»Is The Matrix Real?«

Does any1 believe that the world we live in, is not real?

I believe that there is more to life then what we see, I believe what we see is the Matrix, and that there is another world - the real world. Not Zion, as that was the movie, but then again was it? ... or was it someone allowing people in the Martix to see whats really going on? We just didn't know it at the time ... Makes you wonder, does it? ... hmmm ... I want out, thats all I can say!

What about all you?

~Trin~

Trin,

I believe that we do live in a Matrix of sorts but I don't think it is like the Matrix in the movies. We do not live in a computer generated dream world created by machines.

But ancient scriptures do give us clues that we do live in a world that is run by a great deceiver who has managed to blind us from the truth (Ephesians 2:1-3).

It also tells us that he has agents that are carrying out his work and that there is another realm where battles are being faught (Ephesians 6:12).

These scriptures also reveal that we are slaves to sin and to the ways of this world (Romans 6:16,19, 12:2).

Just like Morpheus told Neo that he was a slave so does the ancient scriptures tell us that we are slaves to our desires and to selfishness. In some of us the mark of slavery is more evident than in others (but it is there). Addictions to drugs, alcoholism, perfectionism, co-dependency, jealousy, jousting for power, abuse, cruelty, and insults to others are just some manifestations of this slavery.

The Bible tells us that the reality is that we live in a Matrix and that we are entangled in it. The Matrix is all around us and it is always pulling on us. It fogs our view of reality and our perception of our world and our place in it. It is an illusion filled with many more illusions.

Are you curious to really know what it is?

I must warn you. It is not easy to understand what you are about to find out. Your mind will want to resist the truth at first but let it settle and you, too, can join the group who have been unplugged.

There are a lot of illusions out there and there are a lot of books and websites written on them. They sometimes even classify these as "The Matrix." I am not talking about all the lies that are out there - and there are a lot out there. I am talking about the biggest lie of them all that has been told to us. I am talking about the Great Illusion when I am talking about "The Matrix."

So, what is the Matrix?

It is a belief that has been passed on to us by the Great Deciever and our ancestors that blinds us from seeing the truth. This distorted belief creates a world and a false reality that dictates how we live and it enslaves us to its creator, Satan.

The Matrix is a world where we can believe that we can be our own God and live a self-directed and self-centered life. Where there are only our rules and our wants. The Matrix is an illusion created to keep us under control: under the control of sin, selfishness and the popular ways of the world. It is a system that we are plugged into that leads us to a lifestyle of self-indulgence, instant gratification and pleasure. Where everything revolves around us and how it makes us feel. It is a place where truth and Jesus are not welcome.

The Matrix leads us to pain, disillusionment, suffering, slavery to things, a void in our heart and eventually to death (both spiritual and physical).

So, what can we do to get unplugged? Is there a Neo that can free us from the Matrix?

The good news is that we can be unplugged by the "ONE." By believing that Jesus is the "ONE" who died for our sins on Calvary and accepting him into our lives we can be freed from the system of this world. The key to being unplugged is getting to know Jesus and then trusting him with your life.

Faith is what opens the door into the other world. All you have to do is say "I believe" with sincerity as the Kid says it in the film.

When we take the red pill and place our trust in the "ONE" we feel peace. Peace with God and peace with ourselves and others. We also experience a sense of forgiveness for all the bad we have ever done. Plus we partner with our purpose and can begin to choose love in our life (like Neo choose it when he saved Trinity). We begin to live for God and others and not just ourselves. It is quite a liberating feeling. Oh and I almost forgot ... we have eternal security.

Jesus, like Neo, brings peace. Instead of peace between man and the machines he brings peace between man and God. Man was created in the image of God and when the Fall occurred that image was shattered. Jesus restores that image in us so that we can reflect the glory of God and live out our purpose. The ancient scriptures prophesied his return and were fullfilled when he intermingled with humanity 2000 years ago.

Peace

An explanation of what has been hidden from mankind.

Of course we are living in the real world. This is reality. You might not like it, waiting for something different, longing for adventures and exitements... but in fact what you are living in is reality.

Why I am so sure about it? Because reality is defined as this "world". So it is reality by definition. There might be things and facts we do not yet know about reality, but it certainly is real. Real by definition.

