Musings from the Matrix

Another post from a forgotten blog. Last one for today, but I couldn’t resist since I just posted today about Cloud Atlas which was also an amazing film by the siblings Wachowski.

I was reading a fascinating interpretation of the Matrix movies, specifically Matrix Reloaded (my favorite of the three), which discusses the nature of the creation of the world. We Christians are familiar with the idea that God created a Tree of Knowledge but forbade Adam and Eve to eat its fruit. The question that arises from this is, why exactly would God create something simply to keep it from us (in the collective sense, that is)? It also raises the question of the serpent in the garden. Surely if God is the creator of all that is, then He also created the serpent, yes? Again, why? The author of this article hypothesized that the serpent and the tree were created specifically as an exit from the Garden, and that the only reason for the existence of an exit was because God wanted Adam and Eve to have the choice to leave. In disobeying God’s rules, they chose to exit stagnant perfection and enter a more dynamic world of change and growth.

What does this mean for us in present day? How does this idea shape the concept of free will? Could it be that God actually wants us to stray–wants us to disobey what we perceive to be the “Rules”? For what purpose? Perhaps so that we can constantly make the conscious choice to seek out His presence, to enter into a more fulfilling relationship with Him. Knowing God–and knowing the alternative–means that choosing God becomes more of an active choice rather than a continuation of somewhat mechanically doing what is expected. (Are you catching the Matrix tie-in here?)

The trick is finding the balance; we don’t want to stray so far that we lose completely the path that leads us to God. This is a fundamental shift in my religious upbringing–Roman Catholic–which seems to almost revel in the ultimate “bad-ness” of our sins rather than rejoice in the reunion with God that follows. Even now while kneeling at the communion rail in the altar of my church, I remember a certain prayer I always said during the Eucharist in the Catholic church: “Lord, I am not worthy to receive You, but only say the word and I shall be healed.” I’m not so sure I believe that anymore. I believe that I am still a part of God, as I always have been. I stray, yes. I sin, of course. And I come back, always. And I am welcomed, always. There is nothing that could cast me away from God’s divine Presence, except perhaps my own choice. So as long as I choose Him, He is there.

And to think, I thought the Matrix movies were all about the special effects….

One last note, as I finish reading the article I referenced above. Regarding the Architect and the Oracle, the classic interpretation seems to be that the Architect is the one who represents God. I disagree. I believe the Oracle is more representative of God, if for no other reason than she is more of an embodiment of the Divine Presence. She also seems to know more about what the future holds; in fact, in the third movie it is the Architect who ends up asking the Oracle how long she thinks peace will be sustained. The two of them go together. The Architect may be the physical manifestation, the tool used by the Oracle to achieve Creation, but I don’t believe the Architect is meant to represent God, at least not fully.

What do you think?