Matrix Gospel

[EJO]

What is the Matrix Gospel?

"Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself."

I love the movie The Matrix, when I saw it for the first time I was eagerly waiting for the new Star Wars movie Episode I. What turned me onto wanting to see the movie was a review I saw online that compelled those of us that were waiting around to see Star Wars to get off our booty’s and go and see the most amazing movie of the summer of 1999. Well I saw it with one of my good buddies. It is a pretty trippy movie when you see it at first, the images and the concepts were eye popping, but I followed the story pretty well.
But I am not writing in CF to do a movie review, especially of one that has been out for three summer’s. I want to share with you what I have discovered about this movie, and as I discovered over the last two years a couple of other people had this amazing insight of this already interesting movie.
The Matrix is an eerie resemblance to the Christian Gospel! Yes, I know you are scratching your head. But hear me out. There a lot of similarities that are so blatantly obvious that I am surprised that the Wachowski Brothers (the creators) did not intend for the movie to be such a resemblance to the Gospel that the Bible proclaims.
The only people who have seemed to have picked up on this is…..other Christians. Let me give you a quick break down:
Neo: means new, he resembles Jesus, the savior of mankind, he had to be incarnate in the matrix, how he was chosen, how he supposedly laid down his life, and how he came back to life to triumph.
Morphious: John the Baptist/ Peter, who looks for / believes in the messiah.
Trinity: who loves our messiah back to life
Cypher: Judas, who didn’t want to take the risk of believing that Neo was ‘the one’ and so he sold out to the agents (the religious leaders, the keepers of the rules)
Then there are other references; Zion, Babylon.
You are now starting to see where this going. But that is not the interesting part. In the movie; the matrix is the blind fold that is placed over the eyes of all humanity. In the real world of to day, everyone is oblivious of the fact that they (non-believers, secularists) are slaves to the world system and are in need of liberation to the truth.
Here are some other metaphors that are present:
 the new birth experience (being unplugged) being born again
 the either you are for me or against me principle (red pill blue pill thing)
 the struggle of becoming who we are divinely called to be (a story in itself)
 the message of the death and resurrection of the Son of God
 the message of Christ coming back from the dead for his bride. (the bride in the bible is referring to believers waiting for the return of Jesus, this is reference to older Jewish marriage ceremonies of the bride waiting for the groom)
 the message of laying down your life for your brother
 the message of the beast system enslaving mankind using it for nothing more = than energy to fuel itself at the expense of humanity
 the message of freeing your mind (Gal 5:1)
 the message of love is stronger than death
 the message that God, the Supreme One is beyond all of the little skirmishes of religions and the resurrected Son of God will set it all straight
 the message that the Son could not touch the bride until he had ascended to the Father
 the message of the one remaining city for celebration - Zion, of all places
 the realization that faith transcends the barriers of our physical dimension reality
 the message of spiritual warfare in dodging and eventually stopping and overcoming the bullets of the enemy as we reach that level of maturity....
While I think it is possible to glean some good from this movie, there is something that the movie does not go into that needs to be said, which in fact is the crux of the Gospel message, and it is one of the subtler messages. The first concern I have is the means of salvation that is offered. While I have mentioned the obvious messiah images in the movie, not a lot of the Christians that I have talked to and Christian movie reviews that I have read seem to have anything to say about what exactly the ‘good news’ is that’s offered. Jesus taught that the way of salvation was offered through recognizing our sin and weakness, and turning from it to God –trusting him to forgive and strengthen us. There is no work, even faith which is a gift, that can save us. It was his own humble weakness & self-sacrifice, his love showing and providing the way, that brought salvation –even conquering our sin and death. However, this is not the way that Neo images to the audience.
Salvation is a gift, a free gift that God has given us, it was certainly was not cheap, it cost Him His Son’s life. But it is a gift that allows us to see the world for what it is. A prison of sin and despair; and there is no escape from the clutches of the world system. Christ holds the key the chains that hold us. The red and blue pill; if you will. You can either follow the path that the world follows, the wide path; take the blue pill. Or you can be set free, have the veil lifted from your eyes, and the gift of having a relationship with the creator of the universe, the maker of life. Take the red pill. That is the Matrix Gospel. I could take it deeper and down many rabbit trails, but there is a book for that; the Bible. That is a book that will blow your mind.

 

[Sky]

I think you are reading way to much into this. The Matrix is just a movie.

 

[Loser For Jesus]

I used to watch The Matrix. I used to love it as a movie. And I did see all of those things you've listed as Christian "parallels."

The reason I stopped watching it, and no longer advocate that anyone else watches it, is primarily because I came to realize that the one concern you have about the fact it doesn't really present the "gospel" - i.e. it doesn't really tell people anything about Jesus or the true way of salvation, it doesn't tell people that they are sinners in need of salvation from the wrath of a holy God.

