What is the Real Matrix – Part 5

Part 1    Part 2    Part 3    Part 4    Part 5                                Real Matrix Radio Interviews – Part  1    Part 2    Part 3

*** Please note that these articles provide a Biblical perspective on the idea of the ‘Matrix’ as an alternate reality, an idea that has gone mainstream as a result of The Matrix movie trilogy. This is a multi part series based strictly on the first movie titled ‘The Matrix’. The other two films in the trilogy also had some interesting symbolism and ideology that will be explored separately at a later time.

Addendum to Part 2 of What is the Real Matrix series

The following is a quote from part 2 of this series: ‘So the Bible makes it clear that there are intelligent supernatural invisible spirits or energies appointed by God to control and manage all of creation not just the Earth.’

The understanding of supernatural (meaning ‘not corporeal’) intelligent beings guiding and managing all of creation is an ancient one. It is only recently, after two centuries of conditioning, the masses, mostly in western countries, have been misled to believe in the random theories of ‘natural’ processes. Just as water doesn’t come into our taps by happenstance or electricity into our homes, neither does the earth or the sun or the planets stay their course without a guiding hand. I know that water flows in my home because somebody somewhere opens the reservoirs and guides the water through carefully laid pipes, and similarly electricity comes because it is being generated somewhere and intelligently guided through wires to get to me. Just because we may not understand the exact process of how the earth and the cosmos are managed, does not mean there is no Manager. Here’s a quote from a 12^th century Jewish philosopher Maimonides who concluded as much that ‘Angels’ are minds without bodies (invisible intelligent energies) that control the visible dimension of creation. It is a little bit of a misrepresentation that angels have no bodies; they do but these bodies are made of non – material energy not of flesh and blood, in other words not made of matter.

Quote: ..This leads Aristotle in turn to the demonstrated fact that God, glory and majesty to Him, does not do things by direct contact. God burns things by means of fire; fire is moved by the motion of the sphere; the sphere is moved by means of a disembodied intellect, these intellects being the 'angels which are near to Him', through whose mediation the spheres [planets] move... thus totally disembodied minds exist which emanate from God and are the intermediaries between God and all the bodies [objects] here in this world. – Guide for the Perplexed II:4, Maimonides

Whilst I may not agree with the exact process as described by Maimonides yet in substance he is right that God’s angels are his managers that control and guide the cosmos, the cosmos does not guide or maintain itself.

What is the Real Matrix – Part 5 – Culture, Tradition & Religion

I concluded part 4 of this series as follows: In the final segment of this series I will detail the 'all pervasive nature of this Matrix, of this ideology that shrouds people’s minds anywhere and everywhere, how it originated and why it exists. This will not be the final segment since there is more that I need to share but could not because of the length of this article.

Morpheus: The Matrix is a System, Neo.

In the last segment of this series I hypothesized that ‘In essence the SYSTEM is an unwritten code of conduct to which people adhere to voluntarily in society. It is not the same as the laws of the land. The ‘System’ places mental boundaries, like an invisible dog fence, around a person’s mind beyond which they dare not step’. The Economic component of the ‘System’ was discussed in some detail in part 4, and in this segment I would like to discuss the other two powerful but ultimately insidious components of the ‘System’ that are so detrimental to the spiritual welfare of a person in this life, and utterly destructive for the destiny of the ‘Soul’ in the next. These two components are:

1.       Culture and Tradition

2.       Religion

For someone who considers himself to be a God fearing person, it may seem strange that I would include ‘Religion’ as being destructive to the present and eternal welfare of a person but as will be proved in this article, religion as generally practiced by man has little if anything to do with God. Culture and Tradition, along with religion are powerful opiates that keep the masses sedated to serve a will other than their own. Let me begin by defining the words ‘Culture’, and ‘Tradition’.

CULTURE: 1. (Sociology) the total of the inherited ideas, beliefs, values, and knowledge, which constitute the shared bases of social action 2. (Social Science / Anthropology & Ethnology) the total range of activities and ideas of a group of people with shared traditions, which are transmitted and reinforced by members of the group

I would like to combine the above two definitions to arrive and define the word ‘Culture’ as:

• CULTURE: Inherited ideas, beliefs, values, and knowledge, which are transmitted and reinforced by members of the group (family, community, and nation.)

