“If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” Paul, 1 Cor. 15:13-14
In Acts 17:16-34, the apostle Paul, while in Athens, was brought to the Areopagus because he was preaching “the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.” Athens was the center of Greek philosophy. The popular view of resurrection among the Greeks was… well, there wasn’t one. That is of course if you have in mind a physical resurrection from the dead. If a person actually believes that the dead can rise, then no, according to the Greeks, there can be no such thing as “resurrection.”
Greek Philosophy
The Platonic view taught that heavenly bliss was an escape from our physical bodies for a purely spiritual existence where the “shadows” become reality, but only in a disembodied state. No wonder their response to Paul was, “You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean” (Acts 17:20).
The Greeks, the wisest of the wise, did not accept a literal and physical rising of the dead. Resurrection, or anastasis (lit. to stand again), can only mean a spiritual rebirth or gnosis of the eternal things, not an actual dead body coming to life again. For the Greeks, it goes beyond the belief that a dead person could live again. Rejection of the resurrection was founded in the philosophical idea that the physical world was evil and only a shadow of that pure spiritual realm.
Greek philosophy largely embraced the idea that the soul needed to be freed from the material world of imperfections into the eternal realm of ideas. Some believed this meant there was, therefore, no moral code because material things were of no consequence.
The Corinthian church saw these ideas threatening its community. Immorality was being accepted among the saints, and they were gathering around one or two individuals like unto the way of Greek philosophical practice. This is still popular today.
“Where is the philosopher of the age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world… But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise… We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom…” Paul, 1 Cor. 1:20, 27; 2:6-7
Whether it was of the Stoic or Epicurean flavor, there was no room for Paul’s message of resurrection. According to the Greeks, dead men can’t rise, nor should we want them to. Therefore, many of the leaders rejected the idea, but others would hear Paul again and become followers of Christ (Acts 17:32-34).
Gnosticism
Plato’s teaching on life after death was the prevailing view among the Greeks. As the good news of Christ was being preached in the first century, these philosophical ideas slowly merged with Christian doctrine and sort of a Christian Gnosticism was born.
Paul was constantly combating these foreign ideas and the threat of “another” good news. It was a century later that we have the Gnostic “apocryphal” books written to promote this merging of Greek ideas with Christian teaching (e.g. Gospel of Thomas, Mary, Judas, etc.).
You can see the continued popularity of these teachings in movies today (e.g. The Matrix, V for Vendetta, The Truman Show, etc.). Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code is the latest to promote the Gnostic view of Christ.
The goal is to strip Christ of his divinity and his sinless human nature. The same teachings that promote this disembodied spiritual future also accept the idea that the Creator (Yahweh) is evil and the serpent of the Garden of Eden is the agent of good come to cut man lose from his puppet strings.
According to Gnosticism, the serpent, the devil, brings knowledge of what is really going on. What man needs is to be freed or “awakened” by the “secret” knowledge or gnosis. Man needs to throw off rules and regulations of the flesh in order to embrace “spiritual” living. He needs to recognize his own divinity apart from God. Taking from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil would do just that.
If man will only take the “red pill” and choose enlightenment, he shall indeed see “how far the rabbit hole goes.” We should find a sobering reminder from the movie, The Matrix.
“Zion” in Gnosticism leads us on a ship, named after the God-defying Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, to a dark city below the earth (i.e. hell). It will not be an orgy or a party portrayed in The Matrix, but an eternity separated from Christ where man ceases to bear the divine image. Hardly a future any of us would hope for.
If you can prove Jesus of Nazareth was like the ordinary man on the street, having that corruptible nature called “flesh,” and that there was no physical resurrection of the dead, that Jesus was merely revived after his crucifixion, and that he spent the rest of his days in Spain having kids with Mary Magdalene, then you can undermine the entire Christian hope. It is a distortion of the first century synoptic Gospel’s account that is satanic propaganda disguised as “knowledge.”