Eddy, I see where you are coming from. But tell me how do you know that Jesus is real? How do you know he is the 'One'? Jesus could be like the matrix, another illusion from sin! Christianity, Buddhisum, etc all these religions. They are meaning-less, I feel they are cults set by sin, to make you believe in something that is not real, to keep you more undercontrol!

I want unplugged, as you call it, but I don't believe looking to a religion is the way. There are so many, how do you know it's the one with jesus in it? ... Your believing what SIN has set down before you ... it is to blide you more from the truth.

There is something that we have not looked into, or something we have just missed. We will find it, but not in a religion, thats a cover up to blind you more! (I believe) You may not believe me, but think about it for awhile and then get back to me. Don't rant to me about the bible, think logic and I am sure you will understand me.

~Trin~

Thankies. Do you agree with me that the answer is not in religion? From your comment, it seems that way. hee hee

~Trin~

Trinity_Rose wrote:

Eddy, I see where you are coming from. But tell me how do you know that Jesus is real? How do you know he is the 'One'? Jesus could be like the matrix, another illusion from sin! Christianity, Buddhisum, etc all these religions. They are meaning-less, I feel they are cults set by sin, to make you believe in something that is not real, to keep you more undercontrol!

If you take that standpoint, anything anyone tries to tell you is the truth will probably be rejected as well. Nothing on such a scale as 'reality' can be proved or disproved, and by doubting it, you begin to live a very miserable existance.

I used to think like that, and it scared me.

Then, would you believe, I heard a Buddhist story of a man who has been shot by an arrow. All his friends crowd around and are about to remove it when he stops them.

"First," he says, "I want to know who shot the arrow. Find out what his name is, how many brothers and sisters he has, and their names and professions. Find out the type of wood the arrow shaft is made from and who made it. Find out from which bird the feathers of the tip of the arrow come from, and from which forest."

And so on and so on.

'Living' is like that arrow - it is pointless and stupid to try to find out all the details while your life is slipping away.

Trinity_Rose wrote:

Eddy, I see where you are coming from. But tell me how do you know that Jesus is real? How do you know he is the 'One'? Jesus could be like the matrix, another illusion from sin! Christianity, Buddhisum, etc all these religions. They are meaning-less, I feel they are cults set by sin, to make you believe in something that is not real, to keep you more undercontrol! I want unplugged, as you call it, but I don't believe looking to a religion is the way. There are so many, how do you know it's the one with jesus in it? ... Your believing what SIN has set down before you ... it is to blide you more from the truth. There is something that we have not looked into, or something we have just missed. We will find it, but not in a religion, thats a cover up to blind you more! (I believe) You may not believe me, but think about it for awhile and then get back to me. Don't rant to me about the bible, think logic and I am sure you will understand me. ~Trin~

Trin,

You bring up some great points and ask excellent questions. I agree with you that religion can be another form of control over us. Matter fact I would go so far as to say that it is. So, therefore, I agree with you that religion is not the way. Actually, most religion is man made theory wrapped up in a spiritual guise.

You write, "There is something that we have not looked into, or something we have just missed. We will find it, but not in a religion, thats a cover up to blind you more!"

I cannot agree with you more. You are absolutely right and your logic is 100% correct.

Yet, let me give an example from the Matrix about faith and trust in the ONE. In the text below we see that Niobe believes in Neo the person who she has interacted with, not the myth of the One surrounding him.

Morpheus: "But you've never believed in The one"

Niobe: "I still don't"

Morpheus: "Then why are you doing this?"

Niobe: "I believe in him"

Niobe realizes it is definitely important to distinguish between the myth and the real deal. Niobe realizes this and does not believe in the myth but comes to believe in what she can see is true. She sees that Neo is worthy of her trust based on what she has come to know about him. Morpheus on the other hand believed in the myth and then came to believe in Neo.

I believe the same should be true for us. We should follow Niobe's example. When Jesus came his own people rejected him because they focused too much on the myth (religious ideas of the Messiah) and who they thought he should be. It was the people who were not restrained by the religious traditions and the idea of the Messiah who were able to see him and believe in him. We are told that the pharisees were blinded by their ideas and missed out and did not accept the real deal. (John 5:36-40)

We should not believe blindly in things. That is why God sent us his Son to experience the real deal. Just like Niobe was able to come to the conclusion that Neo is worthy of believing in so can we now (if we seek to) put our trust in Jesus.

