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Zeitgeist Part II

2008-02-17T00:04:51Z

Summary: /* Small Pieces / No Large Debris */

'''''This page is incomplete. More information will be added.'''''

Part two of the internet film ''Zeitgeist'' puts forth the assertion that the events of September 11th, 2001, were not a series of attacks by the terrorist network al Qaeda against the United States, but an elaborate scheme carried out by some faction within the United States to ''seem'' like it was al Qeada.

This seems to tie into the overall theme of the movie in all three parts, in that there is an unseen, unheard, and (most importantly) un''known'' conspiracy that has blinded most people and keeps them from... well, whatever it is humanity would do in the absence of such conspiracies. The alternative is not necessarily fleshed out in any significant fashion within the film, so attributing any specific motivations behind the claim would be speculative, at best. However, motivations aside, there is ample room for pointing out the many factual errors of claims made within the film and pointing out numerous areas where false pretexting seems to undermine the overall validity of the thesis this movie attempts to put forth.

==Zeitgeist Part II==

Unlike the first part of the ''Zeitgeist'' film, the creator (a.k.a. Peter Joseph) has yet to provide a transcript listing the sources or the various quotes and statements for Part II of the movie. Whether a transcript for the second (and third) parts of the film will ever be released remains to be seen, and as such there is no textual reference to point the reader back to in order for them to check themselves (like in [[Zeitgeist_Part_I]]).

===Multiple Questionable Quotes===

====Controlled Demolition====

Within the first five minutes of Part II, the viewer is shown several clips of the towers collapsing with live commentary of reporters exclaiming that the collapses look like controlled demolition. While the clips are very poignant and effective emotional tools, using those quotes as if they are proof of anything but the speculative nature during fear-induced trauma or panic of individuals trying to make sense of things is not only dubious, it's deceitful.

The following is the processes involved in a real controlled demolition:

<shtml hash="3bfe914b7db699130e564efd1ff98b95"><center><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7teIVoltRjo&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7teIVoltRjo&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object></center></shtml>

There is no record or account of any group or agency performing anything similar to the preparatory steps necessary for a controlled demolition. Indeed, there was no window of time when the building was closed for long enough to prepare the building for controlled demolition in any conventional sense.

<shtml hash="729d7568fd877abe6dcec5cc1c8bed71"><center><object width="425" height="344">
<param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tacYjsS-g6k&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tacYjsS-g6k&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center></shtml>

====Small Pieces / No Large Debris====

Very early in the film someone who seems to have been either a first responder or someone who worked the cleanup after the collapses is shown briefly, describing how he did not find debris larger than a few inches in diameter. It very well may be that the individual (since the film doesn't cite who it is, there is no way to know his name) did not find anything larger than a few inches in diameter. However, there were relatively many large and, in some cases, nearly intact pieces within the debris of the tower collapses. In fact, the towers themselves didn't necessarily come all the way down closer to the base of the building.

<shtml hash="ba8a095d22398872695ca388c255f92f"><img src="http://image.grenme.com/ct/zeitpii/LargeWreckage.jpg" width=460 height=295 /> <img src="http://image.grenme.com/ct/zeitpii/BuildingWreckage.jpg" width=655 height=435 /></shtml>

====Mixed Signals====

A quote from the zeitgeistmovie.com website: 
"''That being said, It is my hope that people will not take what is said in the film as the truth, but find out for themselves, for truth is not told, it is realized.''"<ref>[http://zeitgeistmovie.com/statement.htm zeitgeistmovie.com/statement.htm] - a statement made by the maker of the film (presumably Peter Joseph).</ref>

Unfortunately, this hope has not been realized. Moreso, Mr. Joseph himself seems to be promoting his film as an "awakening" and a "revolution"<ref>[http://zeitgeistmovie.com/zday.htm ZDay] - an event that seems to be in the works by the makers of the ''Zeitgeist'' movie.</ref>, which seems to send a mixed message. If this film isn't meant to be taken as truth, then what exactly makes it revolutionary or cause for an awakening? That certainly seems like a question whose answer may be helpful to understand not only ''how'' this film should be taken, but ''why'' it seems to be presented in such an authoritative fashion even though the "not take what is said in this film as the truth" disclaimer is plainly made. Until such a clarification can be made explaining otherwise by Mr. Joseph regarding the level of authoritativeness of the claims in the film, the only recourse is to take the claims seriously and address them as the historical, allegorical, and logical fallacies that they actually are.

===Notes:===

<references />

9-11

2008-02-06T15:25:23Z

Summary:

On September 11th of 2001, the United States of America experienced a total of four hijacked airliners, three of which were crashed into buildings in New York and Washington DC. The hijackings were learned to be a coordinated effort by a group of individuals with affiliation to the terrorist network known as al Qaeda, which is spearheaded by Osama bin Laden, with the purpose of directly attacking the US.

Since 2001 numerous allegations have arisen alleging a conspiracy by individuals either within or with direct relations to the United States government in a clandestine plan to bring the country to war, consolidate power for this group of conspirators, and/or to take control of significant stores of oil in the Middle East for their own purposes. These various conspiracy theories range in both scope and method, and some of the claims in these theories are examined on this (and accompanying) pages.

==Common 9/11 Conspiracy Claims==

===Hijackers Still Alive===

A very common claim that has persisted from very early on after the 9/11 attacks has been the assertion that at least some of the nineteen hijackers who are alleged to have taken the aircraft that day are still alive. One of the earliest 'proofs' that have propelled this claim was a BBC article<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1559151.stm BBC Archive] September 23rd, 2001: ''Hijack 'suspects' alive and well''</ref> that stated some of the hijacking suspects were "alive and well."

