Undead

This is a great book for people of any age; from all walks of life. His writing is so clear and personal, you feel like you're having a conversation with him, as he shares little known tales from his life and the Bible. You sit down to read a chapter or two, and next thing you know, you're at the end. It's an easy, hilarious, thought provoking read & it is an excellent gift for that struggling person in your life. No condemnation or big theological talk at all. 100% real human talk!

Clay, a professor of history, lays out the book very much as he lays out the title, "Undead: Revived, Resuscitated, and Reborn". He brings us up to speed on the history of zombies in media and popular culture, describes our fascination with living forever, and lays out the manner in which he was reborn. Clay paints very vivid pictures for his readers of what life was like in each of the examples that he provides of people being raised from the dead. Much of the story's clarity is brought out by the historical context that Clay digs up.

"Bodies die and decay, but our souls, who we are, never cease to exist." p.65

I realize that quote may be a little controversial, but the fact is that we cannot prove we do not eternal component to what gives us life. I laughed as I read in this book about "zombie dogs", Ann Rice's vampire Lestat, and Zombieland. I was fascinated how Clay was able to use popular culture to bring to life in my mind the reasons why we are so fascinated with the undead. It was very clear to me how my life can resemble the undead without my concerted effort for it to be otherwise.

"God will be there for us no matter how fare gone we are." p.67

The greatest point of the book, and the point that is made over and over, is that God is there to receive us back at any point. God does not require us to be clean, pretty, tall, or strong enough to stand on our own in order to meet Him. Clay gets pretty open in this book with where he was, who guided him, and how this life works. I was grateful that it was very balanced between its uses of historical fact, personal anecdotes, popular culture references, and scripture to bring out the finer points. Clay does a great job setting up a scenario, diverting you as it starts to get too deep, then bringing you back the heart of the matter before you realize that the diversion was just a method to get you to think through the subject outside of your preconceived notions.

"Be more like the prostitute." p.715

You are going to have to read the book to get a better understanding of that quote - I am reaching my personal limit to which I can compose a blog post. This is a great book that really causes you to rethink how you see your life, the Bible, what your purpose is on this planet, death, and what happens to you afterwards. Pick up a copy of Undead: Revived, Resuscitated, and Reborn version now.