From that point of view, it is a "golden calf." Something people say they are only using to point to the true God, but in reality is just a worthless idol that separates them from God and brings His anger and judgment on them.

Of course, at least the people of God made the "golden calf" (Exodus 32) for themselves. The Matrix is a violent, worldly movie made by worldly people who never actually intended it to be used as an evengelistic tool in the first place.

love in Christ,
Malcolm

 

[Job_38]

Originally posted by Sky77
I think you are reading way to much into this. The Matrix is just a movie.

 

 No, he is not. There are many movies that use parrellels to the Bible. If I could talk to my friend, he showed me some in "Fight Club." with parrellels between Christ and Peter or something.

 

 

 

[Lacmeh]

ROFL, these are movies. Works of FICTION, well in case of Matrix, SCIENCE FICTION.
So you have to cease watching almost all movies. BECAUSE NO MOVIE TELLS PEOPLE OF JESUS. Well except biblical films.
As the name fiction implies, these are stories, that were made up by people, that are paid to make them up.

 

[Auntie]

EJO,

I think this is a case for "beauty being in the eye of the beholder". What I mean by that is, as Christians, it is only natural that we will see the story of salvation in all of life, even movies. Whether the makers of the movie intended it or not, it doesn't matter. If a movie causes your mind to recall the salvation story, then that is something that you have a right to cherish.


Personally, the movie "Les Miserables" reminds me of the grace, mercy, and forgiveness that we have received thru Jesus. I have watched the movie many times, just to see more and more ways this movie reminds me of our freedom that Christ bought for us.


Btw, I have not seen the Matrix. I will watch it and give you my opinion.

 

[Kiwi]

My pastor preached a three sermon message off the Matrix, showing clips of the film throughout, from the DVD. There is an interview with the producers and they asked them if they were christians and they said they were 'non-denominationalists', I think that means they definatly have some kind of christian beliefs. After seeing the movie it got me thinking for days about how I often just go along in the world not questioning anything, even though I know technically that Satan is out to ruin the world (like the matrix), and how we live to be entertained and our eyes kept off the real purpose of life, Jesus. Don't forget there is a Matrix two and three coming out next year and we don't know what is in these to finish off the story. In short this film had a very positive effect on my relationship with God.

 

[e4God]

Many, many stories and myths tell of redemption, salvation, the hero journey. Not so unusual.

I saw it right away in Matrix. "The One". A choice that cannot be undone. Being called out. Being in the world but not of the world. Many more gospel motifs are presented.

When they show Neo the black rotten decaying world as it is, instead of how the matrix shows it to people, I thought of how God sees the world, instead of how the world candy coats violence and nudity, the way people treat each other, etc...

Sad that some people don't think a little deeper and see the deceptions of the enemy or the story of redemption through sacrifice of self in more of the stories and myths of our time (movies....)

Saying it is just a movie lets the entertainment industry have a free walk through your mind and heart, influencing the mind without our being awake to the dangers in the stories, or the glory.... Just as disciples slept while Jesus was in the garden of gethsemene.

You should see what I can do with Disney's Lion King

The little lion was born, Eldest and only son of the wise King Lion. When he was young, he 'broke the rules' even as we often do. As children of the king, we break the rules, and hang out with people who say the choices we make don't really matter. Hakuma Matada, eh?

And the scarface bad lion (satan) was able to scare the little lion out of his wits. Scarface even tempted the little lion to sin.

The Scar Face lion wants to be King, and tries to obtain the throne, by deceipt... Even claimed that all the animals were Looking at him instead of the real Lion king... He ended up being cast out of the kingdom and becoming the leader of the hyenas (laughing, ridiculing, crowd of troubling spirits)...

Father lion ended up jumping into the path of danger to lay down his life for the little lion.

Before he died, the lion king told the little lion, I am with you always... After I am gone, you will look to the sky and 'see' me in the stars...

The little lion did not really believe it. He goes on a journey of self discovery and never really looks back. Breaks lots of rules. Abandons the kingship his father and birth offered him. But when the little lion grows up, he catches a glimpse of his own reflection, one day, while coming to the water for a drink.... Jesus said we are to be baptized by water.

While drinking, he sees the image of his father in the water.. then he realizes it is his own face.

We are made in the image of God, but we often deny this or miss the power of this truth until we mature in our faith.

In the end, the little lion realizes he is a copy of his Father who is now dead, but not really dead... living in the stars (heaven).

When he realizes he has the same power his Father had, he becomes master over the scarface lion who cannot trouble him any longer. Christ defeats Satan. The little lion defeats scarface because he is made in the image of his father and discovers his true calling as a king in his own right.

See ? There is more going on in movies that you think!

Anybody want to take on the old classic, Billy Jack ?