TRADITION: 1. The passing down of elements of a culture from generation to generation, especially by oral communication. 2 a. A mode of thought or behavior followed by a people continuously from generation to generation; a custom or usage. 2b. A set of such customs and usages viewed as a coherent body of precedents influencing the present.

Combining the above two definitions, we can define the word ‘Tradition’ as:

• TRADITION: The passing down of elements of a culture from generation to generation to create a mode of thought or behaviour that will be followed by a people continuously from generation to generation.

Culture and Tradition have a somewhat interchangeable meaning in that both these words represent an ideology that is expected to be followed by a certain group of people for the simple reason that preceding generations have followed the same ideology. From a Biblical perspective, it is not possible to follow man’s traditions and love God at the same time. Both Jesus and the apostle Peter warned that man’s traditions stand in opposition to the Word of God, and are therefore fatal to one’s spiritual well being. Culture is essentially following of tribal customs, whereas Tradition is following of familial or religious customs. So what is wrong with culture and tradition? As defined above both culture and tradition are ‘modes of behavior’ that are the expected norm for a group of people, be it a family or a community or a nation. For purposes of this dissertation we will consider both these words to synonymous and use the one word, ‘Tradition’ only in this article. Traditions are mental boundaries placed upon people, beliefs that are forced upon them for the simple reason that they belong to a specific group of people.

Leaving aside traditions such as hunting for Easter eggs or leaving milk and cookies for Santa Claus, or even of setting up and decorating Christmas trees or lighting candles for Diwali in India, and other such activities that people engage in without understanding their origin or purpose, let me focus on ‘Religion’ as the most powerful tradition in the lives of the majority of people. Religion for the majority is not a means of serving God, or even an avenue for understanding the purpose of their existence but merely a social club that allows them membership into a certain group. Such membership is not voluntary for the majority; they do not choose their religion but rather are born into it. For example most Hindus are Hindus, Muslims are Muslims, and Catholics are Catholics because they were born into Hindu, Muslim or Catholic families, not because they studied and made a personal choice. In this respect Biblical Christianity is different than all other religions, and should not even be classified as a religion, it is more accurately a relationship based on belief.

Romans 10:9: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Believing from the heart in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a prerequisite for being called a Biblical ‘Christian’; such belief is not an act of merely mouthing the words but actually believing this to be a fact. God alone can look into the heart and judge whether a person truly believes or not, and on this basis many who mouth the words while their actions speak otherwise are not ‘Christians’, at least not in God’s eyes and they will be judged accordingly. On this basis the majority of people who call themselves ‘Christians’ will not qualify for eternal life but that is another subject altogether. It is a little known fact that no one is a born Christian; one can be a born Hindu, a born Muslim, a born Roman Catholic, a born Buddhist, but not a born Christian, at least according to true Biblical doctrine.

‘Religion’ is the most powerful form of tradition and has been responsible for more bloodshed and violence than any other belief in history. The ‘Crusades’ are a perfect example of extreme religious violence that pitted one group against another on the basis of ‘religion’. Though misrepresented as ‘Christian’ no follower of the Biblical Christ would take up arms against his fellow man, not when Christ after whom ‘Christians’ are named laid down his own life, and prayed that God would forgive the very people who took that life. Not when he taught his followers to ‘love your enemies’, to ‘turn the other cheek’, ‘to not live by the sword’, to not look for earthly kingdoms or power but to ‘lay up treasures in Heaven’. The Crusades as defined by Wikipedia were a military campaign: The Crusades were a series of religiously sanctioned military campaigns waged by much of Latin Christian Europe, particularly the Franks of France and the Holy Roman Empire. This Wikipedia entry is misleading because the Crusades were a Roman Catholic campaign not a Christian campaign. Roman Catholicism and Biblical Christianity are diametrically opposed; this however is a perfect example of how simply calling oneself by the name of Christ does not make one Christian if one does not believe in His Words and follow them. As previously mentioned no follower of Christ launches military campaigns, he follows the teachings of His Lord as recorded in the Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 10:3: For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh...

