Are you sure that The Matrix was just a movie?

The Matrix was not just a movie that reached sky-high on the box office list, but it was also a wake-up call for the society of the twentieth century. The movie emphasized the idea that artificial intelligence is enslaving humans as its biological batteries, and controlling them in a computer program called the Matrix. Indeed, many of us are turning into slaves of the machines we created. The society of the Information Revolution has a strong dependency on technology. In time, people will be so dependent on machines that they can no longer survive without them. Technology will soon determine how we live our lives. Now is the time for people to make adjustments the moment when Neo in The Matrix has to choose between the blue pill and the red pill. For us, the blue pill represents a society where the computers manipulate us, and the red pill represents a more personalized and humane society.

In The Matrix, artificial intelligence of the computers was the downfall of human beings. Humans had created computers that could think and react to changing situations. When the computers became self aware, they enslaved the human race to provide for their energy needs, as biological batteries. In reality, humankind has begun inventing computers with thinking capabilities. For example, the chess-playing computer Deep Blue by IBM has become a story in the media lately for beating the world foremost chess player. More powerful computers are being invented everyday; it be long before they become more intelligent than humans. In The Matrix, this situation led to a bleak future for the human race.

Despite the danger of powerful computers governing our lives, society has a strong dependency on computers. We spend hours sitting in our office or in our house surfing the web or communicating with other members of our society through the net. Communication through e-mail has become more common than communication through the postal system. Human interaction has become depersonalized; interaction through the computers does not involve the facial expressions and body gestures that are the basic characteristics of human socialization. Now people are socializing based on the words that are showing on the screen of their computers. People are unsure about their real identities or what they look like. This senseless interaction of people through technology may lead to the deterioration of personal relationships.

In The Matrix, people are trapped and living their whole lives within a computer program. Most of mankind never sees or experiences the world, as we know it. Every sight, sound, and feeling is an electrical signal directly transmitted into the brain. The movie warns of a callused reality. An example is the trends in modern art. Those who create their art the old fashion way with pencils, paints, and canvas have a genuine creativity to their work. The final result of their work is completely based on true talent. Those who use computers have a more polished product, but they never have the creative quality of conventional art.

As seen in The Matrix, there are advantages to having computers in our lives. However, the great conveniences of technology have prevented people from realizing that the computers enslave them. Without a doubt, it much easier to search for information through the net than to search for the same information in the library. Given the conveniences that the Matrix has created for people, it difficult for society to accept a life without these luxuries. However, society should realize that technology was created to make life more convenient, not control personal aspects of the human race.

Along with the conveniences of artificial intelligence, there comes a dangerous warning from The Matrix. If we allow ourselves to become too integrated with computers, they may become tools that will use us. The question still stands the blue pill or the red pill? We must reexamine our role with computers and restate our domain over them.

What's in a Name?
Matthew 1:23 - "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel", which translated means, "God with us".
Christ was also referred to as:
- the "Son of Man" (see at right and below in "Judas");
- the Christ of God, His Chosen One;
and a host of other names.

The Disciples
Mark 3:14 - And He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him, and that He might send them out to preach.


John the Baptist
John 1:29, 30, & 34 - The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me'. And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."




Predicted Coming
Isaiah 7:14 - "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel."



The Brothers
Matthew 4:18-20 - ...He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." And they immediately left the nets, and followed Him.


Judas
Matthew 26:15, 16 - ...and said, "What are you willing to give me to deliver Him up to you?" And they weighed out to him 30 pieces of silver. And from then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Him.
Luke 22: 47, 48 - ...and the one called Judas, one of the 12, was preceding them; and he approached Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"



Resurrection
Matthew 12:40 - "...for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

Luke 24: 4-7 - "...And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling apparel; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee. Saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again."



A Greater Power After the Resurrection
Matthew 28:18 - And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."



Radiant Presence
Matthew 17:2 - And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.


Ascension
Mark 16:19 - So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God