Gnosticism is an absurd attempt to falsify the Gospel message and its presentation of Jesus as the promised Messiah who was both God and man. I am confident that, at least for now, the idea is only embraced by a few who live with their heads in the clouds. However, these ideas have indeed wiggled their way into Christian eschatology and our teachings on heaven and the resurrection. (I’ll address this in Part II.)
This fabricated “secret” message may be able to make money at the Box Office, but the Gnostic Jesus holds no weight when it comes to reliable testimony and the historicity of the New Testament. We have plenty of evidence that suggests that the account of Christ we have in the New Testament Gospels is the real deal.
“Jesus is either the flesh-and-blood individual who walked and talked, and lived and died, in first-century Palastine, or he is merely a creature of our own imagination, able to be manipulated this way and that.”
N.T. Wright, Who Was Jesus? p.18
We, therefore, must decide what we do with Jesus and his recorded resurrection from the dead. Everything hinges on the resurrection—everything. We will choose to align ourselves with orthodox Christian belief or be swept away with the rising tide of heretical doctrines of demons.
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.” Paul, 1 Cor. 15:3-5
Heaven to Earth: The Christian Hope in the Resurrection, Part II of III
The Centrality and Supremacy of Jesus Christ 
April 29th, 2009 at 1:34 am
Good start! I look forward to parts II and III.
April 30th, 2009 at 3:27 am
That was outstanding!
May 1st, 2009 at 12:44 pm
great read! really captured the essence of our lethal tendencies to seek knowledge of Christ rather than fellowship with Christ. look forward to what follows…
May 1st, 2009 at 7:46 pm
I am so grateful–even sobered that the Christ who was, is, and is to come kicked the door of death down. We live in that hope. Good job of reminding the saints that our hope is stubborn and strong and based in reality. No casket will hold us brother.
May 1st, 2009 at 11:29 pm
Enjoyed reading the first installment. Gnosticism is still alive and well today. Looking forward to the next two parts.
May 8th, 2009 at 4:24 am
I Timothy 4:1 – The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
It’s so interesting how we look back and are amazed at how easily Christians got tricked in the past. This is a great example, as well as countless others; like Christians defending slavery in America with Scripture, and on and on.
Same thing will happen 50 years from now when Christians talk about how we were tricked into all that we are right now. It might be interesting to make a list.
I guess we must be careful to realize that no man is immune since Satan and his demons are so much smarter than us. Our only immunity? Letting Christ control our minds.
May 8th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
It is very disturbing that we so militantly hold to some of our beliefs that could not be further from what Jesus taught. What a great deception the enemy has placed in front of the believers, especially those in America.
I don’t believe I would say that the devil and his demons are “smarter” than us… only a bit older. They have certainly had some time to practice. They know the weakness of man. Primarily, they know the damage that can be done when the saints turn from the indwelling Christ and begin to live out of their own wisdom and strength… all the while thinking they are obeying the Lord. This deception is the greatest of all.
We must live by the power of the indwelling Christ and hold fast to him. He shall keep us safe from the attacks of the one who accuses God’s people day and night.
May 12th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
A breath of fresh air in the stupifying fog of Gnostic humanism given out as truth in today’s culture. Thanks, David. Sword of truth.
May 14th, 2009 at 1:36 am
Excellent point about the centrality of the resurrection. I do have one small bone of contention though: I don’t think the Matrix supports Gnosticism so much as the many parallels to Christianity. It wasn’t the physical bodies that were evil in the Matrix; rather, it was the evil machines (i.e. demons) that had taken over and enslaved mankind. And it wasn’t merely knowledge that the humans needed to get set free; they needed to overthrow the rule of the agents who were doing the bidding of their master. Morpheus was John the baptist and Neo was the prophesied One to come, who would lead mankind out of slavery into the promised land. And Neo had to shed his blood to do so while only love could raise him. Neo’s love for his bride (Trinity) motivated him nearly every step of the way. Neo was willing to lay down his life for others as the Good Shepherd laid down His for ours. Well, I could go on but it’s getting late…..
May 14th, 2009 at 4:59 am
Hey Tom,
Thanks for commenting.
