It’s obvious that our culture is enamored with zombies, vampires and everything otherwise known as “undead.” One of the most popular television shows currently is a series called The Walking Dead in which you follow the lives of survivors of the zombie apocalypse as they try to stay alive. Whether it is movies, television shows, or video games there are zombies everywhere!
I think some people are pretty well convinced that the zombie apocalypse is inevitable and, although I don’t buy that for a minute, it’s hard not to give some thought to how well you’d fare if indeed it did occur. How many of us haven’t watched a movie or television show and imagined ourselves in the place of the main character and asked “what would I do if I found myself in his/her shoes?” When it comes to zombies, who is the most likely to survive?
Invariably it is those who have the most common sense and the most ammo that have the best chance to make it through to the end. Those who, for all their paranoia, had already stockpiled food and weapons and those who have enough sense not to walk down into dark cellars and alley ways, or not to go into an indefensible position nor take on a superior force without the means to overcome. It is these who are the ones who just might make it. Let’s face it, if the zombie apocalypse takes you off guard and you have to go looking for food, shelter and ammunition after the zombies are already on top of you, well….it was nice knowing you.
Okay, so why am I talking about this? “Has Jacob decided to just blog whatever is on his mind this morning?” Well, yes I have. But the good news is that the zombie apocalypse got me thinking about apologetics. In fact I got to thinking about the similarities between trying to survive the zombies and trying to survive apologetic or evangelistic encounters. In reality it is the same kind of person (sort of) who will do well in both situations.
Now I am not saying that the guy who has lots of loaded weapons, a stockpile of canned goods and a bunker is the ideal apologist. What I am saying is it is he (or she) who prepares ahead of time for the inevitable event whom will most likely survive it. Whereas the successful zombie apocalypse survivor stockpiles weapons and bullets, the successful Christian apologist stockpiles arguments. Whereas the successful zombie apocalypse survivor thinks about what the most defensible and fortified position is physically, so the successful apologist thinks about what is the most defensible and fortified position theologically and philosophically. Whereas the successful zombie apocalypse survivor knows whether he ought to attack or retreat depending on whether he has enough ammo so should the successful apologist know when to engage and when hold back based upon their own ability to address a situation.
One of the most poignant similarities between the successful survivor of the zombie apocalypse and the successful apologist is that they are ready for the incident before it occurs. They have been planning what they would do just in case it happens. Some people might think they are a bit odd being so preoccupied with what might occur, but when it does occur who is ready for it?
As Christians we would benefit from some forethought about scenarios that may occur in the future. If an atheist says “A” I would respond with “B.” If a Mormon missionary comes to my door, I will be prepared to answer them in this way. If someone says “The Bible is full of errors and contradictions” how should I respond to that? You can think of thousands of scenarios where your faith may come under attack and it may be tempting to say about any one of those possibilities “Yeah, but that’s unlikely to happen.” But boy if it does wouldn’t you fare much better if you were prepared?
Your Christian faith will be attacked and probably has been already at some point in the past. Think of a time where someone has said something that you wish you could have responded to but didn’t know how. Why not intentionally prepare for such engagements before they occur? Why not be ready for when the “zombies” start scratching at your door? I think you’ll be glad you had the foresight to prepare for the inevitable once it is upon you.
A Place to Start:
I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek
Cold Case Christianity by J. Warner Wallace
Tactics by Greg Koukl
