Zombies

Dear Readers,

I was watching a movie recently, Carriers. I was expecting it to be a zombie movie, when it was more of a pandemic movie, but it got me thinking.

zombie from Carriers

I heard from some of my friends at school that one of the reasons that there was such a strong zombie phase in our culture was because zombies could actually happen. I respectfully disagree, to an extent. There are many different kinds of zombies, and the infected from Carriers could be considered one. Pretty much a disease, spread like the flue, from contact or even the breath of one who is infected. Symptoms include rashes and bleeding to the point that you begin rotting while you are alive, like leprosy on steroids. This could very well happen.

Other plagues like 28 Days Later, or The Crazies, could also actually happen. A disease spread by blood, bite, or other fluids, which do exist like Ebola, that in turn cause removal from reality or cravings and violent behavior could indeed happen. Like rabies or mad cow disease, like in The Mad, decay of the brain or other forms of brain damage could cause this cannibalistic or contentious behavior.

Even other kinds of zombies, like those caused by inebriating hallucinogens like the zombies of Haiti or in African lore, depicted well in The Serpent and the Rainbow and Ritual, or by hypnotism like the movie Revolt of the Zombies. These also could happen.

Yet the traditional zombie, one that is indeed dead, rotted, yet eating, reaching, walking, or even running. These, I would argue, could not exist. Now, I was given a copy of The Zombie Survival Guide, and it mentions that the zombies use silicon based respiratory and energy systems, which would be caused by a bacteria, likely of alien origin, thus the bacteria is technically running the body. This bacteria or parasitic means of zombification could also happen, so that is not what I am referring to.

I am more referring to virus, chemical, or radiation zombies that are actually dead. Viruses need living cells, radiation only kills or mutates cells, and chemicals don't amount to much.

First, as an example of the virus kind, Resident Evil. Now the mutant beasts like the lickers and the Nemesis, and even the Tyrant would be quite possible, because the virus is mutating living cells and DNA. Now there are electrical impulses and chemical reactions that occurs in the brain and body even after death. Wherefore, they are claiming that this virus uses these electrical impulses to keep the body remotely alive. Well we already have this, comatose brain dead patients. Guess what, they still don't walk around eating people. This is because these zombies are invented with a grave misunderstanding. The existence of a spirit. The spirit communicates with the brain, because there is something about the brain matter that allows the spirit to have direct contact with physical mater. This spirit's connection with the body is what gives it the chance and opportunity to move with the remotest precept of motive or desire.

Chemicals, like fairly accurately displayed in an episode of Masters of Horror: Dance of the Dead, causes convulsions and potentially standing up and dancing, but the motive and cause is more from the people tasering the body and creating an electrical pulse similar to that of a living brain.

Then with radiation. This is supposedly the cause of the zombies in Night of the Living Dead. Now, all known radiations kill the body or cells, or mutate the DNA often causing cancer. Now, firstly, this kind of undead would not likely be able to transmit the disease unless the radiation mutates the DNA into a contagious virus. I would also like to point out that there could be a form of "radiation" out there that cause mutation of a near undead nature, but still to have such function, a spirit has to be involved.

Indeed, some science fiction movies have tried to incorporate the idea of the "soul" being a chemical formula or component that can be extracted and then replanted as with the Re-Animator franchise. However, this science fiction is based upon the inaccurate conclusion that the "soul" has physical weight. Indeed it was Duncan McDougall's 21 grams experiment that got this unproven hypothesis into the media.

So to sum up, many zombies could indeed come into existence, but where the lore is polluted is when the scientists try to explain it without have a knowledge of the spirit. Though this could be any spirit. Like the original spirit returning to the body, or an evil spirit or demonic possession of a dead body. These could cause a real dead rising zombie if it wasn't for rules and laws that God has set already. For why would God allow the spirit of one of his children to return to a body that is rotting, in pain, and such severely impaired when He had already brought that child home.

Don't get me wrong, raising the dead like Lazarus (John 11:1-44), still happens, but Lazarus' body was also healed. Especially with resurrection, where the body is completely renewed and even raised in a state of glory (1 Corinthians 15:40-43). As for evil spirits and demonic possession, they still require living brain matter to interact with the body through, but should what living brain cells remain be rejuvenated by a virus or chemical, or even a parasitic relationship, then one of these malicious spirits could take control.

Love,
Jacobugoth