I was wondering when someone would bring this up. 🙂 I must tell you that the writers, the Wachowski brothers, used Gnosticism to create this movie. We can read whatever we want in to this movie, but the writers themselves had this perversion of Christianity in mind. If you will look further into Gnosticism and go back and watch this film… you will see that every detail reflects the exact opposite of what you propose.
It does indeed appear to look like “Neo” is Christ… when in reality… he is a figure of Adam… who becomes a representation of the anti-Christ when he accepts his calling to leave the order of the matrix set up by the creator. The white bearded man, the creator of the Matrix (revealed in the third film), is Gnosticism’s view of Yahweh in the Old Testament: an old evil manipulator who has an experiment gone bad. Morpheus should actually be seen as the serpent giving Adam a choice to continue life in the matrix or learn of life apart from the creator.
Please take notice, every person that looks like the good… is actually the evil when you understand the philosophical teaching behind this movie. It is a twisted view of truth. The “evil” in The Matrix is Gnosticism’s view of the good presented in Scripture… and the “good” in this movie is actually the evil according to the Bible. Again, in a very twisted way… it looks like Christianity, but satanic at the core.
We really see this in the small details. The ship that Neo rides on with Morpheus is called the “Nebuchadnezzar.” Nebuchadnezzar was the wicked king of the Old Testament that sent the three Hebrew slaves into the furnace in the book of Daniel. And where does this ship take Neo? It goes into the depths of “Zion”…. which isn’t reflective of heaven or the city of Jerusalem, but of an orgy in hell.
I would encourage you to buy “The Da Vinci Con” DVD. It is an excellent documentary that examines many recent movies with these Gnostic themes. You think you are watching a movie that promotes Christian themes… when you are really getting something much different. Ultimately, it propagates a message that would have us doubt the goodness of God in order to wake-up (take the red pill) and go and do our own thing… setting others free with this “knowledge.” In Gnosticism, “Neo Anderson” represents the new way to be human. “Neo” means new and “Anderson” means son of man. I hope you will look further into this and go back and watch the movie with the intended themes in mind.
Finally, I want you to know I enjoy the story of The Matrix. However, I certainly can’t watch this movie as I did before I knew the intentions of the writers and the teachings of Gnosticism. Thanks again for taking the time to research these things.
May 14th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Hi David,
I can’t speak to the third movie you reference, nor can I speak to the motives behind the Wachowski brothers. I trust your assessment there. And while I did see the last couple of movies in the trilogy in passing I do think they were a big step down from the first one.
I still don’t know that I agree with you though on the first movie.
I found this definition of gnosticism on-line:
A collective name for a large number of greatly-varying and pantheistic-idealistic sects, which flourished from some time before the Christian Era down to the fifth century, and which, while borrowing the phraseology and some of the tenets of the chief religions of the day, and especially of Christianity, held matter to be a deterioration of spirit, and the whole universe a deprivation of the Deity, and taught the ultimate end of all being to be the overcoming of the grossness of matter and the return to the Parent-Spirit.
Based on this definition, it appears to me that The Matrix is refuting Gnosticism. If the writers intended to make the material world evil and the “spirit” world good, why did the humans strive to liberate their physical bodies from bondage? Why not enjoy the bliss of the “spirit world” in the matrix? In other words, the plot is going the wrong way if the writers were trying to promote gnosticism.
It also seemed to me that freedom from the tyranny of the enemy was a pretty big theme and aren’t we ourselves born into spiritual warfare? Doesn’t the enemy of our souls seek to hide his existence from us? Didn’t the Son of Man come to set us free from the law of sin and death and being in bondage to spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places? I am by no means an expert on the myriad forms of gnostic thought, but where is the devil and his minions in Gnosticism? For they are certainly there in that first movie. And they are certainly present in scripture.
Next,it was shown that the world wasn’t corrupted by the Creator but
by these forces opposing mankind and declaring war on them. This warfare had corrupted the earth from what it once was. This seems to harmonize well with the Word that shows us sin has corrupted our world.
