Agent Smith as a Christ-figure

**Mercio**

I had to write a paper for my theology class that described three christ-figures in the movies. And I chose Agent Smith as one. Here is that section of my essay. I thought it was pretty interesting, and that you all may like to read it.

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Another great story of a Christ-figure can be found in The Matrix. Most think that Neo plays the all important role of the Christ-figure. And that Cypher is Judas and Morpheus is John the Baptist. However, there is a different perspective that must be considered when looking at the Matrix. There is a question that must be asked, "What if Smith was the Christ-figure?" This is more than likely possible. Look in the context that surrounds the Matrix. The Matrix is created by the Machines, which makes the Machines God of the world they created. You then have Zion, the fallen ones who rejected what had been given to them and they were disconnected from the source. This can be equated to Lucifer rejecting God's love and chose to reject what God had given him. He chose to leave heaven. This is exactly what we see with the humans that reject the system. They don't want to have any part of what the Machines gave them, and they would rather leave than stay a part of that. Henceforth they are disconnected from the Matrix and disconnected from the creators of it. The Machines once again can be considered Gods of the Matrix.

The Redpill humans, however, can not leave the world alone. They must tempt others to get away from the Matrix, as well. This is just how sin works in the world today. It tempts us to leave the relationship we have with God. Effectively, the Redpills could be considered demons. This is illustrated very well in The Matrix: Reloaded when we see the massive party in the caverns of Zion. The party is very sensual and carnal. It borders on an a mass orgy. All of which clearly represents sin and temptation. What drives homes this image more than anything is the location of this party. Zion is having the party underground in caverns. The caverns are very close to lava and flames. This is how most people imagine Hell. When people envision Hell, they see a fiery place underground filled with lava. Zion clearly represents Hell.

The Machines, in response to the Redpills corrupting those who are still inside of the Matrix, send agents in to the matrix to help keep the human population safe and a way from the bad temptations that are being offered to them by the Redpills. The agents, more than likely, represent prophets that God had sent down to his people. But just as in the Bible, it wasn't enough. Sin continued to grow, and was growing out of control. This could be related to in the Matrix to about the time that Neo showed up. In Reloaded - after Neo was freed - Morpheus said "In the past 6 months we have freed more minds than in 6 years," this could be seen as sin was on the rise and more and more people were turning away from God. So the Machines, like God, had to send their only begotten son in to the world to combat this. Once again this can be related to John 3:16. Of course, in the Matrix the Machine's only begotten son was Smith. Just as Jesus, Smith was feared for what he was doing and was persecuted. Smith was the biggest threat to Zion's efforts for recruiting more Bluepills. Once again, like Jesus, Smith had to combat the evils that were presented before him. This included purging the world of Redpills. In the bible it would be equated to Jesus performing exorcisms to get rid of the demons.

Just as the other Christ-figures, Smith made a sacrifice. It could be argued that it wasn't a conscience decision, but the decision was made to sacrifice himself to get rid of Neo and help protect vasts amounts of Bluepills from being awakened. Smith died so the Bluepills could continue to live in the matrix without the huge threat of being drawn away by Neo. This could have been a decision made by the Machines to use Smith to get rid of Neo. They knew that they would have to sacrifice their son in order to save the matrix and humanity from being ruined. This is just how God knew what would happen to Jesus when he sent him down from heaven. When Smith and Neo died together the Matrix reset. It effectively refreshed the Matrix and gave it a new start. The Machines doing this is like implementing the new and everlasting Covenant. Bluepills were free to leave the matrix and the bond with the Machines, but the Machines gave everyone in the Matrix a fresh start and a new chance. This is exactly what God has done. The Bluepills are free to break away from their pods and their connection to the source. However, when they break away from the pods, they will be going to Zion which is Hell. This is a great analogy for when humans choose to turn a way from God. They go to hell, and hell is most clearly defined as outside of God's love. A person in Hell no longer has a connection to that connection to God. Just as a Redpill has no connection to the source. There is one last sign that we can see that tells us the source and the Machines are good and represent heaven and grace. When Neo looks at the Machine City it is made out of pure light. Pure light is metaphor often used when talking about Heaven and God.

