This article was originally posted at Speculative Faith.

The Walking Dead is a television show created by the American Movie Channel (AMC).  If you haven’t heard about it yet, a preview is provided below.

Yes, this show is about a zombie outbreak that threatens to destroy humanity.  The story is told by accompanying a local Sheriff, his family, friends, and several acquaintances as they seek safety and survival. The looming question throughout the series is “Will humanity survive the zombie takeover, or will humanity lose its human identity in its attempt to survive; thus, functionally becoming “the walking dead,” although not metaphysically?”

So, why would a Christian pastor argue that God’s grace is what draws him to this zombie television show?  The answer is since all humans are created in God’s image (Gen. 1:26-27) and all are sinners (Rom. 3:23), and since all forms of media are created by these fallen image-bearers (Gen. 3), it logically follows that all forms of media contain grace-mixed idolatry, The Walking Dead included.  In other words, God’s fallen image-bearers mirror or image God through creativity while simultaneously marring this image with sin.  The task of the Christian observer is to enjoy the grace and reject the idolatry.

Dr. Ted Turnau (PhD Westminster Theological Seminary Philadelphia) explains this reality well in his article “On Being Wise as Serpents,”

There is no piece of popular culture so banal or twisted that it does not contain some glimpse of God’s grace. And there is no piece of popular culture so pure and profound that it does not contain an invitation to idolatry. Popular culture appeals to non-Christians for a reason, namely, they sense some of God’s beauty, power and goodness in it. This is what theologians call ‘common grace’ – fragments of grace that God spreads to everyone – even those who will never come to believe. As Paul says in Acts, these gifts of God are ‘testimony’ to God’s being and character (see Acts 14:17). Popular culture contains such ‘fragments of grace’ woven into the very fabric of the popular cultural song, movie, television show, book, etc. But in non-Christian popular culture, these fragments of grace are bent to serve false gods. In fact, the idols presented in popular culture become persuasive for non-Christians (and sometimes Christians) precisely because of the attractiveness of those glimpses of God’s grace.

For example, James Cameron’s summer blockbuster Avatar (2009) won accolades for its stunning visual effects, and rightly so. The digital artistry created a beautiful and fascinating alien world filled with realistic and delightful creatures. It served to remind us of the real and delightful creatures God has made. In this way, the film served as a reflection of God’s creative artistry, and ultimately, the beauty and power of God Himself.  But the film bends that fragment of grace into the service of pagan nature worship (the nature deity ‘Eywa’). Likewise, all meaningful and attractive popular culture succeeds by drawing its audience in with such reflections of God’s beauty, while putting those grace fragments into service to another god.”

If you participate in any form of media: TV, movies, songs, books, etc., you participate in grace-mixed idolatry.  Scooby-Doo, Sponge Bob, American Idol, Avatar, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Walking Dead, etc. all contain elements of God’s grace, but also elements of idolatry.  Turnau argues, and I agree, that Christians should participate in such media while exercising discernment.  This means that as Christians participate in media, they must extract God’s grace from the surrounding idolatry and turn it to the service of its rightful Owner: God.  This is accomplished by qualifying this grace with the truth of man’s sinful condition and Christ’s redeeming work to save sinners and sinful creation.  In other words, Christians should participate in pop culture; however, they should participate like Christians, not Atheists.

An atheist would merely enjoy The Walking Dead without considering the ultimate source of its excellence: God.  Christians, however, if they participate in The Walking Dead, should seek to enjoy God through enjoying The Walking Dead (1 Cor. 10:31).  So, as a reference point concerning the common grace present in The Walking Dead, look at the awards this show won and was nominated for due to the visual and audible excellence of its first season (only 6 episodes):

The first season of The Walking Dead won the Saturn Award for Best Television Presentation and was nominated for Best Actor on Television (Andrew Lincoln), Best Actress on Television (Sarah Wayne Callies), Best Guest Starring Role on Television (Steven Yeun), and Best Supporting Actress on Television (Laurie Holden). It also received a Director’s Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series’ — Night (Frank Darabont), a Golden Globe nomination for Best Television Series — Drama, and a Television Critics Association Award nomination for Outstanding New Program of the Year. In addition, The Walking Dead recently won the Emmy award for Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special; and was nominated for Emmys in Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series and Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series.