David, I could go on with symbolism and parallels but I will conclude with this: I don’t doubt that you are correct about the motivation of the writers of this film to promote Gnostic thought and the last 2 movies may well do that. I just think the first movie parallels Biblical truth much more than Gnostic philosophy.
Blessings,
tom
May 14th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Tom,
Again, thanks for taking the time to comment.
I have studied Gnosticism a great deal. There is no doubt that Platonism/Gnosticism is exactly what the writers of The Matrix hand in mind. This comes from their own admission to the creation of the trilogy. I understand your desire to want to see Christian themes, but as I have already made a case for… it is quite the opposite in this film.
Just to answer your question… the “spirit world” in The Matrix is what Neo discovers after taking the red pill. This is consistent with Gnostic teaching. I discuss this idea thoroughly in my blog post. Please go back and watch this entire trilogy after you feel you have a good grasp on the teachings being promoted in this film.
Thanks, Tom.
May 14th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
Hello David,
Once again, I agree with you on the intention of the writers that it was to promote Gnosticism. However, would you agree that there often is a disconnect between an author’s/director’s intentions and the actual results they produce? Case in point, “None of the rulers of this age understood it(God’s wisdom), for if they had they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” Would you agree there was a pretty big disconnect between Satan’s intentions and the actual result of his actions?
In the same way, while the Wachowski brothers intended on promoting Gnostic philosophy in the trilogy, I still contend that in at least the first one they accomplished the opposite. That movie opposes Gnostic thought and has ten times as many Biblical allusions and parallels as Gnostic thought IMHO. Another example of this is Cypher, the character who wanted to get re-inserted into the Matrix
and let his physical body be enslaved again. He was not the hero; rather, he was the goat, he was the Judas figure. Not valuing your physical existence was portrayed as bad while Neo was the hero for escaping the confines of the prison of the matrix and freeing his physical body to live in the real physical world.
I’ll grant you the one example you cite of the name of the ship as the “Nebuchadnezzar”. The other examples actually are in the later movies which I will concede very well may promote Gnostic thought.
You didn’t address the above 3 points I made on how the first movie supports Biblical truths and maybe you prefer in using a broad brush in this matter by merely relying on the author’s intentions instead of dealing with the specifics. That is a form of criticism that focuses on the author’s intentions more so than on the author’s actual work.
I still think the movie The Matrix has amazing allusions and parallels to biblical reality that we can use in communicating the gospel, much like Brave Heart, Last of the Mohicans, etc.
Does the story regress and degenerate in volume 2 and 3? I think we all would agree that it did.
John Eldredge brings out the elements of the Biblical story that can make another story great: a battle to fight, an adventure to live, a love and romance to win, a hero who is willing to sacrifice himself for a cause greater than himself, and a haunting betrayal. The Matrix has all these and that is why I enjoyed it so much. Is everything perfectly analogous to the gospel? Not at all but Eldrege’s point is that a piece of art doesn’t have to be completely analogous to the Gospel to artfully portray a component of it and to be used by God’s people as illustrations and examples of biblical truth. And maybe this is the common ground that we can agree upon. If Paul can use Athenian inscriptions to an unknown God that the people were familiar with, why can’t we engage popular culture in our communication of the Biblical truths?
Press on!
tom
May 15th, 2009 at 2:25 am
Hey, Tom.
I understand how your are viewing the movie. When I was a youth pastor… I used the movie to make spiritual points about Christ from every character and event in the story-line. However, when you learn of the original intent of the writers and how the movie was designed to pervert the Gospel… it doesn’t much matter anymore that there appear to be images of Christ. This was the intention of the brothers. It’s just like any other satanic deception.
George Harrison wrote a song many years ago with the intent of having Christians singing it as a praise song. At the very end of the song, and almost unrecognizable, is the repetitive singing of “Hare Krishna!” When Harrison was singing “Lord”… he did not have Christ in mind. This may not matter to some folks, but for me it is something that should be seen for what it is and reject its deception. We don’t need to then adopt the song and sing it to God instead of Krishna. No, we should just write another song. I don’t think that a movie that was purposely written to thwart the Gospel is like unto what Paul did in Athens.
