The Living Dead

You've probably seen your share of costumes already this year, especially if your church had some sort of fall festival or other celebration.   And, it's very cool that churches are attempting to seize the opportunity presented by Halloween to use a commemoration with a rather auspicious history to bring glory to God and to spread the gospel.



According to a survey by the National Retail Foundation, Americans are expected to spend $2.5 billion on Halloween costumes this year, spending over $1 billion on children’s costumes, $1.2 billion on adult costumes, and $310 million on pet costumes.  The average person will spend $72.31 on Halloween candy, costumes and décor, bringing total spending to $6.86 billion - and even in a down economy, that represents the most in the survey’s nine-year history.

According to NRF’s 2011 Top Costumes survey, conducted by BIGresearch, the trendiest costume is apparently - a ZOMBIE.  More than 2.6 million men, women and children plan to dress as zombies this Halloween.  Due to the popularity of the characters in recent books, television shows and video games, zombie costumes jumped from number 22 last year to number nine on children’s top costume list and from number seven to four on the adult list.    Number 1 on the adult list and number 2 in the kids' rankings is the witch, princess is the #1 childrens' costume.

Now a zombie is essentially a person who is considered to be the living dead, or even undead, assumed to be brought to this deathly lifeless state by some supernatural force.   Author Jeff Kinley puts the "zombie" concept into a Christian context in his new book, The Christian Zombie Killers Handbook.


It's billed as teaching about sin, grace, and salvation, tracing the fictional life of a guy named been Ben Forman and offering Bible teaching to help readers understand the gravity and consequences of life without God, of life as a zombie. Ephesians 2:4-5 says, "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved."

Kinley teaches that without the salvation Jesus offers, we are all as good as dead.  But he also illustrates how anyone can "kill the zombie inside, escape the clutches of the undead, and come alive by the supernatural power of God's salvation."

In the 3rd chapter of the book of Lamentations, the prophet Jeremiah describes life as a spiritual zombie:
4 He has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones. 5 He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. 6 He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead.

That's life in a fallen world, and in the life of Israel who had placed themselves under God's judgement - but listen to his words later in the chapter:
22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.


There's a lot of supernatural concentration during this "season", if you will, and while witchcraft may be trendy and zombies may be cool, these popular costumes and pop culture fascinations can give us opportunity to shine light into the darkness and share with people how evil can be overcome with good and death can be overcome with the life of Christ.   We don't have to be spiritual "zombies" -  He can transform the heart and help us to put aside the deeds of darkness.