Posted on 04/06/2013 5:56:58 AM PDT by Kaslin
On Easter Sunday evening, a TV show about good and evil aired on the History Channel -- the final installment of "The Bible" miniseries in which Jesus is executed. AMC ran the season-ending episode of "The Walking Dead" -- the series where zombies try to eat the brains of human beings. One footnote: The world might have been a better place had the zombies preemptively gotten to the guy who thought up this series in the first place.
Anyway, the zombies won. They beat Jesus in the ratings, especially among viewers ages 18 to 49.
What lesson can be derived from Jesus losing to the walking dead? Well, it proves that about 12 million Americans want to see blood and gore. Wait -- there was plenty of that in the Bible's crucifixion scenes. Maybe the zombie viewers simply wanted cheap thrills. Yeah, that's it. Cheap thrills triumphed over a spiritual experience. Cannibalism beat baptism.
Base entertainment almost always beats highbrow stuff. But watching flesh-eating zombies on Easter does put a different spin on things, does it not? I mean, how soon can we digest dismemberment on television after eating our baked ham dinner? One hour? Two?
At least Jesus was in context. The New Testament says the son of God rose from the dead on Easter. The zombies rise from the dead whenever their makeup is finished.
Honestly, I have no idea what this zombie phenomenon is all about. Way back in the 1960s, I saw the first modern zombie movie: "Night of the Living Dead." Things were creeping along OK until a little girl turned into a zombie and tried to eat her mom. At that point, my entire group decided enough was enough, and we bolted out of the theater.
But today that scene would be tame. Now zombie kids will eat their entire families if given the opportunity. Depravity doesn't even begin to cover it. Apparently, we Americans have an unending appetite for gross behavior. Pun intended.
What must Jesus think? Here he is, being nailed to the cross by smirking Romans and getting trounced by TV zombies at the same time. The prince of peace preached that we all should love our neighbors as ourselves. I do not believe that Jesus would condone eating your neighbor even if you are dead.
Many folks who like this zombie business freely admit it's a low form of entertainment. "But so what?" they say. It's fun to envision yourself outsmarting zombies, blasting them to hell with shotguns and then escaping to some tattoo parlor. I guess that's fun in some precincts.
But not for me. I threw in with Jesus even though the guy who played him looked a bit like Spicoli in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." Sure, I knew how the miniseries was going to end, but there are worse things you could do on Easter Sunday -- like watching man-eating zombies.
All I know is this: When Jesus appeared to the apostles after he died, thank God they did not have access to AMC.
That's exactly how this reads.
This is a stupid article—those who wanted to watch both, watched both. Not simultaneously of course, but with DVRs and numerous reruns of both shows, it’s easy to watch both. I watched both—but watched The Walking Dead on Sunday evening. So I imagine that I was counted as having watched TLD instead of The Bible—wrong!
By the way, for any of you in the market for a new home, houses in Woodbury are real cheap now.
Watched TWD on Sunday night and I watched “The Bible” on Monday night.
I watch both. Zombies on Sunday and Jesus during the week.
Walking Dead has ended their season.
You're missing the big disconnect, two cultures are at WAR, never to reconcile.
The Culture of Death stalks us all, The Culture of Life begs, pleads and finally screams!
Come Out of Her, You are a sacred set apart people.
King Jesus Rules!
Zombies/ Pagans are already dead.
Free Republic doesn’t like O’Reilly? He’s not good enough for us?
A Mormon wasn’t good enough for Free Republic. Romney didn’t hold his mouth quite right when he prayed to Jesus. So, now we have a muslim in the WH.
Is this site for real anymore? Is there absolutely no hope for our nation?
FRee Republic has no use for liberals. If you think BOR or Romney are conservative, maybe you’re lost.
I really have to question the intelligence of anyone who hasn’t figured that out in the length of time you’ve been here.
Actually I’m surprised at how often the bible figures in TWD. Finding a bible with an underlined warning was a key scene in the season finale. The governor should have heeded the warning.
Herschel has led the group in prayer on several occasions.
If "The Bible" was an accurate portrayal of the real thing, then there could be an honest discussion--it wasn't--edited to sell and not to tell
In that vein the Walking Dead was probably more honest--perhaps a metaphor for the Obama socialist wasteland that's developing...
Do I ever agree with YOU! BOR has his flaws, but he is a traditionalist and supports good causes. He bloviates and interrupts...but he is a decent man.
Those who are irritated with his Bible-Thumping phrase obviously did not ‘get’ it. He was absolutely correct in his statement. You cannot fight the gay marriage with the Bible. You must use reason in a court of law.
Every time this idiot puts forth an opinion I’m reminded of how glad I am I don’t allow his show in my house any longer.
He wouldn’t know the Bible from a Joel Osteen self-help manual.
Herschel has led the group in prayer on several occasions."
And the show doesn't put it across in a condescending manner, either...it's actually done quite fairly.
Following BOR is like following a general to the site of his next surrender.
I figured him out the last time a big amnesty fight rolled around. He spent months talking tough on border control only to change his mind the night before the vote and declaring it over. (he was wrong....again)
He’s like a gateway drug to liberalism.
Excellent point and you are so right and it is because of many in here that that arrogant pos occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave was elected in 2008 and reelected in 2012.
History Channel has been on basic cable since before there was an AMC.
The Bible has an immediately self limiting audience. Anybody that’s not a devout Christian is immediately not going to watch it because they’re just not interested. But people with certain high levels of devotion also won’t watch it, because they don’t want to see it altered, or might interpret it as craven images.
Zombie fiction doesn’t have that limitation. BOR is turning it into something it isn’t. Non-religious stories automatically have a broader base of appeal than religious stories.
For your information Bill O’Reilly never claimed to be conservative. As a matter of fact he says he is Independent and he is one of those true independents as he goes after both sides. Have you ever seen a liberal who claims to be an Independent, because he is ashamed to admit that he is a democrat. I have not
BOR is a joke and he and his followers (that is what they are) can kiss my conservative ass.
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