Horus-Jesus Correlations

2008-01-14T04:16:31Z

Summary:

'''''This page is incomplete and in the process of having more added to it'''''

Before we begin examining Horus, it should be noted that the name "Horus" in Egyptian mythology and literature stood for many things<ref>[http://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/horus.html Encyclopedia Mythica]: "The name "Horus" is a general catchall for multiple deities"</ref>, but mostly stood as a reference to the sitting pharaoh's divinity<ref>"Live Horus, divine in manifestation; the Two Ladies, divine in birth; Horus of Gold, who has become manifest; the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Khakaure, the Son of Re, Senwosret (III), given life like Re forever." From the 12th Dynasty (Senwosret III) on the Berlin Stele document, found in ''Letters from ancient Egypt'', Wente, Edward Frank, 1930-, Meltzer, Edmund S. Scholars Press, c1990 ISBN [http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Ancient-Egypt-Edward-Wente/dp/1555404723/ 1555404723] (p 24)</ref> <ref>"Thereupon he (Muwatallis) sent his messenger with a letter in his hand bearing the great name of My Majesty, sending greetings to the majesty of the palace, l.p.h., of Re-Harakhti, Mighty Bull, beloved of Maat, the sovereign who protects his army and is energetic with his strong arm, a bulwark for his soldiers on the day of battle; the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Usermare-setepenre; the Son of Re, the lion, possessor of strength, Ramesses (II), given life forever." From the 19th Dynasty (Rameses II) in a Kadesh poem, found in ''Letters from ancient Egypt'', Wente, Edward Frank, 1930-, Meltzer, Edmund S. Scholars Press, c1990 ISBN [http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Ancient-Egypt-Edward-Wente/dp/1555404723/ 1555404723] (p 29-30)</ref> <ref>"This is a missive to inform One (the king) at the Palace, l.p.h., "Beloved-of-Maat," the two horizons in which Re is: Turn your face to me, you shining sun who illuminates the Two Lands with your beauty, you solar disk of humankind, who has banished darkness from Egypt." From the 19th Dynasty (Merenptah) in the P. Anastasi II document, found in ''Letters from ancient Egypt'', Wente, Edward Frank, 1930-, Meltzer, Edmund S. Scholars Press, c1990 ISBN [http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Ancient-Egypt-Edward-Wente/dp/1555404723/ 1555404723] (p 34-35)</ref>. Basically, Horus was an invocation used to connect people (like the pharaoh) and things (like the sunrise and sunset, or the importance of a place) to divinity, having many different meanings depending on on the context of the reference to the name. This should be kept in mind when references to Horus are made, especially when claims connecting Horus to other gods are made, because "Horus" was a fluid anthropomorphism of a divine aspect and not a single, static character within Egyptian mythology.

==Horus and Jesus Correlation==

The attempt to tie aspects of Horus to aspects of Jesus are meant to imply that the alleged shared similarities make the case that the two figures were actually based one off the other (Jesus based on Horus) or based both from the same factors (Jesus and Horus sharing the same origins). Neither of these hypotheses hold together under scrutiny. The following is a corrected list most often cited on internet sites <ref> An example would be [http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_jcpa5.htm this page on ReligiousTolerance.org]</ref>:

<table border="1">
<tr>
<th> Correlative Claim </th>
<th> Jesus </th>
<th> Horus </th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Virgin Birth </td>
<td> biblical (Christian <ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%201:18&version=31 Matthew 1:18] NIV - "This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit."</ref> <ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201:34-35;&version=31; Luke 1:34-35] NIV "'How will this be,' Mary asked the angel, 'since I am a virgin?' The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.'"</ref>) </td>
<td> non-existent <ref>There exists no Egyptian text describing Horus as the son of Isis where she was a virgin. Horus is fathered through conception by sex in every account, though some accounts include unorthodox methods (like using a fake phallus).</ref> <ref>Louvre C. papyrus 286 - The Great Hymn To Osiris - "Who jubilated, joined her brother, raised the weary one's inertness, received the seed, bore the heir..." (found in "Ancient Egyptian Literature: New Kingdom" by Miriam Lichtheim, ISBN [http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Literature-New-Kingdom/dp/0520248430/ 0520248430] pg. 83).</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Only Begotten Son </td>
<td> biblical (Christian <ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%203:16;&version=9; John 3:16] KJV - "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."</ref>)</td>
<td>no known siblings<ref> This isn't to say that Horus was or was not the only child of Isis and Osiris, but that no myth story by the Egyptians focused strongly on this fact. Isis was considered a midwife to expecting mothers, so instead this aspect focuses on Isis wanting to give birth, not the solitude of Horus as an only child.</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Mother's Name </td>
<td> Mary (or Miriam) </td>
<td> Isis (not meri <ref>The word 'meri' is not a name but the Egyptian form of the word 'beloved' (see [http://ct.grenme.com/index.php/Horus-Jesus_Correlations#_note-57 note]). The use of the word 'meri' along with Isis would be a term of endearment, not part of a name as has been incorrectly attributed.</ref>) </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 'Foster' Father </td>
<td> Joseph </td>
<td> none <ref> Osiris was the father, though other gods took part in the teaching, training, healing, judging, and discipline, all dependent on which version of the myth is being read. These other deities include Ra (Re), Thoth, and in some tales all of the major gods, as in "Horus and Seth" from the Chester Beatty I papyrus (found in "Ancient Egyptian Literature: New Kingdom" by Miriam Lichtheim, ISBN [http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Literature-New-Kingdom/dp/0520248430/ 0520248430]).</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Father's Ancestry </td>
<td> royal (? <ref>Considering the consistency problems between the gospels that list different geneologies, the use of the geneologies reflect more on the gentile cultures that had begun to adopt the Jesus-worship in the end of the First and beginning of the Second Centuries (who were of Roman provinces or Roman slaves). That, however, is a discussion for another website.</ref>) human </td>
<td> divine (Osiris) </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Birth Location </td>
<td> stable or cave </td>
<td> varied <ref> Depending on the source used, Horus was born in a cave or in a cluster of reeds or a bed, among other locations. There is no definitive location for the birth of Horus.</ref> <ref>Papyrus Berlin 3008 - The Lament Of Isis And Nephthys - "Come to your house, come to your house, Good King, come to your house! Come, see your son Horus as King of gods and men!" (found in "Ancient Egyptian Literature: Late Period" by Miriam Lichtheim, pg. 119-120 ISBN [http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Literature-Late-Period/dp/0520248449/ 0520248449]).</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Annunciation </td>
<td> angel to Mary <ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201:34-35;&version=31; Luke 1:34-35] NIV "'How will this be,' Mary asked the angel, 'since I am a virgin?' The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.'"</ref> and Joseph <ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%201:20-21;&version=9; Matthew 1:20-21] KJV "But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and though shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."</ref> </td>
<td> none </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Birth Herald </td>
<td> eastern star (biblical<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%202:1-2;&version=31; Matthew 2:1-2] NIV - "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews" We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.'"</ref>) </td>
<td> none (no mention) </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Birth Date </td>
<td> (usually) celebrated Dec. 25th </td>
<td> not known (see [http://ct.grenme.com/index.php/Horus-Jesus_Correlations#Born_on_December_25th below] for more) </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Birth Accouncement </td>
<td> angels <ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201:34-35;&version=31; Luke 1:34-35] NIV "'How will this be,' Mary asked the angel, 'since I am a virgin?' The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.'"</ref> <ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%201:20-21;&version=9; Matthew 1:20-21] KJV "But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and though shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."</ref> </td>
<td> none <ref>Louvre C. papyrus 286 - The Great Hymn To Osiris - "Who jubilated, joined her brother, raised the weary one's inertness, received the seed, bore the heir, raised the child in solitude, his abode unknown." (found in "Ancient Egyptian Literature: New Kingdom" by Miriam Lichtheim, ISBN [http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Literature-New-Kingdom/dp/0520248430/ 0520248430] pg. 83).</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Birth Witnesses </td>
<td> Shepherds <ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%202:15-18;&version=31; Luke 2:15-18] NIV - "When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.' So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them."</ref> </td>
<td> none </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Later Witnesses </td>
<td> wise men (magi) <ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%202:1-2;&version=31; Matthew 2:1-2] NIV - "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews" We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.'" </ref> </td>
<td> none </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Death Threat </td>
<td> Herod </td>
<td> Set </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Handling Threat </td>
<td> went into hiding (in Egypt) <ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%202:13-15;&version=31; Matthew 2:13-15] NIV - "When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. 'Get up,' he said, 'take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.' So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'Out of Egypt I called my son.'"</ref> </td>
<td> none <ref> Papyrus Berlin 3008 - The Lament Of Isis And Nephthys - "Come to your house, come to your house, Good King, come to your house! Come, see your son Horus as King of gods and men!" (found in "Ancient Egyptian Literature: Late Period" by Miriam Lichtheim, pg. 119-120 ISBN [http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Literature-Late-Period/dp/0520248449/ 0520248449]).</ref> or went into hiding <ref>Louvre C. papyrus 286 - The Great Hymn To Osiris - "Who jubilated, joined her brother, raised the weary one's inertness, received the seed, bore the heir, raised the child in solitude, his abode unknown." (found in "Ancient Egyptian Literature: New Kingdom" by Miriam Lichtheim, ISBN [http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Literature-New-Kingdom/dp/0520248430/ 0520248430] pg. 83).</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Rite of Passage Ritual </td>
<td> taken by parents to temple (not a rite of passage) <ref> This is an erroneous reference to [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=49&chapter=2&version=31 Luke 2], and conflates the events of his Bris (when a boy is circumcised at 8 days old) and the passages of their yearly family trip to Jerusalem for Passover.</ref> </td>
<td> none <ref> A detailed account of the dispute and battle with Set (Seth) can be found in the Chester Beatty I, recto papyrus translation in "Ancient Egyptian Literature: New Kingdom" by Miriam Lichtheim, ISBN [http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Literature-New-Kingdom/dp/0520248430/ 0520248430], pg. 214-223</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Age at the Ritual </td>
<td> 12 <ref> As already noted, this was not a rite of passage but an annual family trip for celebration of Passover, conflated with his Bris at the age of 8 days old.</ref> </td>
<td> unknown <ref> No age is given for Horus in his battle with Set (Seth) for the throne of Osiris, but there are numerous references to "eighty years" as the length of time Set has been waiting for this power (Chester Beatty I, recto papyrus translation in "Ancient Egyptian Literature: New Kingdom" by Miriam Lichtheim, ISBN [http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Literature-New-Kingdom/dp/0520248430/ 0520248430], pg. 214-223).</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Break in Life History </td>
<td> nothing between 12 and 30 years old </td>
<td> few stories of childhood, most as an adult <ref> No age is given for Horus in his battle with Set (Seth) for the throne of Osiris, but there are numerous references to "eighty years" as the length of time Set has been waiting for this power (Chester Beatty I, recto papyrus translation in "Ancient Egyptian Literature: New Kingdom" by Miriam Lichtheim, ISBN [http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Literature-New-Kingdom/dp/0520248430/ 0520248430], pg. 214-223).</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Baptism Location </td>
<td> the Jordan river </td>