I agree that we can use pop-culture to highlight truths about Christ. I agree that in some forms of media we can do this. I just can’t do this with media that has been specifically designed to promote heretical doctrines and deceive believers. I would use the author’s intentions to counter it, yes. (Pointing out the perversion of truth.) But I would not go so far as to ignore something that is fundamentally anti-Christ and that is aimed at undermining the Gospel message.
I think we will agree to disagree here. I do appreciate your heart, bro. Blessings in Christ!
May 15th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Hey David,
After reading the comments about the matrix between you and Tom I thought I would add a comment as well since this is something that has been on my mind recently after just finishing the trilogy.
First, I agree with you both about the overtures of christianity and Christ that can be gleamed from the first movie and certain aspects of the other two as well. David you said that you had even used some of the points of the first movie to point to Christ in your youth group. That being said I will as best I can share what I gleamed from the overall trilogy which especially comes out in the later two movies. Without even knowing about the intention of the authors I understood that the overshadowing theme was an attack on Christianity. It has ideas of reincarnation, and new age thought.
Alot of what I have noticed lately in movies this one in particular is the emphasis on “the one”. A super hero mentality is being shaped and formed in our culture and world. I believe this is in line with what is to come ahead, a conditioning if you will. The movie is designed to cause doubt for the believer in Christ or questions that doubt the authenticity of Christ or God in general. (that could be described better). Even though it seems and I used to think that when Neo or the others trapped in the matrix were in a way being born again when they came out of the matrix I now realize that that isn’t referring to being born again at all but more so a type of self realization, or enlightenment to our real selves. It is very self focused which is the essence of satan’s doctine and new age philosophy which we see in many religions i.e. hinduism, buddhism, taoism, etc… There is an expectation all over the world for “the one” to come. Some call him the wold teacher or matrayea or other names such as anti-christ.
All though I enjoyed the matrix trilogy after understanding the intention behind it and after picking up alot of new age thought in it I would not encourage simply because it is an attack on Christianity although subtle. There is another movie I had seen not to long ago starring Jet Li called “The One” it also goes into alot of buddhist thought and new age teaching. These ideas are being mainstreamed and packaged for consumption by all especially the naive believer in Christ. I believe this is all apart of the agenda of the enemy which leads into his plan. But thanks be to God that in Christ we are free and we know that the outcome is that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess He is the One, the Lord.
Another quick thought. I had also seen the latest Indiana Jones movie and in that they refer to interdimensional beings which is putting a finer point on extraterriestial/ufo ideas out there. These interdimentional beings which I believe referred to demonic forces that people try to channel to receive power and physic abilities.
This also was overlayed in the matrix. If you think about it Neo was in his world, disastified knowing there is more to life knowing there is something out there. He is being contacted from those outside the system who eventually teach him the way of self realization and the ensuing god like abilities that apparently according to new age thought are latent in all of us. But that leads to a denial of Christ or no need for Him which is why this is not a christ promoting movie (matrix). These are just some thoughts that can be expounded and also lead to rabbit trails.
Blessings,
Seth
May 15th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Thank for sharing, Seth. We are in agreement here. Again, once I realized the evil anti-Christ intent of The Matrix and movies like it… I sought to expose the message it was sending and how Satan is working to deceive believers. I do enjoy the movies, but would never try to use a movie that is anti-Christ in its inspiration as a tool. If anything, I would use it as a teaching lesson to make other believers aware that there is always a message in media. We need to learn to look for those messages and compare/contrast them to our knowledge of the New Testament Jesus.
I really appreciate your thoughts. I think you are right-on in your assessment.
May 17th, 2009 at 4:02 am
David,
I was just wondering, you stated above, “However, when you learn of the original intent of the writers and how the movie was designed to pervert the Gospel”, I was wondering how you arrived at that conclusion. Is it by “revelation knowledge” whereby you were given a word of knowledge or wisdom and able to discern the intents of Larry and Andy Wachowski to pervert the gospel?