Morpheus comes to see the real deal because he allows his idea of Neo to be shattered. Before we come towards the Bible and God we should let go of our preconceived conceptions of God and just get to know Him.

In conclusion what I am getting at is that religion can blind us from seeing the truth and even Jesus. And I would add that believing in Jesus is not about religion but that it is simply about responding to someone who has offered us unconditional love and the gift of eternal security.

Now to answer your other question as to why I have come to believe that Jesus is the "ONE" (which is a question that everybody should ask because we should never just blindly believe).

I believe that Jesus is the one because of the evidence for his life, his death and his resurrection. There is more evidence that he walked this earth and died on a cross that there is that Napoleon existed. Historians know this and that is why the do not argue about this. There is also evidence that points to him having resurrected. If Jesus body had been found we would not even be having this discussion. Also, there are Christian and secular accounts that people saw him resurrected. Josephus, a Jewish Historian is one of them.

I am not saying that we can prove without a doubt that Jesus is the ONE but what I am saying is that there is a lot of evidence that points in this direction. And hey we need to leave some room for a leap of faith otherwise there would be no need for faith. If you are interested in looking at more evidence you may want to check out the book "The Historical Jesus" by Gary R. Habermas or "A Case For Christ" by Lee Strobel.

But that is only the historical evidence, there is also subjective evidence. Like Niobe we can have an experience or encounter with Jesus. The Bible tells us that if we accept Christ into our lives we will experience his Spirit bear witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:14-16). It tells us that this is the first thing we will recieve from Him (Ephesians 1:14) and it is this spirit that changes us from the inside and frees us from our sinful compulsions. But to experience this we must take the red pill (accept Christ and believe in Him). I have taken the red pill and have experienced this and it testifies to me that it is true and that the historical evidence I believed in was reliable.

I really appreciate your questions and the points you have made. I think you are totally on the right track. Feel free to ask me more questions.

Peace

this world is fake, were all in gods matrix

You say that there should be room for faith, other wise there would be no point in faith. Didn't Morpheus ask Neo if he believe in faith? And didn’t Neo say that he does believe in faith as he does not like that fact that he is not controlling his life if there is faith!
Also we are back to Jesus, have you ever seen Jesus, did you see him die on a cross did you see him come back to life? No you never … No one did …. It is just words from people that have been put into a book. For all we know it could be made up … for all we know it could be sin who made this programme again to keep us under control. How do you know it is real, the answer is you don’t, you just believe it is … you are under control by this religion! Do you understand where I am coming from?

Also you say about Niobe believing in Neo not the myth of the One! Now that’s ok, but believe in Jesus, is believing in the myth as Jesus is not here, not a human before us, he is a Myth just like the One. So therefore I can not believe that Jesus is the One as I can not see him before me. I see Jesus only as a Myth, or programme to throw us more off the truth in which we seek.

~Trin~

PS: Sorry to have a point against everything lol, I just have strong views on the Bible/Jesus/Religion crap I keep hearing about (Sorry if that is offences to you)

Trinity_Rose wrote:

You say that there should be room for faith, other wise there would be no point in faith. Didn't Morpheus ask Neo if he believe in faith? And didn’t Neo say that he does believe in faith as he does not like that fact that he is not controlling his life if there is faith! Also we are back to Jesus, have you ever seen Jesus, did you see him die on a cross did you see him come back to life? No you never … No one did …. It is just words from people that have been put into a book. For all we know it could be made up … for all we know it could be sin who made this programme again to keep us under control. How do you know it is real, the answer is you don’t, you just believe it is … you are under control by this religion! Do you understand where I am coming from? Also you say about Niobe believing in Neo not the myth of the One! Now that’s ok, but believe in Jesus, is believing in the myth as Jesus is not here, not a human before us, he is a Myth just like the One. So therefore I can not believe that Jesus is the One as I can not see him before me. I see Jesus only as a Myth, or programme to throw us more off the truth in which we seek. ~Trin~ PS: Sorry to have a point against everything lol, I just have strong views on the Bible/Jesus/Religion crap I keep hearing about (Sorry if that is offences to you)

Trinity_rose I dont believe in religions, I look at my belief as a way of life as a path to a better life, and if we dont believe we can lose everything we are... I believe as Eddy believe on a real living God that walk among us, that one day he will request our life and ask us about how u did in this life,what good accions u have done in his name, what are u going to say to him? u wanted to believe but u never showed up!, you never were with me when I needed something to believe on.. U know what he will for sure tell u, I was with u by ur side all the time but u never turn over to see me to look to face and said I need u! Please dont be rude with Eddy he seems pretty cool guy, respect his opinions, alright I know that u dont believe in this kind of stuff but u have to have some tolerance.

