Rob Liefeld Fills Biblical Plot Hole with 'Zombie Jesus' - ComicsAlliance | Comics culture, news, humor, commentary, and reviews

I have been a fan of Rob Liefield's work as an artist and a writer ever since I first saw his work in the early 1990's. I mean he helped create Deadpool no less! The things is this article disturbed me about the an upcoming project Rob Liefield is working on centering on the 48 hours between Jesus' crucifixion and Resurrection. He imagines that the people who rise from the dead after Jesus dies are zombies who attack Jerusalem, under satanic influence, to destroy Jesus' body before He can rise Easter morning. There are several problems with this story from a Biblical stand point. But before I go into that I want to quote Liefield in his own words and the article:

However, Zombie Jesus may seem somewhat blasphemous given Liefeld's background. He is a Christian and works with his pastor, Phil Hotsenpiller, on the Armageddon Now series of graphic novels, based on biblical prophecy. But as Liefeld told ComicsAlliance, it can't be heresy if it's right there in black and white.

"I don't consider this in any way blasphemous or contradicting my faith," said Liefeld, who describes Zombie Jesus as "300 meets Dawn of the Dead with the clock from 24 running." He continued, "The fact of the matter is that the passage in 'Matthew' 27 EXISTS! It's a freaky, crazy, creepy passage. Zombies came out of the ground right after Christ's death and it's kind of glossed over like it's no big deal. I wanted to move on it a year ago when I read it, but I needed time to flesh it out. There are so many mysterious passages in the Bible, and this one may be the biggest mystery of all."

"What I've done is construct a story of how the ultimate battle between good and evil continues following the crucifixion of Christ. There are many players in the saga and everyone is racing against time to protect or devour Christ's remains. Joseph of Arimethia paid to have Jesus buried in a proper tomb and there is quite an exciting series of events as Judas and the zombie horde attempt to keep Christ and his escorts from reaching the tomb. The zombies that attack the city are at first defended by the Roman Centurions who eventually retreat and Governor Pilate decides to sacrifice the population of Judaea to the zombies.

"And then there's Lazarus, the hero of the story, who himself was risen from death by Christ's own hand. His destiny in protecting the sacred body of Christ as well as preserving the garments that touched Christ's blood is played out with the Disciples fighting alongside him. The story builds towards a confrontation at the tomb of Christ before it takes a MAJOR twist. It's Judas, possessed of the devil battling with his army of the Undead versus Lazarus and the Disciples for all the marbles. It's exciting."

My main problem with the story is that it doesn't really accurately tell the story given in the Bible. Matthew 27:51-52 does not say that people crawled out of the ground and started eating people.

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.

Many atheists uses this passage to try to discount the whole resurrection because Zombies do not exist. I agree. The Bible does not say anything about zombies. Here are a couple of facts to keep in mind that in the first century, people were not buried in tombs indefinitely. After several years, tombs were recycled and the bones of relative were put into ossuaries. Therefore if the people who were in the tombs when they rose again, they had not been dead for very long. If you look at the art of Liefield, the people seem to look like what we think of Zombies today and they are attacking people. No where in the Bible does it describe anything like. When Lazerus was raised from the dead he wasn't raised immortal, he died again at some future point later. Also when Satan entered Judas Iscariot it was before he betrayed Jesus, not after he hung himself. Also during the days Jesus was buried his disciples were not fighting zombies...they were hiding from the authorities. It is important to remember that Jesus won the battle of good versus evil when He died. It was finished...perfectly and completely. Even the devil thought that, however he thought he won. Had he truly understood the plan of salvation he would not have worked so hard to see Jesus crucified and dead. God played him like a harp. These are important points of the events surrounding the parts that Liefield calls himself "filling in". It really irks me that people think Matthew had zombies in mind like those from our movies. He didn't. These people who were raised would have been known to the inhabitants of Jerusalem at that time.

