Last updated on September 25, 2020
Question:
Hello,
I was just wondering if the show called The Walking Dead is wrong or sinful? I watch it with my family and friends. I was just wondering if the whole violence, and killing of zombies is wrong. Am I unclean or sinful after watching?
Thank you. God bless.
Answer:
I have not watched this series, so the comments I make are general ones based on the series’ description. The show is an apocalyptic fantasy. It imagines a terrible tragedy happening in the world and then uses this as a backdrop to explore human nature. In this case, it imagines some diseases, transmitted by bites, turning humans into zombies. Such a scenario cannot occur, which is why this becomes a fantasy story.
If violence was wrong, then we would have to toss out most of history. Even sections of the Bible describe warfare. The question ought not to be whether violence is described, but why is it being portrayed. Is it serving a purpose? Tolkien, for example, used war to illustrate the battle between good and evil, while at the same time making sure the reader understood the horror of war — he didn’t make it seem glamorous but a hard necessity. C. S. Lewis did much the same, though he glossed over many details because he was aiming at a younger audience.
If you look in the Bible, you will find that sinful actions are described. Some are stomach-churning. But the thing to remember is that what is being described is depicted as evil and we are shown the consequences of that evil. Too many authors will write about sinful things and glorify it or try to convince the reader that good results from doing evil.
The same criteria need to be used for fantasy stories. Is it portraying senseless violence, or is there a purpose? Is morality being upheld or turned on its head? “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20).