I took a seminary class some years ago that dealt with theology in theater. The premise of the class was that all theater productions, movies, television shows, etc., say something, even if it’s in an obscure way, about what and how people think about God and life. Recently, there have been a rash of zombie movies and television shows such as; The Walking Dead, Z-Nation and others. And of course, classics such as Night of the Living Dead and Day of the Dead still perk the interest of many horror movie fans.
A few days ago, while watching an episode of Z-Nation (the series), I started thinking about the theology of zombies. What are these movies and these television shows saying about God and life? Well, I noticed that in The Walking Dead and in Z-Nation, there are always more zombies than living people! The zombies walk around in a mindless fashion, going no place in particular. I said: “Wow! That reminds me of some people I know!” Do you know anyone who is living their life in “zombie-mode?” They have no goals and they are not going anywhere in particular. They just get up each day in survival mode, just trying to make it through the day. It seems like there are always more people who are going nowhere in particular than there are people who have goals, visions, and plans.
I also observed that the zombies feed off of the brains of the living people! They eat brains, but they don’t get any smarter! And when they bite a person, they turn that person into a zombie too! There are people around who will suck the life out of you! They seem to specialize in always trying to destroy your creative thoughts and many times they will try to steal your ideas, but they never come up with anything original or creative on their own! These are the people who have made “Captain Obvious” their hero! They are quick to point out the obvious problems but are totally clueless and useless in offering viable solutions!
Usually, the zombie apocalypse starts with one infected person who bites another person and before you know it; it’s a plague of zombies! It’s a zombie apocalypse! When I consider many of the idiotic ideas that are being accepted as truth and normal today, I wonder if we are in the midst of a zombie apocalypse! I recently heard of a high school principal who thinks the way to elevate low achieving students is to group them with high achieving students! But what always happen in those cases is that the achievements of the higher students are pulled down by the low achievers! This high school principal must have never seen a zombie movie! A zombie is never cured by biting the living, but when a zombie bites the living, the living always turns into a zombie!
One more thing about the zombie shows and then I’m through! In the zombie shows, no matter how many zombies there are, there are always some living people who have hopes of survival, finding a cure, and having a new beginning! Hopefully this post will be read by people who have that hope! Common sense is not so common anymore! In government, there are not many statesmen around anymore; only politicians! Gun violence, police brutality, racial profiling, government corruption and people killing other people like flies! We’re in the middle of a zombie apocalypse! But, even in the midst of this, there is hope! That hope is found in the God who offers hope in the midst of our despair! So even if you have been bitten, there is hope in God! So don’t give up! Keep fighting the zombies off! Don’t let them bite you! And for God’s sake, don’t let them eat your brains!