Some Further Thoughts on the Matrix

From Neo's conversation with The Architect it seems that when the matrix was created the architect considered it perfect but the one factor that had led to its imperfection was simply the human one. (That in itself creates a problem. Were there still some free people who were missed? Did Zion already exist - otherwise how could humanity cause so much difficulty?) Interesting that he's called The Architect - an architect is someone who designs, never actually builds (never mind create!). Isn't it also interesting that up to that point the Matrix has been reloaded 6 times - presumably the seventh was intended to be perfection (maybe ultimately it was - I got a bit confused by the ending?). (I also find it interesting how religious a place Zion is - it's not exactly Christian (!) but it's certainly very religious with its temples etc.)

Compare this to the biblical account of creation. God created man innocent and perfect and if conditions had remained the same then presumably the human race would be perfect today - but just mechanically so - just like the machine world, neither good or bad in itself. But it's plain that both Adam and Eve were created with the possibility of rebellion. On the surface this seems quite a risky move by the Creator. Could it possibly be that the last thing that God wanted was a closed mechanical world which was entirely pre-determined and where human beings would be little more than automatons? But to allow them to make a genuine choice - effectively either to continue to acknowledge God as Creator and Sovereign or to rebel i.e. to become disobedient - to make themselves the centre rather than their Creator.

This was the great pressure point that Satan sought to exploit. The command that God gave could have been many things but ultimately the whole future of mankind turned on a choice. Would man believe God or Satan? Well we know the outcome - not only did man rebel and elevate himself to the place of God (i.e. self rules OK; the “de-goding” of God; I am the master of my fate etc.). there are many aspects to the temptation - the temptation to the senses; the temptation to be like God; the temptation to think that God was holding back something good from mankind. Adam and Eve made their choice and so the perfection was marred and the whole created cosmos was put out of joint and remains so to this day. But the amazing outcome of this is that God didn't do what to us must seem the obvious (Matrix - style) thing - wipe out Zion and start again - although it came close in the days of Noah when evil had almost entirely snuffed out good. The point about the history between the fall of Adam and Eve and the Flood is to illustrate the infectious nature of sin and evil and its spread in the world when it is unchecked. In the very first generation we find Cain murdering Abel and from that it was totally downhill until we read these words in a modern translation / paraphrase - God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night. God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. God said, "I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds—the works. I'm sorry I made them”. But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah (AV says simply that Noah found grace in God's eyes). This is the story of Noah: Noah was a good man, a man of integrity in his community. Noah walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. As far as God was concerned, the Earth had become a sewer; there was violence everywhere. God took one look and saw how bad it was, everyone corrupt and corrupting—life itself corrupt to the core." (The Message)

Like Noah, in every generation there were those (sometimes a handful) who freely chose to worship the true Creator and live in accordance with His character and design. Those who chose to own Him as their God did so acknowledging their rebellion and disobedience and trusting in His promises of mercy and grace. An important aspect of their worship and praise was that it flowed from hearts that are free to worship - they were not automatons nor did they live in a deterministic world ruled by fate. They lived in a world which they know has a great future in which they will play a part. They have a solid hope and a purpose. They leave this world confident in the One who said "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me shall never die."

Not only did not God wipe out His creation and start again but neither did God abandon this fallen and marred world to destroy itself but rather chose to enter it in the person of His Son. The Gospel of John tells us that "He came to His own.... He became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the One and only full of grace and truth." - God entering His marred and now imperfect creation in order to redeem it - to literally buy it back by His death. He didn't send a powerful being or angel, but came Himself in the person of His Son. In doing so he didn't merely act at a distance but bound himself to the fate of mankind. If He (the Bible describes him as the second Adam) succumbed to the power of temptation and evil then mankind would have no hope or future. The good news is simply that he did not and so ensured the glorious future of all who would put their trust in Him.

The true Neo - Jesus, God with us, the One, the Saviour of the world entered into the realm of time. He didn't use violence to do battle with evil but overcame evil with good. In the greatest battle of the cosmos He withstood the onslaughts of evil and died in apparent weakness. But in that dying He conquered death and hell and the forces of evil. Weakness turned out to be the greatest power in the cosmos. The scriptures call Him “The Second Adam” for, in contrast to the first Adam, in spite of all the temptations that he faced, He never weakened. The key to His resistance lay in His absolute obedience to the Father who had sent Him. Every choice set before Him was resolved in the same way -obedience to the Father's will and purpose. So where Adam failed, Jesus triumphed.

There are many parallels between the first film of The Matrix and the life of Jesus - a kind of allegory. It seems that the writers deliberately chose names to echo biblical characters. There are lots of references to these online (a whole genre seems to have grown up around the parallels etc.). But there is only one real story and the allegory falls far short. It may not seem as exciting a story to today's generation but when someone sees it and understand something of the wonder of it, it is truly the greatest story ever told - and it's true. If there is a modern day problem of choice it comes down to the oldest one on record - self or God - who rules, who is in control. And this is an individual choice because though we talk of groups and nations and even civilisations and their destinies, ultimately each person lives as an individual before His Creator in His Creation.

It is interesting that the architect identified hope as the "quintessential human delusion". But if hope is based on the promises and word of the Creator then it is more than just a "hope against hope" which is no hope at all. If the Creator's revealed character and His actions in this world convince a person that in Him is to be found their highest good; that He is the Benevolent One in whom there is no malevolence; that He offers salvation and redemption to those who by nature want nothing to do with Him, then that hope is built on a firm, unshakable foundation. And if the Creator's action in this world in entering His creation and taking to Himself a real human body and soul and living among those who He had created and being willing to demonstrate his unfailing and unconditional love by giving His life for theirs, then again hope is not just a vain, futile fancy but built on the solid ground of the love of the Creator. Flash