**PS10N** · 12/22/2007 11:58:51

While an unusual and interesting take on the highly interpretable Matrix trilogy, the limited allegory breaks down completely when we consider such aspects as, Christ doesn't copy himself on to others against their will and Christ does not desire the end of all life and Christ did not rebel against God (Smith rebelled against his purpose as defined by his creator.) So, bravo for breaking new insights as far as they go, but they don't go all that far. Even those who seek to equate Neo as a Christ figure will encounter difficulty with integrating the Eastern ideas so prevalent in the series. As before, I suggest that those truly interested in the spiritual aspects of the Matrix trilogy begin their journey at the end, with a translation of the Sanskrit words sung in Neodammerung / Navras, which plays during the final conflict between Neo and Smith and are from the Upanashads of the Vedas.

**Illyria22**

Mercio wrote:

You then have Zion, the fallen ones who rejected what had been given to them and they were disconnected from the source. This can be equated to Lucifer rejecting God's love and chose to reject what God had given him. He chose to leave heaven. This is exactly what we see with the humans that reject the system. They don't want to have any part of what the Machines gave them, and they would rather leave than stay a part of that. Henceforth they are disconnected from the Matrix and disconnected from the creators of it.

They would rather rule in hell than serve in heaven.

Mercio wrote:

The Redpill humans, however, can not leave the world alone. They must tempt others to get away from the Matrix, as well. This is just how sin works in the world today. It tempts us to leave the relationship we have with God. Effectively, the Redpills could be considered demons. This is illustrated very well in The Matrix: Reloaded when we see the massive party in the caverns of Zion. The party is very sensual and carnal. It borders on an a mass orgy. All of which clearly represents sin and temptation. What drives homes this image more than anything is the location of this party. Zion is having the party underground in caverns. The caverns are very close to lava and flames. This is how most people imagine Hell. When people envision Hell, they see a fiery place underground filled with lava. Zion clearly represents Hell.

Especially New Zion. But I did think of hell when I watched that scene from the first movie.

Lyr

TheShickle

I have thought about Machines such as God, but then again their cons outweigh the pros.

And just as PS10N said, Christ didn't copy himself onto unwilling people.

And Zion gives the choice, such as enlightenment (red), or sleep (blue).

Although, it is an abstract way to view things. In my opinion it is not... well, as practical, but still good job.

**Ballak**

You guys are missing the point. It's all in relation. Smith didn't walk on water or make wine out of water either.

It's an interesting point, but although most of your relations are right, the way the movies depict Smith, he's more of the anti-christ, lol.

**PS10N**

The point isn't being missed. The allegory fails on direct principles.

"Whoever believes in me shall not die but have eternal life" vs. "The purpose of life is to end."
"If you Love me, then feed my sheep" vs. "Only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love."

If Smith is Christ, then Neo is the Devil, but nowhere in Christianity is the story of the Devil returning to save God and all of Heaven from being wiped out by Christ, as the story would go in The Matrix. Smith's final aim was to destroy all life: human (freeborn, redpill, bluepill,) exile and mechanical, which is the exact opposite of a Messianic Redeemer.

Because there is a great deal of symbolism from all of the world's major belief systems in the Matrix properties, trying to reduce the symbolism to just one of those religions will always fall short; there would always be a deficit of context. Because of two thousand years of conditioning, it's easy to assume that a depiction of an underground cavern with magma and writhing bodies must be a depiction of Hell. Take the time to learn that Christianity was begun by Hellenistic Jews who rejected the Greek pagan notions of the afterlife, the underworld and the goddess Hel by turning them into the antithesis of their notions of an afterlife for the redeemed. The historical and contemporary depictions of "the devil" all have their basis in a rejection of pagan Greek archetypes. The horns, hooves and other bestial features are from Pan, the pitch-fork is Poseidon's trident and ruling the underworld comes from attributes of Hades and Hel. [There were no historical Saints Bridget or Nicholas, but rather old pagan deities were beatified when it became clear that their veneration would not stop, even after conversion. Most of the Santa Clause myth, including flying reindeer, a sack full of gifts, the evergreen tree and climbing down the chimney, stems from Nordic rites involving psychedelic mushrooms!] Equating sensuality and sexuality with sin is equally a control structure of modern organized religion, and another rejection of pagan rites which often involved sexual symbolism or practices. There are many schools of thought which hold sexuality to be spiritual and even holy, and it's clear that the W. brothers intended this context because the dancing is the continuation of Zion's Holy Rites which all take place in their Temple.