In the creating fingerprints of humanity are the creating fingerprints of God.  Without Him providing these directors, producers, and writers with the various gifts and abilities it takes to create The Walking Dead, these men and women could not have created this TV show.  Without God’s common grace, there would not be excellent special effects, excellent story-telling, displays of morality, spiritual implications, etc. in The Walking Dead.

Without the excellent special effects, few people would want to watch The Walking Dead.  The special effects are second to none.  If there is ever a zombie-like outbreak, I have a good idea of what it will look like.  It’s that good.

Furthermore, the suspense is amazing, and rivaled by nothing comparable on television today.  You never know when a zombie may pop out, or when another cast member may succumb to or escape the grasp of the walking dead.  This question looms in every episode, “Will humanity survive the zombie takeover, or will humanity lose its human identity in its attempt to survive; thus, functionally becoming “the walking dead,” although not metaphysically?”  And we do not know how the writers will answer this question from one episode to the next.

The moral implications and questions are far-reaching beyond anything else on television.  (Morality and conscience come from God’s common grace; otherwise, mankind would be as evil as he possibly could be.)  Here are some examples:

1) Does disease nullify human identity?  If so, at what point? 

2) If there is no cure for said disease, and the infected are dangerous, should they be eliminated for the sake of the human race; or, at the risk of infecting others or eliminating the rest of the human race, should the infected be quarantined until a cure is found? 

I realize the moral implications are hypothetical, but our children may indeed be forced to answer similar questions one day.  At the very least, asking such questions will help Christian watchers apply a consistent Christian ethic to this fantasy world so that they may apply a thorough Christian ethic to the real world.  I fear that such questions concerning the value of human life, although not to the extreme presented in The Walking Dead, are being asked today; such questions as “If a human being merely “feeds” off of other human beings, and provides nothing beneficial to the rest of society, should he or she be eliminated for the sake of the rest of the human race”?  In other words, do the severely handicapped, those in the nursing home, and those in the womb deserve to be treated like those humans who are beneficial to the rest of the human race?  Or, is the value of humanity based on a “What have you done for me lately” mentality?  The biblical answer is easy: all humans are created in God’s image and are valuable based on His identity alone, not based on the arbitrary opinions of those humans who may be in power at the time (Gen. 1:26-27).

The spiritual implications are present explicitly and implicitly.  Each character is battling evil, both without (zombies) and within (self-preservation vs. loving one’s neighbor as oneself).  At times, there is a clear good and a clear evil; while at other times, evil is revealed in each human.  Furthermore, there is the perseverance of faith and the questioning of faith.  Some continue to trust in God through Christ while others question Him or live as if He doesn’t exist.  Moreover, even though the zombie fantasy world present in The Walking Dead is hard to compare and contrast with our non-zombie world; nevertheless, allegorically, all humans are running from the walking dead.  On the show, the walking dead are both inside (evil desires) and out (zombies).  In real life, the walking dead are both inside and out, but we cannot escape them through mere moral willpower or a gun and athletic prowess.  The Sherriff in the story reveals that regardless how much he wants to save others from death, he is incapable of saving everyone.  The truth that must be added to the story is that humans need Jesus Christ for He is the only cure for what plagues humanity: sin (John 14:6).  We must be born again in and through Him (John 3:3).  The answer for both metaphysical and functional “walking dead syndrome” is Jesus Christ.

The list can go on and on.  At the very least, everything in The Walking Dead that is true, is true because God created it true.  Also, everything that is worthy of praise, is worthy of praise due to the gifting of God.  Man is not the ultimate source, God is.  Thus, as Christians recognize this reality, they can enjoy God through Christ through The Walking Dead.  Furthermore, everything that is false in The Walking Dead is false because man created it “true,” not God.  These things must be rejected.