The Crusades are but one example of the violence that has plagued mankind for thousands of years because of human traditions, particularly religious traditions. I will address, by providing contemporary examples, of how traditions continue to kill, individuals and groups of people, merely on the basis of religion and tradition. For now I want to address the subject of how culture, tradition and religion work hand in hand to create a prison for the mind, The Matrix that keeps people voluntarily enslaved to meaningless rituals and ceremonies that serve no purpose in spiritual or mental growth. The majority of people on this planet not only fail to question religious beliefs handed down to them by their forefathers, they whole heartedly endorse and follow them unquestioningly. On the rare occasion when a person questions the religion or tradition or wants to step outside the boundary imposed by the family or community, extreme pressure is brought to bear on him or her, often times murderous pressure. It is the fear of rejection, of being viewed as an outcast that prevents most people from even questioning their religious or communal traditions.

Thus the religious affiliation of the vast majority of mankind may simply be traced to their parents. Most people could not define what it is that they really believe, or even if there is something that they actually believe. Having been born and raised in India, I can affirm that I know more about the Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and Sikh religions than most people in India who call themselves devout Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists or Sikhs. The majority of them might be able to explain some simple rituals or ceremonies concerning their religion but ask them not to explain the doctrine and theology of the religion because they will not have a clue. Most of them will not have read their ‘holy’ books although they may have a shrine in their home where they keep their gods or books and diligently bow down to them. Yet if you try and question their unknown (to them) belief they will be ready to kill you in an instant. Since most people do not know the substance of the religion, which if they did, they would probably abandon it in a heartbeat; the traditions handed down from their ancestors become their religion.

This is the reason for the prevalence of ‘ancestor worship’ throughout the world, particularly in the East. So the reason for following is simply reduced to the fact that the fathers did it that way, and it must therefore be right. Knowing the history of the world, I doubt very much that the fathers did much that was right or good. Had they been truly righteous the world would be a different place today. Since most people are conditioned from birth not to question authority, be it that of the parents, family, teachers, political or religious leaders, they learn how to resolve contradictions in their own minds by not questioning the evidence that may disturb their belief system that has been handed down to them. People who dare to form their own beliefs will rarely believe that which has been handed down to them, they will almost certainly reject all tradition and religious beliefs held by previous generations. Sadly none are encouraged and few have the courage to question authority, familial, corporate, political or religious and therefore remain slaves to the ‘System’ that kills innocents just for the crime of thinking for themselves. In the middle ages the Roman Catholic Church burnt thousands at the stake for the crime of ‘Freedom of Thought’, for wanting to think for themselves. ‘Freedom of Thought’ is still forbidden, according to the doctrines of the Catholic Church. If God wanted the Pope or the Dalai Lama or even your parents or teachers to think for you, why would He give you your own mind?

Jesus rebuked the Jews that they rejected the commandments of God when they selected their own traditions. The Pharisees of that day made a decision to not reject man’s traditions but in so doing they rejected God’s Word. The apostle Peter taught that traditions had kept people bound to meaningless rituals resulting in a vacuous manner of living which is what the term ‘vain conversation’ means in 1 Peter 1:18. It is truly amazing how many people in this world act in a certain way simply because they are expected to do so by other people, who they may not even agree with or like. The ‘What will people say’ syndrome is antithetical to man’s creativity and stifles his personality. It is a great ‘Matrix’ tool used by unseen powers to create a homogenized society in which individuality is frowned upon, and even punished, sometimes fatally. Yet God made us all individuals, if He wanted us to have a hive mind, He would have made us bees or ants. While the overt message in society is to be different, be an individual; peer pressure from family, school, work and religion screams at kids not to be different. To be cool, means to be just like the latest wunderkind on TV, not to be different, confident in one’s own individuality. The homogeneity of one’s birth religion is the strongest of all man’s tradition, and the most destructive one; it sends more souls to perdition daily than any other cause.

·         Mark 7:9: And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

·         1 Peter 1:18: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers...

