Ben Jammin' Zilla

Hi everyone, this is a blog I'm going to use as a personal writing outlet. I'm currently 25. I became a Christian during high school due to a powerful spiritual experience of Jesus Christ that (eventually) convinced me that the Christian faith was true. Ever since then I've been very curious about matters of faith and ideas about God, religion, and spirituality. Religious studies was my major in college, and I am about to begin pursuing an M.A. in theology at an Episcopal seminary. Readers should expect posts about religion, Christian theology, and spirituality, ranging from a devotional to a more academic nature. But you can also expect some pop culture reviews and thoughts here and there because I watch a lot of movies! Thanks!

So I think Black Panther is one of the best films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, easily in the top five. Unlike most other MCU movies it tries to be more than popcorn entertainment by raising pointed political questions. Moreover, it's a special film in the superhero genre not only because it features political themes (as many other great entries in the genre do), but because it features political themes centered around Blackness . The conflict between T'Challa and N'Jadaka/Killmonger is really a conflict about what it means to be Black, how to be Black in a world that systematically does not allow Black people to thrive. I could say more about this central conflict and other elements that make this film excellent but I really want to focus on my favorite moment. I've been thinking about it and how it made me feel ever since a co-worker mentioned that she saw the film for the first time a few weeks ago and I got excited about it all over again. The moment is c...

I have been spending a lot of time with this book by John Strong lately. Among the Eastern religions Buddhism personally interests me the most, and this book attracted me because I have been been acquainted with some of the basics of Buddhism and wanted a meatier overview of the differences between different branches of the religion. For this reason I believe "Introduction" is a misleading because the topics covered in this book are more complex and better suited for a student who has some education in Buddhism rather than someone going in cold. Perhaps "Overview" would have been a better subtitle. Regarding content, what I do appreciate about this book is its commitment to the diversity of Buddhism. The opening chapter introduces us to the major pilgrimage site of Lumbini in Nepal, where Buddha was born. The irony is that while this site brings together Buddhists from all over the world, Lumbini contains a complex of buildings and monastic communities that are di...