*A brief note on conscience.  If The Walking Dead violates your conscience, do not watch it. I must warn you that the gore is over the top.  It’s just as bloody and gory as any movie I’ve ever seen.  I actually don’t like the gore.  I don’t know why anyone would like it?  But, I reject the gore and every other evil, while qualifying the common grace with special revelation (the Bible).  There is also foul language, misuse of the Lord’s name, and some sexual implications and innuendo.  Since the 2^nd season is ongoing, and there is a 3^rd season already under contract, there may be more things I reject on the horizon in this series.  You must practice discernment!  At this point, I personally would allow my 14 or 15 year old child to watch this show with me for the purpose of teaching him or her to enjoy God while recognizing His common grace and rejecting the fingerprints of the Fall.  The goal would be to send him or her running to Christ as the only Answer for what plagues humanity: “the walking dead” within and without every human; AKA sin, self, and sinners, not zombies.

What are your thoughts?

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“It’s a Disciple Now Weekend and youth pastor, David Few, rides a motorcycle into the auditorium to deliver something to the stage. All is fine until the bike gets out from under him as he exits.”

Biography (From The Resurgence):

Dr. David F. Wells is a distinguished senior research professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He has previously taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and conferences such as the Desiring God National Conference.

In addition to teaching, Dr. Wells is involved with a number of ministries. He serves on the board of the Rafiki Foundation, whose goal is to establish orphanages and schools in 10 African countries in order to raise and train orphans within a Christian framework. Rafiki’s hope is that the next generation of leaders for these countries will come from their orphanages. Dr. Wells travels to Africa annually to visit these orphanages. For a number of years, he was a member of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, its theology working group and its planning committee for the World Congress that was held in Manila in 1989. For many years, he has worked to provide theological education and basic preaching tools for Third World pastors.

He has also authored several articles and books (a list is included at the end of the interview).

1. What is Postmodernism?

Postmodernity is almost what anyone wants to say it is!  And the word itself hints at some of the conceit that often is a part of the definition. People are beyond the modern?  Neo, a character in A New Kind of Christian, one who sounds very much like Brian McLaren himself, adds a whole series of other “posts”: postmoderns are postconquest, postmechanical, postanalytical, postsecular, postobjectivist, postindividualistic, postProtestant and so forth.  But let us not indulge in fantasies.

Postmodernity is the mood that now hangs over the most highly modernized societies of the West.  In part, it expresses its disappointment that so many of the promises that the Enlightenment made about life that have proved false, most importantly the promise of progress.  The outward fabric of life, suffused with technology, is indeed progressing but the human spirit is not.  That promise was a fraud. 

But in part the postmodern is also the mood of the rich progeny, the children of affluence.  And let us not kid ourselves: we are affluent.  It is the mood that has gripped more of those in their teens and twenties than those who are older.  It is, therefore, a generational mood, too.  And right at its heart is what I have called the “autonomous self.”  That is, in its purest from, a self free from the past, from conventions, moral norms, social expectations, often from God and, in fact, from objective reality.  Everything outside the self is irrelevant to that self.

That may make sense at the level of self-reflection but it collides with the real world any time we run into an airplane schedule, or do our taxes, or look hopefully for a job in a corporation or in government, in the F.B.I. or in the armed services.

2. Is it important for the church to understand Postmodernism today?  Why?

It is.  It is important because this mood refracts the truth of the gospel.  In fact, the gospel is often misheard or discounted because of this posture.  It is important, therefore, to be able to understand the core assumptions and challenge them rather than capitulating to them in hopes of being “successful.”

3. Concerning Postmodernism, what issues face the church today? What are some potential answers to these issues?

The postmodern mood is mostly generationally located.  This is what has fueled the Emergent experimentation with doing church.  Emergents are catering to postmodern likes and tastes and acceding to all of the core, cultural assumptions.  The outcome will be a new kind of liberalism.  Already, the Pied Pipers of the movement, like McLaren, have softened the traditional sexual ethic or, like Rob Bell, the traditional doctrine of judgment and hell.  The biblical teaching on the “age to come” which is already penetrating “this age” evaporates and the whole preoccupation becomes this age, time, and culture.  The upside is a renewed sensitivity to the earth and to injustice but the downside is that this sensitivity begins to look no different from any other politically correct posture.  And this is Christianity?

