Religion is a complex subject and becomes even more complicated when merged with scientific facts and beliefs. While constantly met with suspicion, fear, and ignorance, Christianity as well as countless other faiths have survived centuries of criticism. I myself have many doubts on the precision of the bible and its teachings but there is a fine line between complete lack of faith and a lack of faith with an urge to find the truth. Many atheists and agnostists can agree that their lack of belief in a higher being is due the mass discrepancies and lies thrown into the foundations of religion. Man has had a long history of changing, editing, and even eliminating the teachings of the bible. With these facts, it is understandable for one to question the validity of the ethics, morals, and truths that have been preached and taught for thousands of years.It is only right for one to desire to attempt to expose religions of their false information, lies, and unjust teachings but there is a right and wrong way to go about the exposure.
First of all, it makes no sense to fight lies with lies. The intentions of the writers of Zeitgeist were almost on point but the fact that they used incorrect information and stretched the truth in order to form an argument makes them even less of a reliable source than what they were fighting. They may have had some valid points to make but all of their information that built their argument was poorly researched if researched at all. They went about their research aiming only to criticize and destroy the beliefs of others, not to expose the truth. Had they been able to use facts to strengthen their argument, the writers of Zeitgeist would have been successful in opening the eyes of millions maybe even billions of people. Instead, their weak tactics make their movie amateur and not worthy of the attention and weight I'm sure they were hoping for.
Though religion is the topic, the main argument here is specifically on the facts of the bible and the foundations of Christianity. On one hand, we have those who chose to believe in every word of the bible and chose to follow a Christian faith based on what they have been taught instead of what they have research themselves. On the other hand, we have those who are completely skeptic of the bible and its teachings and chose to view them as part of some type of conspiracy. In relevance to the argument of the movie Zeitgeist, the narrator argues that Jesus and a host of other deities share many commonalities and because this, he questions the validity of the bible and Jesus himself. The movie continues to attack popular religious beliefs but attacks Christianity more than anything by picking apart everything Christians have accepted as truth through the bible and attempts to expose them as pure lies and myths.
For example, most Christians believe that Jesus was born on December 25th and acknowledge this day, Christmas, as Jesus birthday. In actuality, Jesus was really born in the fall and the emperor Constantine ordered December 25th be the day that his birth was celebrated because this is the day of the winter solstice. Constantine chose this day because of the significance behind the winter solstice and Jesus. On this day, the sun rises fully for the first time since the beginning of winter and represents the resurrection of Jesus because it is referred to as the rebirth of the sun after its “death”. Constantine simply wanted the birth as Jesus to be recognized on this day, not to be known as his actual date of birth.
As far as the other deities who supposedly shared the common ‘birthday’ as mentioned in Zeitgeist, one must do their own research to find truth among these claims. The movie says that a long list of deities from various religions and times shared not only Jesus’ birthday, but the same number of followers, birth and death patterns, anointment, as well as his purpose in life to teach others of his faith. For example, Zeitgeist writers proclaim that the Egyptian God Horus was born on December 25th of a virgin, was adorned by three kings, a teacher at age 12, baptized at 30, and had 12 disciples. They also claimed that he was referred to as the “Lamb of God/The Light”, was crucified, and died for three days. However, many of these claims have proven to be completely false. Horus is actually the Sky god and not the Sun god. He was not born of a virgin, instead his mother gave birth to him because she had intercourse with the corpse of his father. The confusion here began in the Hellenic period because Horus, in many areas, was identified completely as his father Osiris. Because of this he became his own Father. Since this concept was not so disturbing to Greek philosophy, the truth about the myth of Horus and his birth had been hidden. There is no evidence that links Horus to three kings or being baptized at the age of 30. There is no evidence proving Horus was resurrected or even crucified in the first place. The ancient Egyptians had a completely different calendar so the claim of him being born on the 25th of December is pretty farfetched. Even if that was his birthday, December 25th was not the birth date of Jesus Christ, therefore, this and the other many claims of the movie are, for the most part, irrelevant.
However, there are some aspects of the movie that prove to be true. The astrological aspects of the movie are very interesting and do provide one with a reason to question the story of Jesus Christ as well as the myths of other gods and messiahs of other religions. The movie discusses the star Sirius which is the brightest star in the sky. It also talks about the three brightest stars in Orin’s belt which are referred to as the “three kings” and links The Virgin Mary to the constellation Virgo. It is almost as if the story of the birth of Jesus Christ was inspired by the stars in the night sky. It does seem to be more than a coincidence that many details of the birth story of Jesus relate to the stars and the sky but at the same time, one must still take into account the sequence of events. Could the astrological events of the sky inspire stories of a Messiah throughout several different religions? If so, why is there evidence and testimonies from others of the man and “son of God”, Jesus Christ? What of this evidence and stories in the bible are facts? What aspects of movies and claims like Zeitgeist hold to be true? The real issue here is not the truth behind the movie. The biggest concern is the truth behind religion. There will be discrepancies and lies found on both sides of the argument whither you believe the accusations Zeitgeist or trust the validity of the bible. Regardless of who we are and our own personal beliefs, it is only fair for us to do the research necessary so that the truth will finally be revealed. Until we do so, we will remain ignorant to the facts behind our faith. Religion is and will remain a mystery but it is a puzzle that, with the will, can be solved.
References
The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. Routledge, Oxford and New York,
2005. Edited by George Hart. 2nd Edition, Page 70.
Budge, E.A. Wallis. The Gods of the Egyptians Volume 1. Dover Publications: New York, 1969.
Originally published 1904.
Stewart, Thomas. "The Pagan Infulence of the Catholic Church." The Sabbatarian Network.
Nov. 2007. 11 Apr. 2008
Zeitgeist. Dir. Rene Broussard. 2008. 13 Apr. 2008
Zeitgeist. Dir. Rene Broussard. 2008. 13 Apr. 2008
Scott, David. "The Gods of Ancient Egypt." June 2007. 17 Apr. 2008
Graham, Gordon. Philosophy of the Arts an Introduction to Aestihetics. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 1997. 61-62.
