Featuring Matt Anderson and Ben De Bono
Christians are usually comfortable with science fiction and fantasy, but less so with horror. In this episode of The Sci-Fi Christian, Ben and Matt debate the merits of the horror genre for people of faith.
Horror and Faith (AKA Zombie Jesus)
I totally agree that horror movies can be good for us.
First of all i just want to say great episode!
Okay so Matt was trying to make the claim that Jesus was a Zombie (jokingly) and to me i say no. I mean come on be serious, that’s just ridiculous. But Matt brings up a good point with that communion thing, I just wanted to mention before i get taken out and stoned by the people that you just ticked off a lot of Catholics. Now you made them think that they are cannibals. That’s almost just mean.
Final Score
Matt 1 Catholics 0
I think that Koby is right but i do not believe that it is possible for Jesus to be a Zombie. When he is resurrected they find his folded clothes sitting on a self. Have you ever seen a movie where Zombies can fold clothes
Talan, I think you just won the argument:) Folded clothes=no way Jesus was a zombie
Defiantly and plus Jesus appears and talks to people and tells them to do stuff. I have read books about Zombies that can talk, but Zombies telling people what to do. No way
Where do things stand with that sci-fi Samson-as-superhero show, do you know? I would watch that in a heartbeat, especially because Samson and Delilah was the Scripture I used in my sermon as a candidate for ordination. I’ve got a soft spot for the poor, long-haired lug!
Back before I was with the site, I wrote a piece on “Zombie Jesus,” which you can find here (shameless plug alert!): http://www.ministrymatters.com/all/article/entry/970/living-not-undead. So I was really interested to hear your conversation (which was a good one, as ever!). Short answer as to why Jesus isn’t a zombie: zombies are resuscitated, but Jesus was raised! Also, not all monster horror is the least believable kind, given what can we do with science these days.
I’m not personally a fan of much horror, although I do enjoy psychological horror sometimes. I think Psycho is a great film. I loved Buffy, but that’s not hardcore horror, I know (similarly, any time Doctor Who shades toward Twilight Zone-esque horror, I’m okay with that!) I’ve only read one Steven King novel (Needful Things), but I would be open to reading more—too bad I missed The Stand read-along! And, to my surprise, I did enjoy The Walking Dead on TV, but when I tried the comic, found it to be too much. In a fit of enthusiasm, I bought the first massive compendium volume, but abandoned it about half-way through. Maybe I just needed to take it in smaller doses!
You joked about an interview with angels, but angels might actually make a good topic for a podcast: angels in pop culture (both good and fallen) vs. angels in the Bible and maybe even various church traditions. Just a thought!
I liked the angel show idea proposed by Michael.
I’m not a fan of horror as a genre, but if there are horror elements in something else, I’m okay with it. When something is strictly in the genre, it doesn’t scare me, just annoys me mostly. The thoughts I have were covered really well in this episode, y’all did a great job.
Here’s a horrifying personal story: I saw the original Friday the 13th at the theater- at the age of 8, no that’s not a typo. It was either that or The Shining and my older sisters picked Friday the 13th, I don’t know what my dad was thinking at the time. It totally scarred me, I was straight up traumatized. For years I checked under the bed, around the house, in closets, etc. before I could relax in a house by myself. Thankfully, I got over it eventually- but at the time I was a mess!
A couple of zombie books I highly recommend are The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell (7 hrs & 25 min on audio) http://bit.ly/1AHNqnU and Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry (14 hrs & 45 min on audio) http://bit.ly/1AHMgc. I love them both- great stories!