4. What are some books our readers might find helpful for understanding how Christians should respond to postmodernism?

I don’t think evangelicals have really distinguished themselves in understanding this cultural mood.  Just this week I read James Livingston’s The World Turned Inside Out:  American Thought and Culture at the End of the 20^th Century (2010).  It looks at the way the American cultural landscape changed in the last quarter of last century.  The book is irreverent and unsympathetic to Christian faith.  But it brims over with cultural insights.  Why hasn’t a literature emerged on the other side of the religious equation, one that is as insightful culturally but is written from within Christian assumptions?  Still, we are not entirely bereft.  Gene Veith’s Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture was a good start.  There are some useful essays in Millard Erickson’s Reclaiming the Center: Confronting Evangelical Accommodation to Postmodern Times and David Dockery’s The Challenge of Postmodernism.  But, as one might expect, for every Veith there is a Stan Grenz, A Primer on Postmodernism or a Craig Detweiler A Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Popular Culture which seem too anxious to get to the point, as soon as possible, when the Church’s distinctive, theological voice will be lost.

Dr. Wells, thank you for taking the time to participate in this interview.  I appreciate your ministry immensely.

Resources available from Dr. Wells:

1. The Courage to Be Protestant: Truth-Lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World

2. Losing Our Virtue: Why the Church Must Recover Its Moral Vision

3. No Place for Truth: Or, Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology

4. God in the Wasteland: The Reality of Truth in a World of Fading Dreams

5. Above All Earthly Pow’rs: Christ in a Postmodern World

6. And several other books.

7. Free Audio, Interviews, and Articles from Dr. Wells (69 links from Mongergism.com)

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In a recent opinion piece on Fox News, Dr. Keith Ablow wrote an article titled “America is Drunk.”  He writes,

New data reveals that one in every six Americans downs eight mixed drinks within a few hours, four times a month. Twenty-eight percent of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 binge-drink five times a month, putting away seven drinks in one sitting. And 13 percent of those between the ages of 45 and 65 binge drink five times a month, too.

News of the magnitude of this intoxication—resulting in frequently and dramatically altered states of consciousness for tens of millions of Americans—is no different than if we were to learn that a quarter of our young people were snorting half-a-gram of cocaine more than once-a-week or injecting heroin on that schedule. The psychological/cognitive effects of seven or eight drinks are no less intense, and, possibly, even more dramatic.

And, what is the cause of this binge drinking?  Ablow continues,

My theory is that Americans are on a flight from reality. Faced with painful facts—including the precarious state of the economy, the gathering storm represented by militant Muslims, in general, and Iran, in particular, the crumbling state of marriage in this country, the fact that our borders are being overrun, and the fact that our health care insurance system is in shambles (to name just a smattering of the troubles we desperately need to address)—we as a nation are drinking, drugging, gambling, smoking, Facebooking, YouTubing, Marijuaning, Kardashianing, Adderalling, Bono-ing (as in thinking of Chaz’s sad flight from reality as good), Prozacking, Twittering, and Sexting ourselves into oblivion.

Ablow is right about the problem.  Americans are trying to escape this evil world.  This is exactly what the Bible says in Romans 1.  All mankind knows something is wrong with the world.  We either accept Christ as the answer or suppress this truth.  Thus, we all run to a gospel, a “good news,” to save us from this wicked world.  It should not surprise us that mankind wants to escape their surrounding wicked reality.  What should surprise us is that man refuses to accept the only thing that can save them from this wicked world: the redemptive work of Jesus Christ (Gen. 3:15; John 14:6).

How does Ablow answer the “America is Drunk” phenomenon?  He doesn’t believe prohibition is the answer because it’s insufficient to answer the various reasons why Americans try to escape reality four to five times per month.  Instead, he encourages Americans to “live their lives, be present, and to count–for real.”  Why should Americans do this?  Simply because “our future is uncertain, yet our prospects as great as the day God first blessed America.”  Ablow’s prayer is that this will encourage Americans to “sober up.”