<td> none (didn't happen) <ref> The only time this account and location (Eridanus) has ever been named has been in Gerald Massey's book [http://books.google.com/books?id=PbyDxabXrqgC&pg=PA249&lpg=PA249&source=web&ots=eiOGmagyEJ&sig=8kWPBEgtXk5a48p0bdgAN7QKxQI&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA249,M1 Ancient Egypt: Light of the World], a book published in 1907 that has no actual translations or specifications for where Massey came up with these names or events. In the 100 years since this book was written no corroborating evidence has been found, and in fact the only 'Eridanus' river that can be found is within Greek mythology ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eridanos_(mythology) Eridanos river]), not Egyptian. A few fringe authors continue to cite Massey, but none of them have been able to locate an Egyptian source for this claim.</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Age at Baptism </td>
<td> 30 </td>
<td> none (didn't happen) <ref> There is no Egyptian record of Horus ever having been baptized at any age. See [http://ct.grenme.com/index.php/Horus-Jesus_Correlations#Anup_the_Baptizer Anup the Baptizer].</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Baptized By </td>
<td> John the Baptist </td>
<td> no one <ref> There is no Egyptian record of Horus ever having been baptized by anyone. "Anup the Baptizer" is a fabrication by Gerald Massey. See [http://ct.grenme.com/index.php/Horus-Jesus_Correlations#Anup_the_Baptizer Anup the Baptizer].</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Fate of Baptizer </td>
<td> John the Baptist was beheaded </td>
<td> not applicable ([http://ct.grenme.com/index.php/Horus-Jesus_Correlations#Anup_the_Baptizer no baptism]) </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Temptation </td>
<td> tempted during his dwelling in the desert <ref> [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%204:1-11;&version=31; Matthew 4:1-11], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%201:12-13;&version=31; Mark 1:12-13], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%204:1-13;&version=31; Luke 4:1-13]</ref> </td>
<td> never (no temptation) <ref> In the Chester Beatty I, recto papyrus translation in "Ancient Egyptian Literature: New Kingdom" by Miriam Lichtheim, (ISBN [http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Literature-New-Kingdom/dp/0520248430/ 0520248430]), pg. 219-220, Set (Seth) attempts to (sexually) seduce Horus in order to put his semen into Horus, but Horus tricks Set (Seth) and Horus has him eat lettuce with Horus' semen on it, earning Horus the favor of the Ennead (court of the gods).</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Result of Temptation </td>
<td> Jesus resists temptation </td>
<td> Horus was not tempted (see above reference) </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Followers </td>
<td> 12 disciples (biblical) </td>
<td> no disciples <ref> Horus was used as an embodiment of the pharaoh and the pharaoh's divinity. He had those who would fight under his command or do his bidding, and such individuals could be numbered from four to sixteen to thousands to all of Egypt.</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Activities </td>
<td> miracles (healing, walking on water, water to wine) </td>
<td> battled Set (Seth) to rule Egypt <ref> A detailed account of the dispute and battle with Set (Seth) can be found in the Chester Beatty I, recto papyrus translation in "Ancient Egyptian Literature: New Kingdom" by Miriam Lichtheim, ISBN [http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Literature-New-Kingdom/dp/0520248430/ 0520248430], pg. 214-223</ref> <ref> Almost every account of Horus in mythological story has him fighting or competing with Set (Seth) to avenge his father. In this manner Horus is more similar to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luke_Skywalker Luke Skywalker] than he is to Jesus, with the exception that Set (Seth) is not the father of Horus.</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Raising the Dead </td>
<td> raised Lazarus from the dead </td>
<td> did not raise the dead <ref> Some fringe authors attempt to describe the resurrection of Osiris as having been performed by Horus, but no Egyptian text in existence supports such claims. All Egyptian sources describe Isis, the wife/sister of Osiris, as the one who brought life back into the lifeless body of Osiris. "Ancient Egyptian Literature: New Kingdom" by Miriam Lichtheim, ISBN [http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Literature-New-Kingdom/dp/0520248430/ 0520248430]; "Egyptian Legends and Stories" by M.V. Seton-Williams, ISBN [http://www.amazon.com/Egyptian-legends-stories-M-Seton-Williams/dp/0760711879/ 0760711879]</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Location of Resurrection </td>
<td> Bethany <ref> Some fringe authors mistakenly attribute the name Bethany to meaning "House of Anu" through some phonetic trickery. However, the name for the place can be traced back to the Aramaic Beit `anya, which translates to "house of affliction" (beit = house, `anya = destitution or affliction). [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethany_(Jerusalem)#Etymology more here]</ref> </td>
<td> no resurrection occurred <ref> The fringe material that attempts to claim a story of Horus raising the dead tend to focus on the ancient Egyptian city of Heliopolis, which was known as Annu in Egyptian. There are two main problems with this claim: 1. Heliopolis was a major metropolitan and intellectual city, one of the greatest in Egypt and much of the world in ancient times-- at least some record would exist of this story, yet there are none to be found; 2. the mistaken phonetic trickery used to create the fake etymology of the name Bethany for the Christian story is obviously meant to invoke Heliopolis, but would not have worked since by the time of the writers of the gospels the only name known for the city would have been Heliopolis-- the name Annu was lost for more than 2000 years.</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Origin of Lazarus' Name </td>
<td> אלעזר, Elʿāzār "God (has) helped" </td>
<td> not applicable <ref> The fringe claim on the etymology of the name of Lazarus bespeaks a poor understanding of the root language from which the name is derived (Hebrew). The fringe claim attempts to use Latin ('El' meaning 'the') and a phony assertation on Egyptian (Asar meaning Osiris) to conclude that the name essentially means "The Osiris," in order to provide a link between Horus and Jesus. Unfortunately for the fringe theorists, the name that translated to Lazarus in Latin (Eleazar) appears throughout the Old Testament ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=2&chapter=6&version=31&context=chapter Exodus 6], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=4&chapter=19&version=31&context=chapter Numbers 19], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=9&chapter=7&version=31&context=chapter I Samuel 7], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=13&chapter=23&version=31&context=chapter I Chronicles 23], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=16&chapter=12&version=31&context=chapter Nehemiah 12], and even the geneology in [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&chapter=1&version=31&context=chapter Matthew 1]), which means that the name pre-dates Christianity by at least a millenia.</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Transfigured </td>
<td> on a mountain <ref> [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2017:1-9;&version=31; Matthew 17:1-9], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%209:2-8;&version=31; Mark 9:2-8], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%209:28-36;&version=31; Luke 9:28-36]</ref> </td>
<td> was disfigured (not transfigured) <ref> "Ancient Egyptian Literature: New Kingdom" by Miriam Lichtheim, ISBN [http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Egyptian-Literature-New-Kingdom/dp/0520248430/ 0520248430], pg. 219 - "As for Horus, he was lying under a shenshua-tree in the oasis country. Then Seth found him, seized him, and threw him on his back on the mountain. He removed his two eyes from their places and buried them on the mountain. Toward morning his two eyeballs became two bulbs, and they grew into lotuses." Horus has his eyes restored later by Hathor.</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Key Addresses </td>
<td> Sermon on the Mount <ref> [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205;&version=31; Matthew 5] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&chapter=6&version=31 Matthew 6], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&chapter=7&version=31 Matthew 7]</ref>, Sermon on the Plain <ref> [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%206;&version=31; Luke 6]</ref> </td>
<td> none (Horus wasn't a preacher) </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Method of Death </td>
<td> crucifixion (biblical) </td>
<td> none (didn't die) <ref> The closest approximation that could be found of a death would be when Horus is stung as a child by a scorpion, in some accounts instructed to do so by the Scorpion-goddes Serqet. In De Iside et Osiride by Plutarch, an account is given where Isis finds her son injured by the scorpion and heals him. From a shortened version, "Egyptian Legends and Stories" by M.V. Seton-Williams (ISBN [http://www.amazon.com/Egyptian-legends-stories-M-Seton-Williams/dp/0760711879/ 0760711879], pg. 29): "She placed the coffin in a boat and returned to Egypt. When she got back, she hid the coffin in the Delta under a bush while she went back to Pe to see how her son Horus was getting on. She found that he had been bitten by a scorpion and had to wait until he had recovered. It was thus some time before she returned to where she had left the body of Osiris."</ref> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Accompanied By </td>
<td> two thieves </td>
<td> none (didn't die) </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Burial </td>
<td> in a tomb </td>
<td> none (didn't die)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Fate After Death </td>
<td> descent and resurrection </td>
<td> none (didn't die) </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Resurrection Announcement </td>
<td> women <ref> [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2028:5-10;&version=31; Matthew 28:5-10] NIV - "The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you.' So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. 'Greetings,' he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, 'Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.'"</ref> </td>
<td> none (didn't die) </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> Future </td>
<td> book of Revelation <ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation;&version=31; Revelation 1] NIV. This is the beginning of what Christians claim is prophecy for the second coming of Jesus.</ref> </td>
<td> ruled Egypt </td>
</tr>
</table>

