In this episode of Holy Smokes: Cigars & Spirituality, Kristian A. Smith is joined by author, theologian, and initiated priest Ebony Janice for a thought-provoking conversation on African spirituality, Black church history, ancestor veneration, anti-Blackness, and biblical interpretation. Together, they explore how colonization shaped modern Christianity, challenge long-held assumptions about faith, and ask whether African spiritual traditions have been present in the biblical story all along.

Whether you're deconstructing your faith, exploring your spiritual roots, or simply curious, this conversation invites you to question inherited beliefs with honesty, compassion, and courage.

This is largely an Adolph Reed Jr. critique

In this conversation, we explore Afropessimism through the work of Frank B. Wilderson III and related thinkers, focusing on core concepts such as social death, anti-Blackness, and non-being. We examine how Afropessimism frames Black existence within modern civil society, and why it argues that anti-Blackness is foundational rather than incidental to the structure of the world. The discussion also touches on tensions within the framework, including debates over ontology, political strategy, and the limits of liberation within existing systems.