Ablow’s assessment of Americans is accurate, but his answer to the problem is just as detrimental as the problem.  ”Think happy thoughts and respond to happy thoughts” is not an answer to binge drinking.  The answer to one false gospel is not another false gospel.  The answer to the human desire to escape this evil world is the only One who came to save us from this evil world: Jesus Christ.  Our only hope is not ourselves or happy thoughts about our future, but the contrary, a repentant response to the reality that we are sinners living in an evil world under the curse, and our only hope of salvation is a Carpenter who lived two thousand years ago.  God the Son took on a human nature, fully God and fully man, lived a sinless life, and then was crucified as if He committed the sins of all humanity, so that all those who come to Him will be treated as if they lived His sinless life.  In other words, the way to escape this evil world is not alcohol or possibility thinking, but the finished work of Christ alone.  He has conquered this evil world and is conquering it as revealed through His resurrection.  One day He will return to rescue those who believed in Him.  They will rule and reign with Christ forevermore.

Will you trust in Christ as the only escape from this evil world and your wicked heart, or will you attempt to rescue yourself through alcohol or happy thoughts?

Source: “America is Drunk” by Dr. Keith Ablow.

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Here’s an interview with Alex Kendrick, the Co-pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church.  Sherwood Baptist Church is the Southern Baptist church in Albany, GA that has produced four films.  Their latest movie Courageous made $34,000,000.  Kendrick directed each film.

I’m excited about this church’s exposure in pop culture, but I fear that Kendrick missed a golden opportunity here.  Are these movies really about pragmatism (whatever works best) or are they about Jesus Christ?  Should people walk away from these movies saying, “I want to be a better father; therefore, I need to take these biblical principles and apply them to my life?”  Or, should they walk away saying, “I want to be a better father, but I’m a sinner who needs what Jesus accomplished in my stead; therefore, I must trust in Him alone, His finished work, while seeking to be a better father as I plead His blood alone the rest of days.” Is the message of these movies really about being a better person, or, are they about The Person who took our sins, died for them, and conquered death through His resurrection to reconcile sinners to God the Father?

I’ve seen 2 of the 4 films produced by Sherwood, and I appreciate their ministry, which makes me wonder if I’m taking crazy pills here?  I didn’t know that these films were merely about what Kendrick said they were about (Granted, CNN may have cut out the part of the interview where Kendrick emphasized the gospel: Jesus’ finished work in reconciling sinners to God).  I thought these films were about Jesus, not about the pragmatic, temporal benefits of Christianity?  Am I naive?  Did I misunderstand what these movies are about?  Or, did Kendrick not really explain to CNN what these movies are about?

What are your thoughts?

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Pastoral Ministry is any ministry that is pastoral nature, namely, any ministry where the qualifications in 2 Timothy are required.  So, Children, Youth, Senior Adult, Couples, Missions, Education, etc. can all be forms of pastoral ministry.

I’m a Senior Pastor, and here are 10 things that I love about pastoral ministry…

1. Preaching the Word of God.

2. Being personally invested in the sanctification of God’s people.

3. Being personally invested in the ordinances: baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

4. Witnessing the fruit of 100′s of sermons, lessons, personal counseling, etc.

5. Using my spiritual gifts to edify God’s people.

6. Being personally involved in the salvation of souls.  

7. Being personally involved in pastoral care: ministering during sickness, death, pain, hardships, etc.

8. Ministering to the immature elements of Christians.

9. Having more mature saints minister to the immature elements in my Christian life.

10. Equipping the saints for the work of the ministry.

What are some other blessings of pastoral ministry that you would add to this list?

In New York City, a drunk man dropped his shoe down onto the train tracks at the Staten Island Railway and climbed down to retrieve it.  When Steven Santiago saw him struggling to get off the tracks, he jumped down and helped the man to safety.  Unfortunately, Santiago himself was struck by the train, and tonight he’s fighting for his life in critical condition.

