Zeitgeist – The Movie is an internet phenomenon that has taken a lot of people in. I know several people who have seen it and have either been convinced by it or it has heavily rocked them. We’ve had commenters on this blog raising issues and asking questions which clearly have their roots in Zeitgeist. There is a global movement complete with a New Zealand chapter.
For me the claims in Zeitgeist are patently absurd, funny almost and I totally got what Glenn Peoples was on about when he said on Facebook “I swear, watching Zeitgeist is draining my IQ” but it is important to not dismiss the opportunity to take such a clearly influential phenomenon apart, examine the claims it makes and clearly demonstrate the flaws in it so that those who are rocked by it have a good resource to get their feet back on solid ground with. It also won’t hurt those of us immune to Zeitgeist’s charms to take the time to see how best to respond to it for the next time we encounter someone who has been swayed by its content.
For these reasons when Glenn asked for suggestions for his next podcast topic I suggested an analysis of Zeitgeist and for much the same reasons he leaped on it. Glenn has a PhD in Philosophy and a Masters and Bachelors in Theology. He is also a very lucid and clear thinker who makes the best podcasts which often have cool sound effects and original music. So grab a cuppa and sit back and listen to his podcast Episode 038: Zeitgeist (you’ll need a spare 55 minutes).
One of the accompanying links Glenn has with his podcast is a must-view. It is written by a non-Christian and it thoroughly examines the astrological claims made by Zeitgeist complete with astrological charts and diagrams. The author states:
“I prefer honesty in polemics. Some of the astronomical and astrological claims of Zeitgeist are simply wrong, and lead to a wrong impression of the origins of Jesus’ birth narrative. I hope to demonstrate scientifically why they’re wrong”.
The link to this is here: Zeitgeist Astronomy.
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A common objection to belief in the God of the Bible is that a good, kind, and loving deity would never command the wholesale slaughter of nations. In the tradition of his popular Is God a Moral Monster?, Paul Copan teams up with Matthew Flannagan to tackle some of the most confusing and uncomfortable passages of Scripture. Together they help the Christian and nonbeliever alike understand the biblical, theological, philosophical, and ethical implications of Old Testament warfare passages.
Ugh, I have a friend who swears by this movie – watches it again and again. He refuses to take much notice when i point out to him that actually, there are no similarities between these religious figures as the film tries to make out. If one actually goes and looks up these figures you can see It’s utter b/s. eg, Ra was the “sun god” not Horus etc.
A guy has done a lengthy refutation of the movie HERE.
Also check out the 7 min video HERE
Given how thoroughly wrong Zeitgeist was about absolutely everything, i was impressed at how restrained Glenn’s commentary was.
He has keep it plain and simple, allowed the movie to speak for itself [ there can be no accusations of misquotation] and then presented the actual historical facts.
I am however still having trouble believing the movie makers expect us to take it seriously, its not like they tried to make a plausible case. Its all form over substance.
Hmm – I am clearly not in touch with the spirit of out time – what is this video? And what are its claims?
Follow some of the links I put up Max – that will give you the gist of the claims without your having to risk losing any IQ by watching it.
The link I saw seemed to be about the economy… but Fletch’s comment was about religious figures…. is it a series of TV shows rather than a film?
Max, it’s a documentary. The first part is called “The greatest story ever told” and it covers religion in an attempt to prmote the “mythical Christ” thesis. The second part is about global politics, conspiracies etc.
See part one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pgRUpDDrb0