Comet wrote:

Trinity_Rose wrote: Eddy, I see where you are coming from. But tell me how do you know that Jesus is real? How do you know he is the 'One'? Jesus could be like the matrix, another illusion from sin! Christianity, Buddhisum, etc all these religions. They are meaning-less, I feel they are cults set by sin, to make you believe in something that is not real, to keep you more undercontrol! If you take that standpoint, anything anyone tries to tell you is the truth will probably be rejected as well. Nothing on such a scale as 'reality' can be proved or disproved, and by doubting it, you begin to live a very miserable existance. I used to think like that, and it scared me. Then, would you believe, I heard a Buddhist story of a man who has been shot by an arrow. All his friends crowd around and are about to remove it when he stops them. "First," he says, "I want to know who shot the arrow. Find out what his name is, how many brothers and sisters he has, and their names and professions. Find out the type of wood the arrow shaft is made from and who made it. Find out from which bird the feathers of the tip of the arrow come from, and from which forest." And so on and so on. 'Living' is like that arrow - it is pointless and stupid to try to find out all the details while your life is slipping away.

Thanks for sharing this story. I enjoyed reading it.

Trinity_Rose wrote:

You say that there should be room for faith, other wise there would be no point in faith. Didn't Morpheus ask Neo if he believe in faith? And didn’t Neo say that he does believe in faith as he does not like that fact that he is not controlling his life if there is faith! Also we are back to Jesus, have you ever seen Jesus, did you see him die on a cross did you see him come back to life? No you never … No one did …. It is just words from people that have been put into a book. For all we know it could be made up … for all we know it could be sin who made this programme again to keep us under control. How do you know it is real, the answer is you don’t, you just believe it is … you are under control by this religion! Do you understand where I am coming from? Also you say about Niobe believing in Neo not the myth of the One! Now that’s ok, but believe in Jesus, is believing in the myth as Jesus is not here, not a human before us, he is a Myth just like the One. So therefore I can not believe that Jesus is the One as I can not see him before me. I see Jesus only as a Myth, or programme to throw us more off the truth in which we seek. ~Trin~ PS: Sorry to have a point against everything lol, I just have strong views on the Bible/Jesus/Religion crap I keep hearing about (Sorry if that is offences to you)

Trin,

Morpheus did not ask Neo if he believes in faith he asked him if he believes in fate. They are not the same thing. Neo demonstrates faith in Morpheus in taking the red pill and in many other instances in the film.

When it comes to Jesus you say "for all we know it could be made up." Well there is another side to that coin. For all we know it could be true. Then as we look at the mountain of evidence pointing towards it being true it makes logical sense to put our faith in that it is true.

The New Testament was written by people who lived in Jesus time. They saw him and touched him (1 John 1:1-4). It is a historical fact that Jesus existed just as it is that George Washington existed. Historians overwhelmingly believe this. What does this mean? That Jesus was very real. He lived, died and most definitely walked this earth. The only thing that could be in question was whether or not he resurrected. Yet, again there is a lot of evidence that points to this having occurred.

Add to this that the several hundreds of Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in his life, death and resurrection.

Also, I don't just believe this is all true. I believe that my faith is backed up by mountains of evidence that make a strong logical case for this belief that I hold. Have you done the research and do you have evidence that supports your beliefs? Or are you just blindly believing? If you have some evidence for why you believe what you believe I would be glad to hear it. I am always open to that.