The reason the drunk man was struggling was due to his sin of drunkenness, and a sober man, one who had not committed this man’s sin, jumped down to save him.  Sounds analogous to God the Son who came down to sinful humanity through taking on a human nature, while remaining fully God.  He is One Person with a fully human nature and a fully divine nature.  By acting through His human nature, God the Son saved us from God’s wrath, even though He did not commit our sin(s).  He saved us by taking God’s punishment toward our sin.  He died for our sins, but then conquered death three days later.  All those who come to God through Him will be saved from death as well, both temporal and eternal death.

God’s train is coming for sinners.  Are you safely hidden in Christ?  Has He taken God’s punishment for you to where you no longer fear God’s eternal wrath?  If not, you are on the train tracks in a drunken stupor and God’s train of righteous judgment is headed toward you.  Won’t you sober up, believe and trust in Christ alone for your salvation today?

Finally, I pray for Steven Santiago’s temporal and eternal life, that he knows God through Christ.  I also pray for this drunk man, that he quickly repents and trusts in Christ alone for his salvation.

Source: You can read the rest of this amazing story here.

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Part 1 can be found here.

Since part 1 was posted a few weeks ago, three more blogs have reviewed my book The Harry Potter Bible Study: Enjoying God Through the Final Four Harry Potter Movies.  Each blog gave a very positive review.  Here are some brief quotes:

Lisa Robinson at Parchment and Pen said,

Overall, I think that Moore’s study is worth the time and is no more detrimental to the Christian than watching the 11:00 news.  In fact, by engaging with the discussion guide and the movie, I can’t help but see how it would but sharpen our Christian worldview lens and provide a greater ability to interact with heightened Christian thinking in the world we live in.  Moreover, the questions can serve as a guide to evaluate other media products as well and should give the reader a better sense of discernment.

But most importantly, Moore uses this study as an opportunity to demonstrate that the only real remedy is found in Christ.   The gospel is the very foundation and overarching theme which Moore wishes to highlight, as he states here,

“To summarize, this Bible study is based on the foundation that Christians should engage their cultures, find the common examples of God’s image therein, extract these common truths, and add God’s truth to them: 1) man is sinful (Romans 3:23; 2) God’s answer for the sin problem is Christ’s redeeming work in reconciling sinners and creation to His Father (John 14:6). (pg 23)”

You can read the full review here.

John Gardner at Honey and Locusts said,

In summary, this is a book that will benefit the Harry Potter fan in your family, but is also a worthwhile purchase even for those who don’t like the books or movies. While Moore’s insights on the films are valuable in themselves, this is of even greater worth as a prime example of how Christians can engage pop culture in a way that leads to both our enjoyment and God’s glory. I think of it as a practical model of the type of cultural interaction described and encouraged by great authors such as Francis Schaeffer, Andy Crouch, and Nancy Pearcey. (For those who don’t know me or those authors, that’s very high praise!)

You can read the full review here.

Jeff Wright at his blog said, 

The lasting value of this study transcends cultural engagement, as important as that task is. The reason I would recommend this book to any Christian is that it does such a great job of leading the reader through the process of evaluating media from a Christian worldview. I am one who advocates appropriately interacting with media as a means of speaking truth to culture from within culture. Said another way, I believe we have an obligation to use the truth built into fallen culture by the Creator to lead those around us to the saving truth of God’s revelation. Engaging media and making use of what gold we find there is the closest most of us can come to what Paul does in Titus 1:12 and Acts 17.

The sad reality is that while the world “worldview” has become very familiar in our churches we Christians don’t tend to do much close-range viewing of the world. Avoidance is still carrying the day and that mentality contributes to the unhealthy ghettoizing of the church. We have received much in terms of worldview instruction. We greatly need more modeling on how to employ our instruction and Moore’s book gives just that.

You can read the full review here.

Lisa, John, and Jeff, thank you for taking the time to work through and review my book.  I’m glad you enjoyed it!  I enjoy your writing as well.  Keep writing unto the glory of God.

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