OT: Re: "mnemonic possession"

[Laurence Horn]

On Oct 28, 2013, at 1:11 PM, Joel S. Berson wrote:

> I admit with embarrassment that there are indeed zombies in the
> Bible, although I would have been correct had I written "zombies".  I
> have been instructed to study the tale of Lazarus;  Isaiah 26:19; 1
> Corinthians 15:52 (although Arnold forced me to find that from a
> quotation); and Matthew 27:50 - 53 (which better fits the modern
> conception: sleeping saints arise en masse and march into the city).
>
> Zombies as reputably characterized (Wikipedia) are not required to
> assemble in hordes, march lurchingly, have fixed stares, or dismember
> living humans and consume the parts.  They merely must have been
> magically raised from the dead and become animated.

Looks to me like Wikipedia is defining zombiehood down…

LH

>
> However, another authority (the OED) requires soullessness, which
> would seem to eliminate all  the Bible's zombies.  Or am I once again
> ignorant -- if an entity with a soul (e.g., humans) is raised from
> the dead, is it then soulless?
>
> Joel
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org