===Born on December 25th===

The film ''Zeitgeist'' states that "Horus was born on December 25th of the virgin Isis-Meri." This claim contains both a false claim and a misdirection based on faulty translation. First and foremost, it should be noted that there exists no evidence whatsoever of the birth of Horus coinciding with December 25th. The closest any of the film's sources came to an explanation of this wild claim was from Gerald Massey (''Ancient Egypt The Light of The World''<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=HgQnqzvgHEUC&pg=PP1&ots=Y8Mk6isp8T&source=citation&sig=JBalmTUIKjwoQAjAv0PAgHxInCM&hl=en#PPA738,M1 Ancient Egypt The Light of The World] by Gerald Massey, pages 738 - 739, actually goes as far as to attribute '''''four''''' dates for the birth of Horus and chooses to reduce them to December 25th</ref>) and Dorothy Murdock (a.k.a. Acharya S), the latter of which states that an Isis festival celebrated during the time of the Greek subjugation of Egypt called Kikellia was some sort of proof, even though that festival is celebrated in what would be considered today as February or March<ref>[http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=ft4r29p0kg&doc.view=content&chunk.id=d0e4192&toc.depth=1&anchor.id=0&brand=eschol Images and Ideologies: Self-definition in the Hellenistic World] by Anthony Bulloch, Erich Gruen, A. A. Long, and Andrew Stewart - from the section ''Dynastic Festivals'' under ''The Ptolemaic King as a Religious Figure''</ref>. Considering the obvious contradiction of the time of the year in which the festival takes place and the fact that the festival itself was a ''Greek'' celebration by the Egyptians, such claims go from questionable (at best) to complete nonsense and misdirection. J.P. Holding, who runs an apologist website that often attacks these types of anti-Christian conspiracies with much fervor, makes a mention that he found one mention of Horus being born in the "month of Khoiak," however he mentions it as a misnomer by stating it was the Egyptian name-- it was a Coptic name for an Egyptian month<ref>[http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/ideology/khoiak.html The Festival of Khoiak] - "The name of the festival was ka-her-ka 'ka upon ka' (or 'sustenance upon sustenance'); it survived into Christian times as the name of the fourth month of the season of flood, rendered in Coptic as Khoiak."</ref>. Regardless, that festival, unlike the Kikellia festival for which we only have dates coinciding with the Greek calendar which allow us to estimate the general location on our modern calendar, this Osirian festival that falls in Khoiak<ref>"The rites lasted eighteen days, from the twelfth to the thirteenth of the month of Khoiak, and set forth the nature of Osiris in his triple aspect as dead, dismembered, and finally reconstituted by the union of his scattered limbs." ''The Golden Bough'' by James Frazer, ISBN 1853263109 (p 375)</ref> would not coincide with any calendar date today because the Egyptian calendar shifted along with the helaical rising and falling of the banks of the Nile River<ref>[http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/ideology/festivaldates.html digitalEgypt.com] - "Ancient Egyptian festivals centred on procession by land and river, and were celebrated on particular days or series of days in the official year. The official year (365 days) was just short of the solar year (the time the earth takes to go around the sun, 365 1/4 days); as a result, the official year gradually moved back, with the official 'winter' months and their festivals falling into the summer. There seems to be no attempt to move the festivals, even those relating to agricultural events in the solar year such as flood, or the low-river sowing season."</ref>. Both Dorothy Murdock (a.k.a. Acharya S) and J.P. Holding, along with others who claim various birth dates, are incorrect. The only ''observed'' day in any reference to the birth of Horus would be the celebration of the Egyptian new year, celebrating the renewed Re-Horakhty<ref>[http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/ideology/festivaldates.html digitalEgypt.com] "Month 1 (1st month of 12 in year); Tekh = Thoth = Coptic Thout (approximately August, ideally); day 1 New Year - Opening of the Year - birthday of Ra-Horakhty (the sun-god)"</ref> (conflation of Re and "Horus of the Two Horizons," one of the many iterations of Horus), though this was a celebration of the sun beginning its cycle, and not of the myth of Heru-sa-Aset (Horus son of Isis), also known as Harpokrates. For that story, no such mythological story seems to exist with a specific date. Many people have attempted to correlate such a date with our modern calendar, and in nearly every case they leave out the important fact that the Egyptian calendar dates for their festivals and religious observances wandered backwards through what we count as our modern Gregorian (or even the older Julian) calendar on which religious observances are recorded and recognized today. In other words: if anyone attempts to correlate a modern (Gregorian) calendar date to an ancient Egyptian one without first admitting that such a claim is only correct in the same way 'a broken clock is correct twice a day', then be skeptical of the conclusion based on the lack of understanding of how ancient Egyptians measured their calendars.