No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him" - 1st Corinthians 2:7-9

Jesus rose from the dead Easter morning with all power in his hand. This is what the Gospel is. I'm all for fiction, but fiction that detracts from truth is indeed bordering on blasphemy. I hope Liefield talks to his pastor about this storyline and really prays about it. You see, I find it incomprehensible to be a Christian for more than a year and have never read Matthew 27. And no maybe we don't have as much detail as to who was raised in Matthew 27:52-52 such as what happened to them afterward? Did they go to heaven? Did they stay on earth and live a normal human lifespan? I don't know but I don't think its a good idea to make up stuff that contradict what the rest the Bible says.

Rob Liefeld Fills Biblical Plot Hole with 'Zombie Jesus' - ComicsAlliance | Comics culture, news, humor, commentary, and reviews

Was Judas Really Such a Bad Guy? Yes!

Image by six steps  via Flickr

The following link was tweeted from DenyReligion:

Was Judas Really Such a Bad Guy?

The post quotes Joan Acocella of the New Yorker:

… If Jesus informs you that you will betray him, and tells you to hurry up and do it, are you really responsible for your act? Furthermore, if your act sets in motion the process — Christ’s Passion — whereby humankind is saved, shouldn’t somebody thank you? No, the Church says. If you betray your friend, you are a sinner, no matter how foreordained or collaterally beneficial your sin. And, if the friend should happen to be the Son of God, so much the worse for you.

The amazing thing is that my church just discussed this topic two weeks ago. It come up every once in while, especially around Easter. Someone looks at Judas' part in the passion and starts to wonder if the church has been too hard on Judas and have unfairly vilify him for 2000 years. Unfortunately a lot of blame can be placed on Christians for applying Judas Iscariot's guilt to all Jews for betraying Jesus. Some scholars even suggest that Judas was not a real person because Judas means Jew. No way that's true because "Judas" was a common name in the 1st Century. As a matter of fact one of Jesus' blood brothers and another of the 12 disciples were both named Judas!

To even muddy the waters is the recent publicizing of the Gospel of Judas. Popular rhetoric states that this gnostic text sheds new light on Jesus' and Judas' relationship and Judas' role in the larger context of redemptive theology. The problem is that it conflicts with the Gospels we do accept as canonical: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Judas does not meet any of the same standards as the canonical gospels. However it does seem to mitigate our negative views on Judas. It's not surprising that the Gnostics thought of Judas as heroic because they looked at Jesus being freed from His earthly body, despite the undeseved tortured and death, as a good thing. This is why the gnostic texts can't be scripture. They contradict the canonicla texts. I wrote a more substantial post on the Gospel of Judas called "Canonicity Part 6: Gospel of Judas". ABC even aired a movie based on the Gospel of Judas.

The bottom line is that Judas was responsible and accountable for his deeds. Let's look at what the Bible says about Judas. We know that Jesus knew the kind of man Judas was when Judas was chosen to be one of the twelve. Throughout His ministry, Jesus said that He knew one of the twelve was going to betray Him. John 6:64 says

Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.

Yet Jesus treated all of them the same. Look at John 13. Jesus washed all of their feet, even Judas' feet, knowing what Judas was going to do. When Jesus walked on water, Judas was on the boat too! He saw it! He saw the miracles. Heard the sermons. Worked with Jesus. He knew Jesus as well as the other 11. We get a good view of Judas' character in John's gospel. Judas didn't just woke up one day and said "I think I'll betray the best person I've ever met today for money." Judas used to steal from the offering plate.

Then Mary [Martha's and Lazarus' sister] took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. - John 12: 3-6

The other thing is we also have the words of Christ regarding His betrayer

Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" Jesus answered, "Yes, it is you." - Matthew 27:23-25

While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. - John 17:12

The phrase "one doomed to destruction" is rendered "son of perdition" in the KJV and is a single word in the original Greek language, , which means "excluded from salvation". I think that says it all. How did his peers view Judas after the Resurrection?

In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus— he was one of our number and shared in this ministry."

