THE RISE AND FALL OF ZOMBIES

For some time now, I have been pondering the best way to approach this subject. I know the majority of the Christian community don't believe in zombies, with only a select few prophetic voices (o.k. -- really only one) proclaiming the dangers of zombies to our modern society. I think the problem is that the vast majority of the Christian community has been lulled into a false sense of security through the media. Zombies have been relegated to mythical creatures seen only in low-budget horror movies with more gore than plot, and the truth of the matter has been hidden by a vast right-wing conspiracy [Just as an aside -- no matter how long you watch "28 Days Later," you will not see either zombies or Sandra Bullock. The antagonists are merely infected with a virus and are not true zombies, and Sandra Bullock was in "28 Days" , something we discovered after watching "28 Days Later" for about 30 minutes.]

However, as I learned during my subsequent research in this matter, zombies are definitely real and very much "alive" in our day and age. According to Wikipedia , the definitive source of all real information on the internet, zombies are considered a vital doctrine and belief in other religions, most notably the religion of Vodoun (or Voodoo) as widely practiced in Haiti and in Africa. To quote from the Wikipedia article:

"According to the tenets of Vodoun, a dead person can be revived by a bokor or sorcerer. Zombies remain under the control of the bokor since they have no will of their own. "Zombi" is also another name of the voodoo snake god Damballah Wedo, of Niger-Congo origin; it is akin to the Kongo word nzambi, which means "god." There also exists within the voudon tradition the zombi astral which is a human soul that is captured by a bokor and used to enhance the bokor's power."

Until I began my research, I didn't know that the belief in zombies was widely held among Christians and other religious people in the middle ages, with references dating all the way back to the Epic of Gilgamesh of ancient Sumer. [Another aside -- isn't it curious how many things have their sources in the region that is now known as Iraq?]. In fact, it wasn't until my recent experience that I became aware of the abundance of biblical information regarding zombies and the very real fact of their existence and interaction with Christians.

I first ran up on this clue to zombies in the biblical record while working on an in-depth study of the Book of Romans. In this epistle, the Apostle Paul lays out the foundations of our faith and the blending of Gentiles and Jews into a new body formed as a result of Christ's atoning death on the cross for our sins. While studying through this book, I stumbled upon Paul's references in many places to the presence of zombies. For instance, consider his phrasings in Chapter 3 when describing the enemies of God: "Their throats are open graves," "The poison of vipers is on their lips," "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness," "Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know." Sounds sorta zombie'ish to me!

And then I found the clincher in my quest for more insight on the lives of these zombies among us. In Romans Chapter 6, Paul began to write of his "old self," a self that had been killed, crucified on a cross, dead and buried. But, this "old self" did not go away. It came alive again, living in Paul's heart even though it was dead. It led him to give in to the most heinous acts, such that Paul, one of the world's most dedicated Christian, evangelist, and missionary, could cry out in Romans 7:15, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." This "old self," this zombie that was living inside of him, was controlling even Paul, making him stray from God's commands and live disobediently and unrighteously from time to time. Paul went on to write in the next several verses (17-21), "As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me."

Finally! This zombie had a name! It was sin! This sin nature that was destroyed by the body and blood of Christ had risen again and continued to live a life of evil within Paul and within us all. This explained it all! In my own Christian walk, I had been attacked on many occasions by zombies. I fought back the best I could, but to no avail. Time and time again, the zombies controlled my actions, forcing me to turn away from God and to give in to the evil that they carried in their bodies. At the time, of course, I didn't know what was going on. I knew that I was a Christian. I knew that I had been washed in the blood of the lamb. I knew that my sins were forgiven. But, yet, that old sin nature, the same one that Paul said had been crucified on the cross with Christ, would come back to life at the most inopportune times, leading me into temptation and sin and evil until I cried out with Paul, "I do not know why I keep doing what I don't want to do!"

Now I know that it was truly an attack by the undead, by a zombie released from the pit of hell itself, all designed to take me down and to destroy, not my flesh, but my very soul. But as I looked up from my research, I found hope. Because evil now had a name. And a named evil, an identified evil, could be destroyed. Unfortunately, the best sources on how to kill a zombie didn't identify how to kill a zombie within, only external zombies that rise from the grave to attack you. Obviously, a bullet or sharp blow to the head wouldn't work. Fire wouldn't work. So what would?

Once again, I found the answer in the Book of Romans. Faced with a similar predicament, the Apostle Paul cried out (7:24), "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" And immediately, he received his answer. Deliverance would only come through Christ Jesus, his Lord! You see, just like vampires can't stand against garlic, just like werewolves are powerless against silver bullets, sin zombies are powerless against the blood of Christ. The secret to totally vanquishing this messenger from hell was to completely saturate and inundate yourself with the blood of Christ, literally turning yourself completely over to Him, making yourself, in essence, His slave, so that He controlled your actions and the zombie could not gain a foothold. Sin zombies cannot stand the sight of Christ's blood. It actually repels them and forces them to flee.

So how is this done in practice? Paul tells us in Romans 12:1-2. We must make ourselves a sacrifice to God. "1. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." In other words, cover yourself with the blood of Christ and offer yourself as a holy and pleasing sacrifice to Him, dedicating your life and all that you are, and the undead will flee. A life of holiness and righteousness and obedience can be lived, and the undead sin zombies that once plagued you will be gone forever.

Of course, this only works if you continue to remain soaked in the blood of Christ, if you remain in close proximity to Him and allow His very presence to infuse your life. The best way I have found to do this is through prayer, daily Bible reading, regular worship, and participation in the Lord's Supper. When I neglect these daily disciplines, I find the zombie sin monster coming to life again, and I immediately have to turn to Jesus for His grace and mercy in order to defeat this evil from within.

Here are the take-home messages: 1) Zombies are real; 2) Zombies have a name: Sin; 3) Zombies can only be defeated by the blood of Christ; and, 4) You must have daily infusions of Christ in order to maintain vigilance against these evil, undead creatures. Take heart -- the Apostle Paul recognized and controlled zombies in his life, and we can do so, too!