I recently had the opportunity to read The Christian Zombie Killers Handbook: Slaying the Living Dead Within by Jeff Kinley. I firmly believe that this book was written to cash in on the current popularity of zombies, but that does not take away from the serious nature of the book. I am a big fan of The Walking Dead comics by Robert Kirkman, so reading this book was an easy choice.
I will admit that I was not the target demographic for this book. My belief is that this book would be best used by a youth group or college Bible study. However, as a youth pastor, I can see the benefit of the book. The book is broken into two parts. The first part is a fictional story of two brothers who live in a world overrun by zombies. Society is attempting to exist and function as normal, but there are more and more attacks each day. This section of the book is exciting and informative. Unfortunately, as zombie stories must go, it is also filled with tragedy and death. The story is certainly not for the squeamish.
The second part of the book serves an introduction to several theological terms that Christians need to be acquainted with. I am currently working on memorizing Romans 6 and many of the ideas presented by Paul in this chapter were touched on by Kinley in the book. Again, given the “zombie” nature of the book, this is probably not a book for everyone. Kinley uses the zombie motif to his advantage, at times using the grotesque in order to make his point. One particular example deals with taking a trip into the depths of our soul to see the absolute darkness of our sin nature.
Given the graphic nature of the material, I would not recommend this book to everyone. However, the material is too important to be ignored. Usually theological matters are ignored. The Christian Zombie Killers Handbook serves as an excellent tool to introduce some to the devastating effects of sin.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Jonathon,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your insightful comments about my book. It's been so cool to see God use CZKH in both secular and Christian circles across the world. My vision is to help believers understand the true nature of the beast within us all, how it works and most importantly, how to overcome it. I've been speaking at a lot of "Zombie Killer Weekends" to youth groups, and the life change has been amazing. One fact you might be interested to know: I got the idea for this book from a conversation I was having with a 20-something young man as he shared his struggle with sin. After submitting my proposal for the book to my agent, soon afterwards I had a contract. Amazingly enough, this happened before The Walking Dead or the current "zombie craze" became popular. I guess God knew this ahead of time, and He has used that to further spread His message. Isn't the Lord awesome?! God bless you as you continue seeking Christ and serving Him!
Jeff Kinley
www.mainthingministries.com
Mr. Kinley,
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading my review and commenting. Forgive me for my presumption about your motivation for writing. I did enjoy the text and am excited to hear that God is using it and you so powerfully.