Getting back to the Matrix' use of varied symbolism, there are references to Christian, Judaic, Islamic, Hindu, Taoist, Zen and Greek ideas. There are numerous hidden references to specific verses of the Bible, the Quran and the Upanishads in graffiti, license plates and signs. Trying to interpret the symbolism of the entirety of the Matrix properties within only one spiritual context is doomed to failure. [Those lucky enough to have the 10-DVD Ultimate Matrix Collection can listen to the commentaries by prominent philosophical figures to gain more insight, including assumptions about duality and the pitfalls of Manachian polarism.]

So, appearances can be deceiving, especially if the context is an assumption. All subjective truths critically depend on context.

**Archangel** · 12/22/2007 14:40:09

Check out the book "The Gospel Reloaded." It's an interesting read if you're into theology at all.

I once was on a mission trip and got a guy's attention with it once down in Panama City Beach. Coincidentally enough, we then departed to the location where we were meeting up with our ride. And as we waited, I noticed there was a place called "The White Rabbit" located across the street. lol

**Rarebit**

http://community.livejournal.com/neo_ex_machina/

?

TheShickle

Zion represents religion and freedom, while The Machines (their "spokesman/representative" in the films (despite he is exiled), Smith) represent logic and science.

Atheistic people believe that our only true destiny in life is to end, and as Smith says over and over--it is inevitable. While it is, our choices make us who we are. And thats what seperates the true believers from the systematic thinkers.

Jack's Wasted Life

Very well thought out. There were more examples to prove it but you made some good points nonetheless. =p

I hope you got a decent grade on it.

**Mercio** · 12/22/2007 19:24:47

Jack's Wasted Life wrote:

Very well thought out. There were more examples to prove it but you made some good points nonetheless. =p
I hope you got a decent grade on it.

When I find out, I'll you you all know. SMILEY<img src=

Rarebit wrote:

http://community.livejournal.com/neo_ex_machina/

?

? Are you asking if I have ever heard of it? If so, then no. And if not then, ???.

**Raviola** · 12/24/2007 23:53:37

Very thought-provoking. Especially interesting is the God machines wanting to keep bluepills from acquiring knowledge while the "demons" or redpills try to present knowledge and give the means to awaken. But if Smith were really comparable to Jesus (God 2, or God the Son), would he not have motivated the bluepills, as bluepills, to fight Neo and other redpills? And just what are all the churches for in the Matrix? (hmmm, hidden meanings ...)

I think the fact you flipped God to the other side is a bold take on things. And, yes, you deserve a good grade--

**mantra777**

It is an interesting read, Mercio. First of all, i'm not here to flame on what you wrote. I was just pointing some of my opinion.

One thing about Lucifer is that he did not choose to leave Heaven; he was banished (exiled) by God for his Pride of wanting more power (which could be more related to Agent Smith). We can see from the 'Reloaded' and 'Revolution' that Smith always wanted more Power that even Deus Ex Machinima cannot even control him anymore. The people of Zion in the movies pretty much signifies the true essence of humanity. They have needs and wants. They also have their faiths and beliefs and doubts.

I'll add more to this as i'm writing this at 4am.

**Silenci0**

Mercio wrote:

[...] Zion clearly represents Hell. [...]

ACK

**Zerotolerance**

In my beliefs God is a robot dolphin unlike the mechanical entities we've seen in the Matrix universe.

Maybe more of an android dolphin.