===Mary, Isis, and Virgin Birth===

The use of the name "Isis-Meri" is a case of poor mistranslation on the part of the makers of ''Zeitgeist'' and any of the references they use who propose such a translation. The name "meri" is Egyptian for "beloved," not a proper name but a state of being or quality. This word was actually used by Egyptian citizens in describing their loved ones<ref>Within the tomb of Mereruka: "O Meri, would that thou might give me those [goodly(?)] fowl-- as thou livest for me!" [http://www.gizapyramids.org/pdf%20library/fischer_eg_women.pdf Egyptian Women] by Henry G Fischer of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (p 13) - the passage is in a letter from a grieving widow to her dead husband.</ref>, which would seem to make sense to use it to display Isis as beloved of her husband, Osiris, who was the father of her child (Horus).

===Eastern Star and Three Kings===

The film states that "His birth was accompanied by a star in the east, which in turn, three kings followed to locate and adorn the new-born savior." This claim only seems to make sense if two conditions are met: 1) that it is accepted that Horus was born on December 25th, for which there is no supporting evidence; and 2) that it is accepted that Egyptian astrology defined the meaning of the placement of stars in the same way that modern New Age astrology does, for which there is not only no supporting evidence but evidence to the contrary<ref>[http://touregypt.net/featurestories/zodiac.htm TourEgypt.net] - brief explanation of the Egyptian zodiac, which differs greatly from the modern one</ref>. Further, the claim of the "three kings" is a claim made by Gerald Massey in the late 19th Century with no specific citation of where he derived this claim, only that the three stars of Orion's belt are supposed to represent the "three kings" even though there is no such reference within Egyptian literature or Christian literature. This is a form of tautology, with the expectation that the conclusion is already believed to be true in order for the so-called supporting evidence to hold any weight or validity.

===Ages 12 and 30===

The film makes the claim "At the age of 12, he was a prodigal child teacher," and in its citations for such a claim it uses Gerald Massey<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=HgQnqzvgHEUC&pg=PP1&ots=Y8Mk6isp8T&source=citation&sig=JBalmTUIKjwoQAjAv0PAgHxInCM&hl=en&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=1&cad=bottom-3results#PPA740,M1 Ancient Egypt The Light of The World] page 140; Massey mentions a date given by Plutarch, but fails to cite ''where'' in the writings of Plutarch this is located and, once again, fails to give an Egyptian corroberration of the claim</ref>. Massey gives no Egyptian source for such a claim.

===Anup the Baptizer===

The original source that mentions "Anup the Baptizer" is not Egyptian, it is Gerald Massey. However, Massey never mentions where this name is mentioned in any Egyptian text. The fact is that "Anup the Baptizer" does not exist in any Egyptian text whatsoever. The name "Anup" is a misspelling of the Egyptian ANPU (or ENPU) for Anubis, and Anubis is neither a herald for Horus nor did Anubis ever baptize Horus in any Egyptian text. Anubis is the overseer of the embalming process and the guide for the dead into the halls of judgment, before they enter into the afterlife. The role of Anubis in no way, shape, or form resembles any known characterization by Christians of John the Baptist, and their mythologies are in no way similar in any fashion. This is a complete fabrication.

===Notes===

<references />

Zeitgeist Part I

2008-01-13T23:14:03Z

Summary: /* The Southern Crux (Cross) */

'''''This page is incomplete. More information will be added.'''''

Part one of the internet film ''Zeitgeist'' makes the argument that Jesus, who is the central figure of the world's largest religion (Christianity), is not only just a religious myth but is also a composite figure made up of several other religions and religious practices. The narrator, presumably Peter Joseph, also states, "Christianity, along with all other belief systems, is the fraud of the age," seemingly implying malevolent motives behind the very existence of religion in general, but Christianity in specific. The entirety of the first third of the ''Zeitgeist'' movie appears focused on Christianity, tying other religions both past and present to it as a sort of central hub of religious manipulation.

The film itself uses astrology as the basis for all religions, primarily using modern astrological symbols and constellations (and modern definitions) in order to tie myths to astrological symbols. Of course, the film does so by excluding many contradicting facts-- most notably that there were dozens, if not hundreds, of different astrological schools of thought in antiquity-- and focusing instead on the modern usage of astrological symbols and definitions to support its thesis.

This seems to tie into the overall theme of the movie in all three parts, in that there is an unseen, unheard, and (most importantly) un''known'' conspiracy that has blinded most people and keeps them from... well, whatever it is humanity would do in the absence of such conspiracies. The alternative is not necessarily fleshed out in any significant fashion within the film, so attributing any specific motivations behind the claim would be speculative, at best. However, motivations aside, there is ample room for pointing out the many factual errors of claims made within the film and pointing out numerous areas where false pretexting seems to undermine the overall validity of the thesis this movie attempts to put forth.

==Zeitgeist Part I==

===Dubious Tactics Used Throughout the Film===

While the film itself does not make any claim of being scientific in its presentation, it should not be ignored that the film uses numerous sources and attempts to present itself as a scholarly work in some manner ''resembling'' scientific study-- providing along with the film a transcript complete with citations to numerous books, several (though a limited number of) authors, and quotations to support its thesis<ref>[http://zeitgeistmovie.com/transcript.htm Film transcript]</ref>. As such, it is appropriate to evaluate the level of scholarly and scientific method followed within the film to determine whether it meets standards that would qualify it as having merit in its presentation or whether it is presented in, at best, the format of a pseudoscience and thus misleading or possibly flawed in order to judge the validity of its arguments<ref>"Philosophy of Science: The Central Issues" (1998) by J. A. Cover and Martin Curd (pages 1-82)</ref> <ref>"Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time" by Michael Shermer (page 16 of Part 1: ''Science and Skepticism'') "Modern skepticism is embodied in the scientific method, which involves gathering data to test natural explanations for natural phenomena. A claim becomes factual when it is confirmed to such an extent that it would be reasonable to offer temporary agreement. But all facts in science are provisional and subject to challenge, and therefore skepticism is a ''method'' leading to provisional conclusions. Some things, such as water dowsing, extrasensory perception, and creationism, have been tested and have failed the tests often enough that we can provisionally conclude that they are false. Other things, such as hypnosis, lie detectors, and vitamin C, have been tested but the results are inconclusive, so we must continue formulating and testing hypotheses until we can reach a provisional conclusion. The key to skepticism is to navigate the treacherous straits between "know nothing" skepticism and "anything goes" credulity by continuously and vigorously applying the methods of science."</ref>.