Traditions, religious ones in particular breed Sectarianism and Division, not love or compassion. Patriotism is viewed as a high ideal in all parts of the world but few understand its true meaning. Most would think that it means to love one’s country but in reality etymology is quite different. from Old French, compatriot, from Late Latin patrita, from Greek patrits, from patrios, of one's fathers... Patriotism literally means defence of the traditions of the fathers, of one’s ancestors. It is in actuality ‘Ancestor worship’ not love of one’s country. Thus traditions breed divisions, one is expected to love only one’s own family or community or country, above all to love only one’s own religion and consequently one must hate all else. Toleration of differences in not in human nature, in almost every nation it has to be legislated. Does that not then prove that it is not enough for one to love one’s own traditions, one must hate all else? Why else would there be a need for laws to force people to accept and tolerate those that are different? Even though this hatred may not be apparent, it dwells just beneath the surface as evidenced by history time and time again.  Jesus commanded us to love one another, to love not just our own but even our enemies.

• Luke 6:27: But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you...

God is Love, and without knowing Him it is not possible to love as He loves. But without God’s love, all that is left is human love that is very selfish and sectarian and divisive. Without breaking free from one’s culture, tradition and birth religion, it is not possible to know God for all three are powerful components of the System that keeps people bound in mental slavery. Thus man rejects God’s commandments even while believing He is doing God service. We all need to have parents, teachers, and leaders but we need none of them to be our intermediaries with God. Ultimately as beings created by His hand, it is every individual’s responsibility to know God for themselves, to facilitate in this process God is ever willing to give us all the tools we need. He has given us His written Word, and also His own Spirit, literally to educate our spirit, like a teacher, if only we are willing to be His students. Then and only then will we know the truth, and the truth will make us free...free from all bonds of culture and tradition, and above all the bonds of religion.

·         John 8:36: If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

·         1 John 2:27: But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

I close with a few examples of what tradition, culture, and religion make people do, even to their own. If this is what results from these handed down beliefs, should we not drop the baton and not run with the System any longer?

• Turkish girl, 16, buried alive 'for talking to boys' / Death reopens debate over 'honour' killings in Turkey, which account for half of all the country's murders... picture to the right...
• I wrote an article on child sacrifice titled Bali mangati Kali Ma...this article addressed the subject of ‘Honor killings’ that occur so frequently in India and Pakistan, and in Islamic countries that they are hardly reported any longer. The following is a brief quote from the article: This 2002 National Geographic article reports that “Hundreds, if not thousands, of women are murdered by their families each year in the name of family "honor."  I was in India recently for a few months and I read several reports of ‘HONOR KILLINGS, of both males and females by their own families. Here’s a report of a young man of 21 murdered in the very presence of police for daring to marry a girl out of his own caste.

Though these examples may be viewed as extreme, the facts would argue otherwise, tens of thousands of people, mostly young women are murdered each year, or mutilated for life in other heinous acts such as Acid attacks. These incidents are neither isolated nor rare exceptions. And the excuse invariably is disrespect of tradition or religion.

Moving from individual crimes, one finds that the incidence of mob or sectarian violence, directly linked to religious traditions, occurs regularly on a historical basis across Asia and Africa, even in Europe, as for example in Ireland.

• Most of us remember the Rwandan massacre that claimed almost a million lives in a matter of days, even as the world looked on, giving silent consent to the horror.

• Ethnic cleansing sounds like a name for a Chinese laundry but is in fact a term for one group of people murdering another group in large numbers. ETHNIC CLEANSING is a Wikipedia article that lists dozens of such genocides that have gone on since the beginning of the 20^th century. This list is by no means complete, and is rather ‘sanitized’ (no pun intended) as to the number of victims, and does not include Stalin’s 60 million or Mao’s 50 or so million murdered for ideologies that may be classified as a religion.  

In closing I will reiterate that the consequences of blinding following tradition, especially religious tradition (including political ideologies) are not always fatal for the body but are most certainly fatal for the soul. Not only does the person not ever discover or develop into the person God would have intended him to be, he ultimately becomes a caricature of the System, the Matrix that the world so reveres in the form of culture, tradition and religion. I end this segment with a heart wrenching video of two beautiful young sisters murdered at the hands of their own father, all in the name of religion and tradition.

 I had originally intended to complete the series with part 5 but there is more I need to disclose about the powers and technologies, both human and Satanic, that are employed to blind the minds of them that believe not, which is the direct cause for violence and bloodshed continuing non – stop, day and night on our planet. I will attempt to finish the series in part 6.