WHERE DO THEY GET ALL THAT STUFF?


All of you know by now that there is a disgusting television show called “The Walking Dead.” You either watch it, engrossed in the shock/horror/suspense, or you immediately change the channel. I, needless to say, am of the latter kind. I am, however, interested in the origins of these stories which are coming, amazingly, from some Fundamentalist Christians.

I first went to the Net to look for Bible references, if any, of groups of “walking dead” resembling those in the lowbrow TV show, which is surprisingly popular, though not among my friends. The best information comes from the blog of Santi Tafarella, a present day blogger, and not the Italian-American dance band leader Santi Tafarella from the 1920s. Some of his mandolin works are available on Google. This blogger apparently likes his music and has coopted his name. (Go to YouTube -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5xDdWZj4MM – for a musical treat.)

All of the Net references except these few go back to a comic book series. Not wisdom literature or any other kind of scripture, but quoted by a cult following nowadays to bolster their claims about a Zombie Apocalypse. It’s just one more idiotic fad. Oh, yes, there is an action video game as well.



https://santitafarella.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/matthew-2751-53-the-bibles-night-of-the-living-dead-passage/,

Are Luke 24:6 and Mark 16:6-7 in Contradiction? Cringe inducing: Christians talk about Obama’s sincerity in prayer
Matthew 27:51-53: The Bible’s “Night of the Living Dead” Passage
Santi Tafarella’s blog on books, culture, and politics
Posted on June 17, 2010


"Matthew 27:51-53.

Have you ever noticed what it says?

Immediately after Jesus’s death, Matthew has this very, very strange Night of the Living Dead story that he includes in his gospel. Matthew says that there was, immediately following Jesus’s death, an earthquake, and this earthquake was accompanied by an astonishing mass resurrection in which “many bodies of the saints which slept arose.” And not only did they arise from the dead, Matthew claims that they entered the very city of Jerusalem, appearing “unto many.” It’s so wild a passage that I’ll quote it in full (from the King James version of the Bible):

“51And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
52And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”

There are three pretty good reasons to doubt that this story actually happened:

Outside of this one gospel, no other ancient writer knows anything about this (not even as a rumor). It is as if a UFO had descended on Jerusalem and absolutely no one, apart from Matthew, thought it worthy of marking in historical memory. An event of so dramatic a nature would have changed everything in history. But not even the other gospels know the story. Why? Obviously because it did not happen.

Even if we gave Matthew the benefit of the doubt, and held open the possibility that he recounted a real event, we still must ask a simple question: where did the author get the story? And the answer is this: We simply do not know. If Matthew believed that the story was true, and not a bit of folklore, we will never know what evidence or testimony convinced him that it was true. We have only a spectacularly implausible tale.

Matthew has other stories of similarly poor quality, and they also lack credibility. See, for example, Matthew 28:11-15, in which the author circulates a conspiracy theory around which Jews are said to have tried to cover-up the resurrection of Jesus. The story, like Matthew’s “Night of the Living Dead” passage, provokes from us similar questions: Where did Matthew get the story? How does he know the story is true? How do we know whether Matthew isn’t just circulating a grotesque and fantastic antisemitic rumor?

But Matthew’s Night of the Living Dead passage (Mt. 27:51-53) is more than just implausible (if read literally). It also raises serious red flags concerning the whole of his gospel. In other words, it drives us to a number of unpleasant conclusions, such as these:

If Matthew can include such a wildly implausible and fanciful story in his gospel, maybe a lot of other things that he asserts are fanciful as well.

It seems that Matthew was not somebody who worried all that much about getting his facts straight before promulgating a story. Nor was he worried that people might spread his story without knowing anything more than what he told them in his book.

Matthew 27:51-53 would seem to provide clear evidence that the author of “Matthew” (whoever he was) had a very low regard for verification (either getting it for himself or distributing it to others).
And, of course, the biggest issue that Matthew 27:51-53 raises is this:

If Matthew can make a wild claim concerning many people rising from the dead, it casts doubt on the story he offers of one person rising from the dead (Jesus).

If a person is discovered to have spread a wild and unfounded rumor, it is reasonable to be suspicious of any other claims that he might make as well, don’t you think?"

SEE ALSO Video – “A Hard Day’s Night Of The Living Dead”



https://www.bible.com/bible/1/ezk.37.7-10.kjv

From Ezekiel:

“7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
Read Ezekiel 37”


This sounds like the scripture behind the Negro Spiritual “Dem Bones Dem Bones Dem Dry Bones,” which is rousing and beautiful when sung. It never occurred to me that it would be taken literally, but then I’m not a Fundamentalist Christian. When I was young, people would tell ghost stories for their entertainment (I remember well the days before TV was in every home), but very few adults believed them. My grandfather, who was in his eighties in 1950, did admit to having attended a seance, and witnessing the table “rising.” Someone suggested that a member of the party was simply pushing up with his knees causing the movement, but he swore it really did. Nowadays there is a revival of spiritualism. Interesting as it is, I can only opt out.



Other Biblical references:


https://www.openbible.info/topics/spirits_walking_the_earth

Spirits Walking The Earth

1 John 4:1 ESV / 22 helpful votes

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Isaiah 26:19 ESV / 15 helpful votes

Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.

Matthew 27:51-53 ESV / 6 helpful votes

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

Zechariah 14:12 ESV / 3 helpful votes

And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

Mark 6:47-51 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded,

Matthew 14:26 ESV / 2 helpful votes

But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.

Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com. Cite this page: Editor: Stephen Smith. Publication date: Feb 18, 2016. Publisher: OpenBible.info.


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