At one time I doubted and was turned off by Christianity because I had an unpleasant experience. Some people who were supposedly Christian treated me badly and humiliated me. I almost fell into the trap of generalizing all Christians as hypocrites. Many of us have our view of reality fogged by resentment, bitterness, anger and traumatizing experiences. And we begin to view life through those lenses. But it is good to examine these things and not let these emotions define us. As I sought out truth I saw past my emotions and I was able to see with clarity. I did the research and that is how I found Him. Neo spent hours at his computer looking for the answers and truth. Because of his desire to know the truth and his persistence he found what he was looking for.

Peace

P.S. No offense taken.

Whether or not the events stated in the New Testament took place or not or took place in a different way is absolutely unimportant. What counts is if you think the meaning of the things stated there make sense or not and if you are willing to incorporate that in your life. Who cares if Jesus really waked on the water or not?

ok..

My standing point on christianity is..

In the matrix movie there actually isnt a god. Because if God exists or existed, Then he wouldnt of let the Matrix happen.
In the matrix movie, Man is actually being portrayed as god.
Because there actually isn't any proof of a higher power at work. Man created the machines, Thus he is God.

The Devil or machines are actually Gods creation..

Now I will get to the point.

The world as you know it contains various different religions.
Now all of these different religions worhip a different figure. God as you may call it.
Now if god doesnt exist at all..Wouldnt all these worldwide believers be delusional.
And if only one god exists, then wouldnt all the other religions that believe in another thing be wrong.

but the funny thing is..

The One in the matrix movie is actually veiwed as being most of these gods in different religions.

Jehova's witnesses are actually anti government. So they would be the least likely religion to be brainwashed by the matrix.But as it stands..jehova's witnesses are deemed to be brainwashed in this world..Funny coincidence huh?

Religion is also a form of order. it keeps some peoples lives worth living. But in this day and age. you seem to have a choice wether to become a christian or not..

But i will get to my title topic..

There is a thing called the new world order.
The new world order is a system of government where one nation will rule the world. and all countries will be peaceful with one another. But this system comes at a cost to peoples freedom.
Most likely in the future this system will happen, and people will be told what job they have to do from birth. there wont be freedom of speech. and everybody will have to obey one religion..This religion is called mother earth.

I am not 100% sure that this system will happen. But you can see in m1 that neo is against the new world order,. and he is trying to stop it from happening.

Thankyou for reading

Everyone I see your points.

I have no evidence to back up my disbelief, I looked into the Christianity and Buddhism and I felt like something was missing. The religion did not seem to click with me! I am now looking into Wiccan and the Matrix is just a laugh me and my mate are going to have as we dress up as Trinity n Neo and go into town n see what happens lol.
I am only 17 and see no point in arguing against people about religion, as I don’t believe. I am going to go out and have some fun now. So thank you for everyone’s interest on my topic and I hope you ALL find what you are looking for.

~Trinity~

THE_FIRST_ONE wrote:

ok.. My standing point on christianity is.. In the matrix movie there actually isnt a god. Because if God exists or existed, Then he wouldnt of let the Matrix happen. In the matrix movie, Man is actually being portrayed as god. Because there actually isn't any proof of a higher power at work. Man created the machines, Thus he is God. The Devil or machines are actually Gods creation..

In the Animatrix (Renaissance Part 1 & 2) it is implied that both the machines and mankind ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (a picture of an apple is shown). Both sinned. We even see that man creates the machine in his own image. We see man wanting to be God and rule over the machines. And just as fellowship and peace with God was broken when Adam and Eve ate of the tree of knowledge so the fellowship and peace was lost with the machines when both man and machine ate of the same tree.

Since man (Adam and Eve) ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil described in Genesis he has tried to become like a God. It is clear that the Wachowski's are making a direct reference to this story.

Thus, I think it can be stated that man ate of the tree (as the Animatrix implies) and then tried to be like God and created the machines in the image of himself. The result was that he became the "architect of his own demise." All of this a result of the Fall. So in conclusion I would say I still see God as a part of the Matrix movies. We see a domino effect going on all the way until we come to Agent Smith. Who also wants to become God.

As to why God would allow this? Well, you can also ask why would an all loving God allow evil in our world and people like Hitler to kill millions? There is an answer to that ... free will.