Or do you have a direct source you can quote or link to? If you do, I’d love to see it because after we started our discussion I have done some research into the trilogy and not found anything specific about their motivation. These 2 brothers are very reclusive. One of them has a ton of rumors swirling around him that aren’t godly regarding his personal life. They haven’t done an interview since 1999 that I can see.
May 17th, 2009 at 5:08 am
Tom,
As I stated above, “I would encourage you to buy The Da Vinci Con DVD.”
It is apparently now being sold as “Hollywood’s War on God.” Here’s the site:
http://www.hollywoodswar.com
Watch this video excerpt at http://www.goodfight.org
http://theater.goodfight.org/?vdId=Gnosticism
I recommend purchasing the DVD. The video is a thorough examination and expose of many popular movies. It is here that the intentions of The Matrix are explained from the words and associations of the Wachowski brothers.
Here is a portion of the section on The Matrix: http://hollywoodswar.com/thematrix.html
It’s best you purchase the video. I do hope that helps.
May 17th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Hey David,
Back in 1990, I was given a petition to sign to stop Madelyn Murray Ohair from persuading the FCC to ban Christian television. Tens of thousands of Christians were signing it, fearful that Christian television would soon be banned. Before I jumped on this bandwagon, I looked into it and discovered it was a complete ruse. There was no attempt to ban Christian television.
Not long after that there was a boycott proposition being circulated to not buy Proctor & Gamble products because the CEO had appeared on the Phil Donahue show and asserted they were giving a portion of their proceeds to promote Satanism and that the logo for P & G actually was paying homage to Satan himself. Well, a friend called the TV show and was told they had gotten hundreds of calls regarding that alleged show and it was completely untrue.
That is why I asked how you were able to discern the motives of the writers was to “pervert the gospel”.
I looked at the video clip link and didn’t see anything that convinced me this was the case, at least as far as a direct source quote.
It doesn’t appear to me that the Wachowski brothers are Godly men from my research. However, I have not found one statement from them that would support your premise regarding their motivation. I probably won’t buy the DVD because of time constraints; that is too high of a hoop for me to jump through on this right now and with the information superhighway at my fingertips, I would guess that if there is something available to support this I can get it with the click of a mouse.
Scripture does tell us to not attempt to judge the hearts of others. We can be fruit inspectors and judge their actions, but only God sees into the heart of men. In my readings the last couple of days I have discovered many different influences and philosophies present in the Matrix Trilogy, including Christianity. The God image is still imprinted on all of our hearts though despite our fallen condition and that is why people will always be intrigued when the elements of the Greatest story are present in a movie or a novel. That’s what makes for great storytelling. And that is why the first movie in the Trilogy and the last 2 were disappointments.
To sum up, let me reaffirm I agree completely with your first post about the importance of the physical resurrection of our Lord. He was bodily raised from the dead despite other philosophies saying this couldn’t be. I would just caution you though to make sure you can back up your arguments with solid data and be cautious when attributing motives…….
God’s best 2 U!
May 17th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Tom,
I’m not real sure how you are trying to tie in your examples to this conversation. You seem pretty set on wanting to believe what you like about The Matrix movies, regardless of the intentions of the creators and their associations with folks who support the Gnostic message. I am well aware that the clip I sent you doesn’t have exactly what you are looking for, but the video does. If you are concerned about this issue, you will purchase the video. I shouldn’t think that a “click of a mouse” should stop you from obtaining the info you requested.
Tom, I have not judged the hearts of others… nor has Joe Schimmel who has taken the time and energy to investigate this beyond a Google search. And to add to your “fruit inspectors” comment… the production alone with its blatant “twisted and perverted” themes that appear to be exalting Christ, when in reality does the opposite, are indeed fruit to be judged. My entire observation has come from an examination of this movie and the intent of the writers, nothing more.
There is plenty of reason to believe that there is more to the picture than meets the eye. Non-believers don’t make a habit of producing movies like The Matrix to promote Christian ideas. You asked where I got the information and I told you. You are free to look further in to it or just go on believing whatever you like. I am a bit confused to why you acted interested if you’re not really concerned about what I have written.
