that Wakandans follow the deity Bast, not Jesus Christ. Their god is very different from our God. However, we should remember that this is a fictional story and universe. There are still a lot of similarities in what we find in Black Panther and in Baptism. Remember the differences, but use the similarities to help you better understand what Baptism is, what it means, and what it means for you. Disclaimer: unless otherwise stated, the majority of images produced here are not owned or created by me. Commenting is encouraged. Please use discretion leaving comments below, letting the love of God guide you.
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