EXTRA BACKGROUND

It might be good to take a look back at how all of this began.
Scripture tells us that Satan was an angel from heaven who chose to rebel against God. He was the first to betray his ideals for his own selfish notions. It is interesting that he wanted man to take the same path he had chosen. Usually when we sin we also want others to sin as well to make ourselves feel better. Regardless, we find that man chooses to rebel against God as well (by eating the fruit) and thus encounters the painful consequences of his actions - separation from God.

In Matrix Reloaded we see that Agent Smith, after having been defeated by Neo, chooses to not return to the Source. Instead he chooses to replicate himself and make everyone conform to his image. This is what Satan is trying to do as well. Smith is, like Satan, totally consumed with himself and doing what he wants. He will go to all lengths to get power and to become a God. Only one person stands in his way - Neo. Just like Christ is the only person who could defeat the Devil and win back mankind, Neo is the only person who can defeat Smith. (For more on this you can check out my Agent Smith explanation on my blog)

Cool quote to chew on:

Richard Neibuhr writes in Man, State and War: "Man is a finite being with infinite aspirations, a pigmy who thinks himself a giant. Out of his self-interest, he develops economic and political theories and attempts to pass them off as universal systems; he is born and reared in insecurity and seeks to make himself a god. The seat of evil is the self, and the quality of evil can be defined in terms of pride."

Peace

THE_FIRST_ONE wrote:

In the matrix movie there actually isnt a god. Because if God exists or existed, Then he wouldnt of let the Matrix happen.

Why shouldn't he let these things happen? I see no reason for that.

In Christianity, God gives you something, that is also a very important topic in the Matrix: God gives you choice. You can believe and follow or not. It is up to you.

Trinity_Rose wrote:

Everyone I see your points. I have no evidence to back up my disbelief, I looked into the Christianity and Buddhism and I felt like something was missing. The religion did not seem to click with me! I am now looking into Wiccan and the Matrix is just a laugh me and my mate are going to have as we dress up as Trinity n Neo and go into town n see what happens lol. I am only 17 and see no point in arguing against people about religion, as I don’t believe. I am going to go out and have some fun now. So thank you for everyone’s interest on my topic and I hope you ALL find what you are looking for. ~Trinity~

Heh, the battle over religion is never over - this thread will probably continue for ever and ever. I'm 17 too and will always discuss belief.

Personally, I don't need belief - I don't know if you considered that one!

Wiccan, from what I've read, seems to be about the most natural 'religion' I've come across, but that's probably because I'm a bit of a folkie, English, and have just discovered one of my ancestors was hanged on conviction of witchcraft.

starcrow, I think T_F_O was referancing the Problem of Evil argument, where if God is infinitely compassionate, he wouldn't let us suffer.

THE_FIRST_ONE wrote:

Jehova's witnesses are actually anti government.

...How'd you work that one out? Plus they're technically a cult, 'cos they believe un-believers will burn in hell.

Actually Jehovah's Witness don't believe in a fiery hell. Ask anyone of them as to how they apply Ecclesiates 9:5,10.

As to being anti-government, not really. All of them I have met, stress the need to be in submission to the 'superior authorities' regardless of what regime they live under. They point to Romans 13:1 as basis for that stance.

Quote:

The One in the matrix movie is actually veiwed as being most of these gods in different religions.

Exactly. But what do you suppose the reason for this is. Why is Neo both like the legends and simultaneously unlike them? Somebody give it a shot, I'm tired of asking.

a reason for neo being like religious figures is maybe a hint at . maybe people can believe what they want to believe about him. and that there truly is one god who can be worshiped by everyone...

people that inhabit zion in the real world believe in this god..it is their faith.. without this faith there wouldnt be much to life..

do you also see that islam was not included in the matrix?

maybe some foresite about terrorism?

and about the jehova's witnesses.

it is indeed their belief that they donot take part in the government systems..
jehovas witnesses dont vote
they are not aloud to be patriotic

but they still live and survive within that system, but they dont agree with it and

if a jehovas witness has anything to do with government. then they are not actually following the rules of the religion.thus they are not actually a jehovas witness..

i know some jehovas witnesses that say what i have just said. and i know others who actually fight the system..

also..

the thing about adam and eve was good,

...1st One wrote:

it is indeed their belief that they donot take part in the government systems.. jehovas witnesses dont vote they are not aloud to be patriotic but they still live and survive within that system, but they dont agree with it and if a jehovas witness has anything to do with government. then they are not actually following the rules of the religion.thus they are not actually a jehovas witness

Mmm Hmmm. But being politically neutral is not necessarily the same as 'anti-government' but depending on perspective...meh.

