Discussion Starter: Preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse

Our entertainment culture is so thick with zombies right now that it almost feels irresponsible NOT to have a plan in place for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. In addition to all of the TV series, video games and other cultural landmarks, Brad Pitt’s World War Zis huge at the box office this summer.

That movie is based on a book by Max Brooks, who may have kicked off our current zombie obsessions with his 2003 book The Zombie Survival Guide. In it, he details exactly how one might survive finding oneself awash in a sea of the living undead.

One reason zombies have taken root so deeply in our current culture is that they serve as an excellent metaphor for some of our deepest fears about what could go wrong with the world – and the sense that we should do something to protect ourselves from the collapse of society as we know it.

The zombie metaphor is so powerful, in fact, that the former president of the U.S. Naval War College included World War Z on a reading list – and Max Brooks has taught on zombie preparedness at several army bases. Clearly, zombies are powerful teaching tool.

So let’s take advantage of the moment. Specifically, we’d like to use this discussion to help our students to see their role in Christ as people available to help others when the world falls apart (in big or little ways) – not just as self-protecting survivalists.

Here are some questions to kick thingsoff:

• Are you a fan of zombie stories? Why or why not?
• Why do you think zombie stories are so popular lately?
• Have you ever daydreamed about how you and/or your family could survive a zombie apocalypse?
• Is thinking about that fun or scary to you?
• Some people think zombie stories are popular because the world feels unstable to us right now. What are some more realistic disasters that could throw the world into chaos?
• If civilization as we know it suddenly fell apart, how do you think most people would respond?
• Do you think Christians would respond differently than non-Chirstians? Why or why not?
• Should we respond differently?
• In most disaster stories, the rule seems to be that it’s every person for himself – or for his family – and that to take time or resources to protect others is either dumb or a huge sacrificial virtue. Why do you think that is?
• Do you think our first responsibility should always be to survive?
• Facing death in a real way tests what we say we believe about living forever. How would people who really believe they will live forever respond differently to a life-threatening disaster?
• We’ve seen lots of real disasters in the last year or two. Have you heard any stories or people heroically sacrificing themselves to save others?
• Can you think of any Scripture passages that would help us to think about how we should respond in a life-or-death situation? (Suggestions: Mark 12:31; John 15:13; Phil. 4:4-13; Heb. 13:1-2)