The Walking Dead

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God,

that you may be able to withstand in the evil day,

and having done all, to stand.”

Ephesians 6:13

Ah, daylight savings time… “spring forward” and lose an hour of sleep… yuck. And it always comes just before Sunday church services. It makes me think of zombies. You know, those glazed looks on people’s faces during Sunday School.

“Zombies.” What comes to mind when you hear that word? Is it Bela Lugosi in the 1932 blockbuster White Zombie? Or do you think of films from the forties, such as I Walked With a Zombie, Revolt of the Zombies, or Zombies on Broadway? Or maybe you’re a little more modern and think of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. That film from 1968 reintroduced zombies to the American public and spawned (ooh, bad choice of words) a slew of movies and shows, including Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Zombie, and Return of the Living Dead. (Wow, why won’t these dead people stay dead?) It also birthed the tamer versions seen in Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Disney’s The Goofy Movie, though those pesky zombies didn’t stay tame for long, exhibiting their true flesh-eating habits in recent versions, such as AMC’s hit show “The Walking Dead.”

Today, thanks to technological advances, we are no longer forced to watch helplessly as zombies advance on the houses in movies sets. We can participate in their eradication, utilizing virtual tools (like shotguns and AK-47s) in video games. Indeed, adding a ‘zombie alternative’ has become standard for popular games like Call of Duty. And, then, of course, if that doesn’t give you your zombie-killing fix, you can always purchase the actual “Walking Dead” PS3 game and blow the heads off of the zombies. Fun. Fun.

But what’s the background of all this? What’s up with zombies?

The concept of zombiism (yep, it’s a real word) goes back to Haitian Voodoo culture. The word zombie (in Haitian, zombi) means “spirit of the dead.” According to voodoo folklore, ‘Bokors’ (Voodoo priests) had the ability to administer a black magic that resurrects the dead, bringing them back to a mindless, drone-like state. In reality, the ‘magic’ these priests administered was a powerful drug called coup padre. This powder contained tetrodoxin, the deadly substance of the poisonous fou-fou or “porcupine fish.” Given orally, it would slow the victim’s heart rate, suppress his breathing pattern and cause his body temperature to drop. All this conspired to make the victim look dead. The Bokor would declare him dead, and the family would bury him. Afterward, the Bokor would exhume the victim and revive him to a mindless, sedate state. – In other words, it was all hokum. No magic. No power over death. But you can imagine the hysteria this all caused.

The resurgence of zombiism in popular TV shows has prompted academics to debate the concept’s appeal. (Though I don’t think we need to be scholars to get it.) They have suggested that confronting a zombie causes one to be reminded of his own mortality. They suggest that a zombie (or an actor dressed like one) reminds us that we are made of dust and will return to dust, that our flesh will rot away. They suggest that it causes us to ask uncomfortable questions about what happens after we die. Will we indeed be mindless? Will we be used by evil forces?

We Christians are in a different position than the rest of society when we encounter zombiism. We have already accepted the temporality of our physical bodies. We accept that our bodies will decay after death; but we affirm that this decay is only temporary. A real, physical, and wonderful resurrection for us is coming, in which our spirits will join with our resurrected bodies. And we will never again be subject to decay. Our physical bodies will be a glorious an everlasting testimony to the eternal life we have in Christ Jesus.

As Christians, we can utilize the current zombie fad to engage with non-believers. It offers opportunities to discuss life after death, the resurrection, and the Bible. Let me suggest a few interesting conversation starters:

§         “Do you think resurrections of dead people really have happened?” – This question provides an open door for discussing the Biblical accounts of resurrection, including those regarding of Lazarus, the widow’s son, and, of course, Jesus Christ. This gives a chance, subsequently, to discuss how we evaluate historical events and whether they happened, and it provides the opportunity to explain the legal-historical method. This may lead to the sharing of Biblical and non-biblical witnesses concerning Jesus’ Resurrection.

§         “Do you think resurrections of dead people are happening today?” – This is an interesting question to raise, as it is likely the answer will be ‘no.’ This paves the way for a discussion of humanity’s fall into sin and the death it brought. Such a discussion would lead to a discussion of the meaning of the word ‘death” and to a distinction being made between spiritual death and physical death. The Christian can point out that, in the Fall, spiritual death occurred immediately and was passed to all, as explained by Paul in Romans and alluded to by him in Ephesians 2:1. And this will, or should, lead to a discussion of the need for new spiritual life, a life to be had only through a new birth, one experienced as one received Jesus Christ as Lord. And, ultimately, it leads to the bold and amazing declaration that resurrections of dead people are occurring every day (as they turn to Jesus for life)!

And, here’s one more…

§         “What do you think resurrected dead people would really be like?” – This question in itself should lead into all kinds of interesting discussions. It could lead to explorations of furthering questions, such as: What is the difference between the Resurrection of the Damned and the Resurrection of the Redeemed? Will the Damned be resurrected to a mindless, drone-like eternity? What will a glorified body be like?

Well, those are a just a few conversation starters. I’m sure you’ve thought of many others. And as we’ve thought together about this topic, I’ll bet you’ve already considered the idea that non-believers could, from a biblical standpoint, be called “the Walking Dead.” Well, if you have, I agree. And that leads me to point out two interesting similarities between non-believers and zombies (as they are currently presented in shows like The Walking Dead): both are controlled by impulses they don’t understand, and both are bent on the destruction of the living. Non-believers may have physical life, but they are nevertheless spiritually dead. In addition, though they may not know it, their god is Satan, and their purposes are aligned with his. Accordingly, they are bent on the destruction of the believers.

But there the similarities end. We are not like the survivors in AMC’s “Walking Dead” series. We do not need to respond to our walking dead with shotguns or the like. No, to the contrary, we can respond to them by fearlessly sharing the Word of God in love. We can overcome their evil with God’s good. We can strap on His armor and stride courageously into the skirmish. Yes, we can, in Christ, engage in effective and godly ways with the walking dead.

So let’s do it.