Quote:

a reason for neo being like religious figures is maybe a hint at . maybe people can believe what they want to believe about him.

Yeah, that's part of it. I just want to point out that many current religions can look at Neo and see how he fits a role therein as well as many other Matrix characters and what they do. But actually when you look at the whole picture, they actually fit none of the roles perfectly, do they? Not quite. Part of the message is that all these things (religious views) maybe a little off in describing the whole truth, omitting a little here, adding a bit there until you are left with a tool to use against those who are actually searching for truth, just as the legend of the man born inside the matrix is based on something real but some of what is said about him is simply not so and the legend actually served to manipulate some.

This has been going on in society since Day One. But as the films point out, things still worked out as most had faith in, just not how or perhaps when, and even the exact details as expected. And as in the prophecy in Star Wars about Anakin, you notice how the intent to manipulate prophecies played a key role in their fulfillment. Which brings us to...

Quote:

and that there truly is one god who can be worshiped by everyone...

Notice the use of the word, "Providence" in Revolutions.

intell wrote:

Quote: The One in the matrix movie is actually veiwed as being most of these gods in different religions. Exactly. But what do you suppose the reason for this is. Why is Neo both like the legends and simultaneously unlike them? Somebody give it a shot, I'm tired of asking.

I think the reason is because of the postmodern movement. I think it is obvious that the Matrix films are a postmodern work and I don't think it was an accident that it was made this way (since we live in a postmodern world). This was a great way for the Wachowskis' to connect with most people and get them to identify with Neo and the Matrix.

I think the Matrix Trilogy is in a big part a reflection of our times and societies' view.

Postmodernism simply defined is a movement or set of movements that have grown out of the modernism movement. Hence the term "post" means coming after or later.

The modernist movement really emphasized the importance of science, facts and logic. The postmodern does not feel compelled to rely on these as much as subjective truth.

Currently, this term (postmodern) is becoming more widely used by philosophers, social scientists, art critics and theologians to describe our culture, contemporary art, economics, and our present social conditions. In short, it is many times used to describe the way that most of the world is currently thinking.

What is the Postmodernism Movement After?

The postmodernism movement is born of the idea that human reason should not be held as the main source of finding truth. It is skeptical of society giving reason a privileged position over other ways of finding truth because it can lead to depriving other mediums of the truth from being heard. It contends that modernism has put too much emphasis on human reason as a way of finding truth and by doing this created a bias against other cultures that resulted in their views and beliefs being ignored or not put on the same plane. The postmodernist desires and hopes to level the playing field and make sure that all cultural and minority beliefs are given a voice in public discussion.

It states that there are other ways of discovering truth other than human reason such as feeling, experience, stories, metaphors and intuition. The postmodernists are more open to finding truth through feeling and experience. They believe that truth is relative (with no absolutes) and accept and respect all beliefs as true and equal.

THE PROBLEM WITH POSTMODERNISM

Postmodernism has some good things that it brings to the table such as the idea that the truth can be found in more ways than solely on human reason (a good reminder to us all) and an increased concern to value all opinions and accept everyone. Yet, what we are beginning to see is that truth with a capital "T" (or fact) is getting lost or snuffed out with a new belief that truth is relative.

The relativist belief is that there is no objective absolute truth. What this does is it elevates opinions and feelings to an equal plain with truth (many times with the objective to not offend anyone). It is true that all viewpoints should be on the same playing field and equal, but they should not be converted to truth just because someone thinks it so.

"Truth" under this premise can become what one wants it to be even if it goes against logic and reason. Hence the statement, "Something can be true for you, but not true for me" comes to play. The danger is that we can blur reality and lose many of the principles and truth that have helped our society thrive through the ages.

In conclusion the Matrix films mirror our societies postmodern times. It is important to note that society has constantly been changing its view on this. Hence there were societies that were premodern, modern and now of course postmodern. So, for the next generation the question beckons, "what will most of us believe then?"

For more information on the evolution of postmodernism feel free to check out my website and the postmodernism 101 heading.

Peace

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