Escaping the Matrix, by Gregory Boyd and Al Larson, presents an absolutely fascinating concept. The ideas presented in this book are certainly interesting, and are certainly ones that I have not been exposed to previously.

Before evaluating the content, however, a brief discussion of the actual writing itself is in order. Let it be known that I’m generally not a reader of “self help,” “feel good,” “inspirational” writings. I don’t normally enjoy or gain much personal growth through reading most of the motivational psycho-babble books on the market. However this book was written in such a way that I was fascinated by it. As suggested by the title, the authors make their point through comparison to the popular Matrix movies and they hold the reader’s interest through dialogue-type segments (like reading the script for a play or a movie). I found the book to be an easy read, it’s a book that is easy to put down and pick back up again, and it held my interest (which is something of a feat for this genre of writing).

The basic premise of the book is that the world in which we live is more like the Matrix as portrayed in the movie “The Matrix” than we realize.

The authors argue that “from a Biblical and neurological perspective, the premise of the Matrix movies is not only possible, but to a significant degree it’s true!” (p.7-8). The gist of the neurological argument is that the neurotransmitters in our brain are programmed by our environment, the people and events that impact our lives, that much of our environment is controlled by Satan, and therefore many of our subconcious responses are actually counter to what is actually true.

The book is really geared toward the Christian who feels like he or she is missing something, is struggling and not able to become free, and is frustrated with this gap because it falls short of the promises of the Bible. The point of the book is to teach the reader to identify those items which are part of “the Matrix,” the lies that our neuro-transmitters have been programmed to assume are true, and to correct them.

I found extremely fascinating the chapter which included exercises on how we “do” our memories. It’s not a discussion of the chemistry of how it happens, but it’s an examination of what each individual experiences when they are remembering. Still v. video, b/w v. Color, associated v. disassociated perspectives, silent v. with sound, etc. The author is making a convincing case that we do not think primarily in concepts but rather in concrete, sensory data.

The last section of the book is a series of examples of interactions the authors have had in which they are “reprogramming” the mind of individuals who were experiencing various negative things (depression, phobia, etc). They distinguish between what is experienced as real and what is actually true (a la, the Matrix).

I found this book extremely fascinating, if only because the concept was completely new to me. As such I would recommend it much more highly than many of the other books you would find in the same aisle at the local Christian bookstore, if you are looking for a new perspective and a new approach to experiencing true freedom.

Disclaimer: This book was reviewed for Mind & Media. The book being reviewed was given to as a gift from the Publisher in exchange for this review. However, I was under no obligation to give this book a positive review, and will not hesitate to give a negative review in the future, should any book be deserving of it!

UPDATE: Check out this review. It’s a lot more in depth than mind and makes some really valid points.