The following are tactics presented in the film that lends reason to question the validity of ''Zeitgeist Part I''.

====Personalization and Personal Attack====

On the website of the film, the following pre-emptive dismissal was issued by the author of the film: "'' Now, it's important to point out that there is a tendency to simply disbelieve things that are counter to our understanding, without the necessary research performed. For example, some information contained in Part 1 and Part 3, specifically, is not obtained by simple keyword searches on the Internet. You have to dig deeper. For instance, very often people who look up "Horus" or "The Federal Reserve" on the Internet draw their conclusions from very general or biased sources. Online encyclopedias or text book Encyclopedias often do not contain the information contained in Zeitgeist.''"<ref>[http://zeitgeistfilm.com/statement.htm Zeitgeist website]</ref>

This claim is needlessly inflammatory in that it immediately dismisses questioning the veracity of the film as having done insufficient research or utilizing only biased sources. The assumption that an opposing view would most likely be a product of ignorance or bias is a fallacious appeal to the audience in two ways:

# It encourages the audience to not be ignorant and instead be knowledgable by way of the argument made in the film. This fallacy is common enough (known as the "appeal to consequences"<ref>[http://www.logicalfallacies.info/appealtoconsequences.html LogicalFallacies.info] - Appeal to Consequences</ref>), but it is misleading in that it assumes the opinion on the issue is an indicator of knowledge of the subject, rather than knowledge of the subject being discernable by its own right.
# It pre-emptively labels any conflicting data or disagreeing statements as biased, thus placing a false burden on dissenting information to prove otherwise. This is a direct personal attack ("ad hominem"<ref>[http://www.logicalfallacies.info/personalattack.html LogicalFallacies.info] - Ad Hominem (personal attack)</ref>), insisting that the dissenting view be disregarded because of the person expressing it, not because of the degree of validity of the view itself.

====Claims of Secret or Hidden Knowledge====

From the quote listed above from the film's website, the author (Peter Joseph) states that the claims made in the film are "not obtained by simple keyword searches on the Internet" or that "online encyclopedias or text book Encyclopedias often do not contain the information contained in Zeitgeist." However, on the film's website fourteen of the twnety-six sources listed-- (one more than) half of the sources-- have website links attached to them<ref>[http://zeitgeistmovie.com/sources.htm Zeitgeist source page]</ref>. Additionally, fourteen of the works-- including material from Carpenter<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/pcc/index.htm Pagan & Christian Creeds: Their Origin and Meaning] by Edward Carpenter at [http://www.sacred-texts.com Sacred-Texts.com]</ref>, Churchward<ref>[http://tinyurl.com/2glsxg The Origin and Evolution of Religion] by Albert Churchward at Google Books</ref>, Cumont<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/astro/argr/index.htm Astrology and Religion Among the Greeks and Romans] by Frans Cumont at [http://www.sacred-texts.com Sacred-Texts.com]</ref>, Doane<ref>[http://tinyurl.com/27wnd6 Bible Myths and Their Parallels in Other Religions] by Thomas William Doane on Google Books</ref>, Frazer<ref>[http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/f/frazer/james/golden/ The Golden Bough] by Sir James G. Frazer at Adelaide.edu; also at [http://www.bartleby.com/196/ Bartleby.com]; also at [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/3623 Project Gutenburg]</ref>, Irvin & Rutajit<ref>[http://tinyurl.com/yvtz4w Astrotheology And Shamanism] by Jan Irvin and Andrew Rutajit on Google Books</ref>, Massey<ref>"Ancient Egypt - The Light of the World" by Gerald Massey at Theosophical.ca [http://www.theosophical.ca/Book12A%20-AncientEgypt.htm part 1] and [http://www.theosophical.ca/Book12BAncientEgypt.htm part 2]; also at [http://tinyurl.com/2z4krc Google Books] ([http://tinyurl.com/23pgy4 Vol. 1])</ref> <ref>[http://www.theosophical.ca/Book4AncientEgypt.htm Egyptian Book of the Dead and the Mysteries of Amenta] by Gerald Massey; also at [http://tinyurl.com/278cca Google Books]</ref> <ref>[http://www.gerald-massey.org.uk/massey/dpr_01_historical_jesus.htm The Historic Jesus and the Mythical Christ] by Gerald Massey; also at [http://tinyurl.com/ypxvqx Google Books]</ref>, Maxwell<ref>[http://tinyurl.com/ywnkep That Old-Time Religion] by Jordan Maxwell, Paul Tice, Alan Snow at Google Books</ref> <ref>[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8251447278663885234 The Naked Truth] on Google Video</ref>, Murdock (a.k.a. Acharya S)<ref>[http://tinyurl.com/2fbsz9 The Christ Conspiracy] by Acharya S (a.k.a. Dorothy Murdock)</ref>, Rolleston<ref>[http://philologos.org/__eb-mazzaroth/ Mazzaroth] by Frances Rolleston at Philologos.org</ref>, Wheless<ref>[http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/joseph_wheless/forgery_in_christianity/ Forgery In Christianity] by Joseph Wheless at Infidels.org</ref>, and even the Christian Bible<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/ BibleGateway.com] - 50 different versions of the Christian bible; [http://www.blueletterbible.org/ BlueLetterBible.org] - 'Several English translations, plus the Vulgate, and interlinear Hebrew OT and Greek NT'; [http://www.bartleby.com/108/ Bartleby.com] - American Bible Society's KJV Bible</ref>-- are not only easy to find through online searches but in some cases have copies in more than one location on the internet. In fact, of the fifteen authors cited in the list of sources-- some authors are cited more than once for different books they have written-- a full '''eleven''' of the authors used in citations have their work freely accessible online (more if works not cited are counted). The more notable authors-- Campbell, Carpenter, Cumont, Frazer, and even Massey, Rolleston, and Wheless-- all have material freely accessible in electronic format as well as print. To imply that the information in the movie was somehow hidden, in any capacity whatsoever, is blatantly false.

