Questions on the Film, The Matrix
1. The Bible tells us about John the Baptist who prepared the way for Jesus, about Jesus who was
baptized by John and then began his ministry, about who we are slaves to sin, about how we
need to be “born again” or experience a conversion, about how Jesus was betrayed by Judas,
about how Jesus was resurrected, about how Jesus ascended into heaven, about how Jesus is
coming back and about Zion the city that Jesus is preparing a new home for us. How does the
movie, The Matrix, portray each of these teachings in its story?
In the Matrix, Morpheus is a kind of John the Baptist who gives Neo the choice of discovering the truth
and starts him on his mission. Neo discovers that he had actually been sleeping in a pod, a slave
providing energy for the machines to maintain the illusioin of the Matrix. Neo gets awakened after he
takes his pill and is discarded by the machines to be picked up by Morpheus in his ship, the
Nebuchadnezzar. A crew member, Cypher, betrays Neo and his friends like Judas did with Jesus. Neo is
resurrected by a kiss and the love of Trinity. Zion is the city where real people are taking a stand to fight
off the machines. Neo ends the film by flying up in the matrix like the ascension of Christ.
2. Gnosticism was a false teaching that the early Christian Church struggled to refute (disprove).
Gnostics believed that our imperfect world was made by an imperfect god. As human we suffer
because we are made up of an imperfect body and a perfect divine soul but we do not realize
this. Humans live life becoming attached to the world, not realizing that we have the divine
spark in us that will give us the knowledge we need for salvation. To be saved we need a
messenger of light (like Jesus was) who will give us additional secret knowledge (gnosis-Greek
word for knowledge) that will help us to experience the truth and to save ourselves. For
Gnostics, the physical world and our bodies are imperfect, like illusions, while our inner divine
souls will help us to find our own salvation. How does the movie, The Matrix, portray each of
these Gnostic teachings in its story?
The world of the Matrix is the world of sensations where things seem to be real but really it is an illusion
crated by machines. Persons like Neo and Morpheus who wake up find out that the matrix is an illusion
covering up a ruined world. This is like the Gnostics saying that the world of the senses and the body is
imperfect and that salvation from the illusions of the senses and the body comes through the divine soul
or mind. Like the Gnostics who preached that it takes secret, special knowledge to wake up a person
from the illusions of the senses (body), so in the Matrix it takes messengers (Morpheus and Neo) who
bring the secret knowledge about the illusions of the Matrix so that persons can free themselves of the
Matrix and have knowledge (gnosis) that saves them from the Matrix.
Questions on the Film, The Matrix
3. Buddhism, a teaching derived from Buddha (the one who is awake), teaches that the world
(Samsara) is like an illusion since it is constantly changing. Humans suffer because they are
ignorant that living by their senses they can not see the real world that is discovered when your
mind is enlightened. Salvation is enlightenment and is achieved through an effort of your mind.
The 8 fold path to enlightenment includes having a right view of life, the right intentions, the
right speech (truthful, nonhurtful), right actions (non-harmful), the right livelihood (non
harmful), the right effort (effort to improve), the right mindfulness and the right concentration
(meditation/chanting). How does the movie, The Matrix, portray many of these Buddhist
teachings? How does the movie disregard some Buddhist teachings?
In the world of the Matrix, everything seems so real but it is all an illusion. Everyone is sleeping in their
own pod supplying energy for the machines to keep them as slaves in the dream world of the Matrix.
Those who wake up like Morpheus, Trinity and Neo can see the Matrix for what it is – an illusion. Using
their understanding (their minds), Morpheus, Neo and Trinity are able to go into the Matrix and do
superhuman things because the Matrix operates by rules that their minds need not recognize. So like in
Buddhism where the world of the sense is an illusion so in the Matrix. As in Buddhism where the mind
can be enlightened to see the deeper reality, so in the Matrix the mind overcomes the illusions of the
Matrix. But the movie, the Matrix, is very violent with guns and physical fighting which a Buddhist
would never agree to. Buddhism is a very non-violent religion and this part of the movie is the opposite
of Buddhist belief and action.
4. As a Christian, how would you evaluate the worldviews embedded in the film, The Matrix? If
you are unsure whether you are a Christian, how do you evaluate the worldviews embedded in
the film?
The worldviews in the Matrix are a blend of Christianity, heretical Gnosticism, and Buddhism
with enough violence and special effects to hold the attention of teenagers (the largest group
regularly attending movies today). In the movie, Neo is a saviour who shows others how to free
themselves from the Matrix. Neo is not like Christ who sacrificed himself for us. Neo just
shows the way that you can save yourself. The message of the Bible is that we can NOT save
ourselves but rather that we need a perfect mediator who saves us. Salvation happens when
we humbly and penitently accept that God has saved us to live for Him.