A person will quickly lose me in a dialogue when they begin making premature judgments about my motives and the motives of others. I do hope you will look into purchasing “Hollywood’s War on God” and see for yourself that nobody has judged another man’s heart. The conclusions that have been made came from solid evidence. I will look into this matter a bit further and see what else I can find on the web. In the meantime, I wish you the best in your continual pursuit of Christ.
May 17th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
oops. We can’t edit our posts here but I meant to say here in the above post “And that is why the first movie in the Trilogy {was so good} and the last 2 were disappointments.” instead of what I actually had “And that is why the first movie in the Trilogy and the last 2 were disappointments.”
May 17th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
CONCLUSION TO THE MATRIX DISCUSSION
The Wachowski brothers lead reclusive lives. However, the evidence that we have for the Platonic/Gnostic-Christian/Buddhist themes in The Matrix are overwhelming.
In an online chat with viewers of the The Matrix DVD, the Wachowskis acknowledged that the Buddhist references in the film are purposeful. However, when asked “Have you ever been told that the Matrix has Gnostic overtones?”, they gave a tantalizingly ambiguous reply: “Do you consider that to be a good thing?” From the Nov. 6, 1999 “Matrix Virtual Theatre,” at the Wachowski chat.
A viewer asked the Wachowski brothers, “Your movie has many and varied connections to myths and philosophies, Judeo-Christian, Egyptian, Arthurian, and Platonic, just to name those I’ve noticed. How much of that was intentional?” They replied, “All of it” (Wachowski chat).
http://www.warnervideo.com/matrixevents/wachowski.html
You can read a good article with citations here:
http://www.unomaha.edu/jrf/gnostic.htm
The Wachowski brothers worked alongside Alan Moore in the production of V for Vendetta (2005). Alan Moore, acclaimed writer of From Hell, Watchmen, V for Vendetta, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Promethea, converted to Gnosticism in the late 1990s. Moore is also a self-professed and practicing satanist.
Anyone who is interested in the revival of gnostic thought in the media and the demonic influences that drive the writers, directors, and actors of these films… needs to purchase “Hollywood’s War on God” at http://www.hollywoodswar.com
Finally, check out this excellent article on The Matrix from the Christian Research Institute:
http://www.equip.org/articles/the-matrix-unloaded-revelations
Please stay tuned to Parts II and III of “Heaven to Earth: The Christian Hope in the Resurrection.”
June 19th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
David,
I thoroughly enjoyed you original article and was pleasantly surprised by your level of awareness of the media’s deceptive influences. There is a strong level of deception in this age we live in, and I believe it will get much stronger. I really enjoyed your comments on the Matrix. May we all have discernment to know truth from deception.
As life becomes more and more chaotic and American Christians begin to experience what countless numbers of our brothers and sisters have experienced through horrible (and yet glorious) tribulations, trials, and persecutions, the hope of the resurrection and our future (yet in God’s eyes, present) glorification will be a solid hope we can cling to.
One day, all those who believe on Christ Jesus will be freed from this body and we will no longer sin. What a glorious hope! The hope that one day, we will love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength perfectly and completely is a hope that is truly glorious!
Thank you for the reminder.
1 Corinthians 15:51-58
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
February 18th, 2010 at 9:16 am
I like the last scene in the matrix when they’re in the lobby in slow motion and stuff and flipping, that was cool
April 5th, 2010 at 12:53 am
David, I dig this article, bro. Eerily similar to your talk in chapel the other day. 😉 You are spot on with the Matrix parallel. Fascinating what the Spirit opens our eyes to as we are matured in Christ.
I am curious about the Truman Show, tho. Maybe when I see you next you can explain the gnostic nature of the film. Maybe I will watch it again, too.
September 27th, 2010 at 10:42 am
high i am a student of theology at st. pauls university limuru kenya doing research now on neoplatonic ideas in the early church . i read with appreciation the work done only if you could quote more phrase to phrase idea to idea of plato in early church . thank God bless
September 27th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
That’s a great study. I must keep my blog posts brief as possible.