Was Jesus a Zombie?
I’ve often gently teased some of my Christian friends and acquaintances with a question along those lines, pointing out that, in general, if a person dies, is buried, and subsequently rises from the dead with lethal wounds that seem to cause no pain and no longer bleed, we might well call that person a Zombie, here in modern times. Thus, I asked them, in a slightly sly manner, ‘Was Jesus a Zombie?’
It appears that this holiday season I’m not the only one with those thoughts, as this much more serious-minded blog post by Rick Siefert attests:
It was only on this morning of Christmas Day that I began to connect the frivolity and seeming meaninglessness of the night before with Jesus and his teachings. Zombies and vampire are about transformation, even resurrection, gone horribly wrong. The world of these creatures is one without hope. Are the myths, which are so much in vogue, a warning? Are they a wake-up call, just as the message of Jesus was? Can we be led to love by zombies, vampires as well as by Jesus’ teachings?
Are these stories, whether horrible or hopeful, ways of making us aware before it is too late?
The Christian mythology, fabricated years after Jesus’ death, also sought to direct and, yes, strike fear in our hearts. Vampires and zombies emerged from societies aware of, even steeped in what Jesus taught and what others mythologized about his life.
It seems odd yet worthwhile to ask: Was Jesus a kind of zombie with a difference when he reappeared after death?
The ZRC of course takes issue with the idea that Zombie resurrection has necessarily, or even generally, ‘gone wrong’, but it’s nice to see Zombies get some thoughtful consideration from a religious perspective, at least, as something other than ‘abominations’.
Can we be led to love by Zombies? Can we be led to love OF Zombies? I certainly hope so, but what will it take?
I wonder.
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