You’ve probably heard people say, “I believe humans are basically good.” Or perhaps, “Children are born innocent (i.e. good) and learn how to be bad.”
God says something different.

“None is righteous, no, not one.” (Rom. 3:10)

“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
(Psalm 51:5)

Reformed churches refer to this as the Doctrine of Total Depravity. While specific teaching differs between denominations, the general understanding is this: when Adam disobeyed God all mankind inherited a sin nature. The result of this is an inclination to make choices that benefit our own self-interest over the interests of others. The inevitable outcome of these choices is tempered by God’s common grace which manifests itself in a variety of ways, including the ordaining of lawmakers and law-keepers, the Holy Spirit’s influence over our thoughts, and simple divine intervention.

It doesn’t take much to validate the existence of the sin nature. For instance, let’s examine the “innocent child” claim. You only have to watch a two or three-year-old for a short time before that idealistic bubble is burst. They claim toys for themselves and are hesitant to share. They throw fits when they do not get what they want. They challenge parental authority when it’s time to go take a bath or go to bed. It could be argued that they don’t know any better and need to learn right from wrong, but that’s exactly the point. Before being taught anything, despite moments of obedience, a child’s natural inclination is selfishness and dominance.

Writers, film producers, and video game makers who work in the post-apocalyptic genre understand this principle well. Whether it’s zombies, plague, natural disaster or nuclear war, a typical scenario goes something like this: normal society has been disrupted, if not outright destroyed, and the people who are left must find some way to survive. While a neighbor-helping-neighbor attitude seems the most logical plan of action, what typically happens is people grab whatever they can for themselves, take up arms, and hunker down to defend their home and family. Survivors tend to fall into two categories. Either they attempt to accumulate as many supplies as they can, often through aggressive means, or they are desperately trying to defend themselves and protect what they do have from the former group. Everyone is approached with suspicion and any “safe haven” usually turns out to be either a trap designed to strip victims of their life and possessions, or a dysfunctional community run by a megalomaniac who keeps tight control through the use of fear and torture.

Even characters who desire to do good and not succumb to the chaos eventually end up making decisions that one would find abhorrent in a civilized world. It brings to mind a scene from Cormac McCarthy’s book The Road. A father and son are traveling through the eastern United States which has been devastated by an unnamed apocalypse, scrounging whatever supplies they can as they go along. One day the pair returns to their camp to find the cart with all their possessions missing. A short way down the road they see it being pushed by a weak, frail man in tattered clothes whose only means of defense is a knife. Pointing his gun at the thief, the father orders him to stop. Instead of offering to help the poor man or simply retrieving the cart and leaving, the father feels the need to punish this lone survivor. He orders him to remove his clothes and shoes and put them, along with the knife, into the cart. Without another thought, the father takes the cart and walks away with his son leaving the man alone, naked, and defenseless. It is only at the insistent pleading of the boy that the father eventually returns to where the man was and, not finding him, leaves clothes and shoes in case he returns. The final word on the subject comes from the son who essentially accuses his father of killing the man.

Bottom line, in apocalyptic media there is no sharing and caring, no “love thy neighbor” or “do unto others as yourself.” Instead, it’s dog eat dog, survival of the fittest, “what’s mine is mine and what’s your may also be mine.” Sure, it can be argued that this is all fiction, the situations are manufactured to build drama, and we shouldn’t necessarily take it to be an accurate depiction of the world around us. For example, no one believes a teenager can become a licensed surgeon (Doogie Howser, M.D.), a team of misfits and has-beens and can win a professional baseball championship (Major League), or a hero who’s been severely beaten, shot, blown-up, and thrown out a moving vehicle can survive and still have the strength to defeat a crime lord and his army of henchmen (any action movie ever).

However, ask anyone if they feel The Walking Dead, The Book of Eli, or Fallout accurately depicts humanity following the collapse of society, chances are they would say, “Absolutely.” Need a second opinion? Just search for non-fiction survival books on Amazon. You will find several that specifically deal with apocalyptic situations such as natural disasters, pandemics, government and financial collapse, and yes, even zombie invasions. And I’m sure there’s that one person you know of whom you’ve had the thought, “He would be a good friend to have if the world ever fell apart.”

Whether we vocalize it or not, deep inside us we recognize that there is more bad in people than good. For anyone who believes in eternal judgment, this can be a scary thought if they are relying on their own abilities, for they will never be enough. The Christian, however, has assurance that those who trust in God are not judged on their works, but on the works of Christ. There is nothing so heinous that it falls outside of God’s saving grace. In fact, even a zombie can be reconciled.

Assuming, of course, he accepted Christ while he still had a functioning brain.