(With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

"For," said Peter, "it is written in the book of Psalms,
" 'May his place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in it,' and,
" 'May another take his place of leadership.' Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection."

So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles. - Acts 1:15-26

Yes, God used Judas' greed and evil to start the process that leads mankind to reconciliation back to God through Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. It's true that someone had to do it and Judas was predestined to do it. However, Judas is accountable because he chose to betray Jesus on his own because he wanted to do it and it was predicted centuries before in Psalm 41 (quoted by Jesus in John 13:8)

Why do people want to find an out for Judas - to mitigate or rationalize what he did? I think it's because we all instinctively desire to not be like Judas. We don't want to think that there are sins that we can't come back from. We think that if there is hope for Judas, there is hope for us. The problem is that apart from Jesus there is no remedy for our sins. Judas didn't seem to understand that. When it comes to what happened to Judas, as well as anyone, we have to just trust God and know that they end up "where he belongs".

So was Judas such a bad guy? Yes! Same thing is true about me, you, and everyone. We need Jesus to save us.

Canonicity Part 6: Gospel of Judas

In the 1970's an ancient book, lost for about 1,700 years was rediscovered. In 2006, it was translated into English and made available through National Geographic. It is called "the Gospel of Judas". It caused a firestorm of controversy because it does not present Judas or even Jesus the way they are depicted in the 4 canonical gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Judas isn't presented as a betrayer but Jesus' partner. Jesus gives Judas special knowledge that he does not share with the other 11 disciples. This information of what is said about their relationship, not to mention Jesus' very personality is really at odds with what we know from scripture. This in the very least should tell us not to take The Gospel of Judas as scripture.

However, our culture today is searching for "alternative understanding" apart from historic Christianity. There is this push to put Jesus on par with every other religious founder/leader like Buddha or Muhammad. That is why the Gospel of Judas caught a lot of attention. It does not hold up Jesus as God, incarnate, who died to propiate the sins of humanity and rose again physically three days later like He said He would - thereby restoring the relationship between believers and God. Jesus died in my place, paying for the sins of my life. This is the gospel according to historic Christianity and is stumbling block at bet best and an offense at worst to the unregenerate human mind. Unregenerate means someone who does not yet believe the gospel as spelled out for us in Scripture.

If you read the Gospel of Judas below you will see none of that is there. It is a gnostic text. Gnosticism was a cult that came to prominence in the 2nd and 3rd Centuries. It was repudiated by those who held to the scripture we believe today. It bears no resemblance to Christianity despite the claim that Jesus is at its center. The text itself has no proof to ties to the historical Judas nor anyone who personally knew him or Christ. We can't date it any earlier than 150 AD unlike Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It was written in the Coptic language. Coptic is modified Greek so that it can be easily used to translate ancient Egyptian writing. It is good to note that many copies of gnostic texts we do have are Coptic while oldest canonical scriptures we have are in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic which are most closer to the languages spoken by the people who are depicted in scripture.

When it comes to the Bible, we do a lot of "revisionist history" in our culture. Some have suggested that Judas wasn't all that bad. That maybe he did not really understand that they were going to execute Jesus...and he thought that the he was just trying to point him out. You can't get any of that out of the canonical gospels. The Gospel of Judas takes the added step of suggesting Judas was the closest disciple to Jesus, and Judas was under orders to do what he did. It suggests collusion not betrayal. It is so different...but a lie...that is why it caught a lot of attention and then dropped out of media consciousness. The Gnostics were not a monolith of opinion. They widely varied. The Gospel of Thomas (which is another farce some what to shoe-horn into the canon) suggests that Mary Magdalene was the closet disciple to Jesus. Notice that there is no real disagreements in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and I invite anyone to research and they will find none.

You may be asking, "How do I know that the I am not missing anything I need to know about God by not have The Gospel of Judas in my Bible?" Answer is simple: check it out. You can't make it gel with the other 66 books in general or the 4 Gospels in particular. That alone is enough to ignore it as scripture. Read it for yourself it you don't believe me.

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