Biblical Zombies: Doing Theology with the Undead
摘要
This chapter explores the overlap between contemporary zombie narratives and two types of biblical narratives: resurrection stories and apocalypses. The resurrection narratives of Elisha, Ezekiel, and Lazarus are argued to have overlap with contemporary zombie narratives in their focus on the bodily process of resurrection. In the case of Lazarus, two key intertexts—Martin Scorsese’s 1988 film adaptation of The Last Temptation of Christ and Stephen King’s 1983 novel Pet Sematary—demonstrate that this narrative can be read in a way that interacts with contemporary zombie narratives and allows readers to question whether the afterlife is, in fact, a good place. Lastly, zombie narratives are brought into conversation with ancient religious apocalypses, arguing that both genres share the foundation of critiquing the surrounding culture and suggesting that humanity’s only hope is a fresh start.