====Use of Misleading Language====

The most obvious use of misleading language in the movie is the correlation of "son" to "Sun" as if the similarity in pronunciation in Modern English is significant in some way, even though early Christian writings were written in Greek (son=huios, Sun=Helios), Latin (son=fili, Sun=Sol), and Hebrew (son=ben/bar, Sun=Shemesh), where over-simplistic vowel replacements would not change one word into the other. This rhetorical linguistic misdirection muddies the presentation in that the film never establishes a basis in fact for the audience to accept this, it simply treats it as a given.

The film also goes into misleading language in the form of descriptions, as well as using pseudoscience jargon like "astro-theological literary fold hybrid" in its assessments. Throughout each description, the wording of things being described as corrolative use leading terms (conflating '"aeon", which means "age"' with ''Jesus' Solar Piscean personification'' and ''Age of Aquarius'') and treat innocuous phrases ("there shall a man meet you bearing a pitcher of water"<ref>[http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/c.pl?book=Luk&chapter=22&verse=10&version=KJV#10 Luke 22:10]</ref>) as if they are groundbreakingly significant ("The man bearing a pitcher of water is Aquarius") as if such an assertion were an accepted given and no explanation for such an association need be made outside of stating it.

One of the worst cases of blatantly misleading information in Part I happens within the first minute of the segment. The narrator states: "This is the cross of the Zodiac, one of the oldest conceptual images in human history. It reflects the sun as it figuratively passes through the 12 major constellations over the course of a year. It also reflects the 12 months of the year, the 4 seasons, and the solstices and equinoxes. The term Zodiac relates to the fact that constellations were anthropomorphized, or personified, as figures, or animals."<ref>[http://zeitgeistmovie.com/transcript.htm Film transcript]</ref>

<shtml hash="28b145368b64698e375a730f44fec0a7"><a href="http://image.grenme.com/ct/zeitpi/zodiac-cross2.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://image.grenme.com/ct/zeitpi/zodiac-cross1.png" width=300 height=320 alt="Screen capture from the Zeitgeist Movie, © Peter Joseph" /></a> Screen capture from the Zeitgeist Movie. Notice the words written in English within one of the inner rings. This so-called "cross of the Zodiac" is neither ancient nor representative of ancient zodiacs.</shtml>

The movie is misleading the viewer by showing a modern zodiac wheel and incorrectly naming it "the cross of the [z]odiac" in the narration. The object is called a zodiac wheel by those who practice astrology <ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1285/is_1_35/ai_n10299007 Example] of someone referencing the "zodiac wheel"</ref> <ref>[http://www.orderofthewhitelion.com/astrology@/Zodiac.html Astrology web page] by someone describing the zodiac wheel. "The signs of the zodiac are merely the circle of 360 degrees, divided into 12 equal parts of 30 degrees each. Thus the horoscope shows the position of the planets at any given time, surrounded by the wheel of the zodiac. The wheel of the zodiac appears to enclose the planets, and each of the twelve 30 degree segments are named after a sign of the zodiac e.g. Aries, Taurus, Gemini etc."</ref> <ref>[http://www.holisticshop.co.uk/itemdetl.php/itemprcd/DIASTRKI 'Astrology kit' for sale'] by a shop selling esoteric and 'holistic' wares.</ref>. The zodiac wheel is also sometimes referred to as the "wheel of fortune" (yes, like the game show) or the "zodiac wheel of fortune" <ref>[http://astrology.about.com/od/foundations/ig/Zodiac-Images/Wheel-of-Fortune.htm About.com] example of an astrology "wheel of fortune" from the 15th and 16th centuries</ref> <ref>[http://www.fengshuibestbuy.com/SL10708-zodiacwheel.html A zodiac wheel of fortune] for sale at fengshuibestbuy.com .</ref>. The reason this is misleading is because the narrator never mentions the names for what he is describing by their actual names and the wording is such to give the impression that the name that the narrator (or one of his sources) has conjured up is supposedly somehow the actual name even though there is no proof to back up such a claim. What makes the deceit most blatant is that the maker(s) of the film used a very modern zodiac wheel that is printed with English words on it. This is blatant because modern English is less than 600 years old, and even the Old English and Middle English languages weren't around until the sixth and twelfth centuries CE, respectively. From the very beginning of the film the narration is setting the viewer up with mistaken and misleading information.

Furthermore, throughout the film the narrator continually refers to the zodiac as containing 12 constellations, but that claim only applies to the pseudoscience of astrology. In the real science of astronomy, the number of constellations varies between ''thirteen'' or ''twenty-four'' constellations depending on which method you use to measure it <ref>[http://www.ips-planetarium.org/planetarian/articles/realconstellations_zodiac.html The Real Constellations of the Zodiac] by the [http://www.ips-planetarium.org International Planetarium Society]</ref>.

====Lack of Independent Verification====

While the transcript to the film does make citations to books and occassionally notes passages that make the same claims as the film, the film does not actually provide evidence pointing to texts that would prove those claims. This is not independent verification, this is repeating the claims of others and (in the case of the film) it does little or nothing to establish the validity of the claims themselves. For example: nearly all the Horus-based claims, despite the number of authors cited by Peter Joseph in the film, tend to trace back to either Gerald Massey or James Frazer. Massey tended to not include the actual translations he was working from to come to his conclusions, and Sir Frazer in his later abridgements even states himself that his work does not represent "a whole system of mythology"<ref>"''If in the present work I have dwelt at some length on the worship of trees, it is not, I trust, because I exaggerate its importance in the history of religion, still less because I would deduce from it a whole system of mythology; it is simply because I could not ignore the subject in attempting to explain the significance of a priest who bore the title of King of the Wood, and one of whose titles to office was the plucking of a bough - the Golden Bough - from a tree in the sacred grove.''" Sir James G. Frazer in the preface of "The Golden Bough" (1922), ISBN 1853263109</ref>. The film quotes the books by Dorothy Murdock (a.k.a. Acharya S) most heavily, who herself uses the others listed as references (like Massey) in her work. This is a closed system of cyclic referencing and it does not actually present to the viewer much in the way of actual evidence, only a recitation of similar claims (which are similarly unverified or unproven). The process of independent verification, which is not present in the film or within any of the source materials used, is used to establish veracity outside of what can be called "me too" piece<ref>[http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/PDF/peerReview.pdf Peer Review and the Acceptance of New Scientific Ideas], (PDF) compiled and presented by Tracey Brown; Page 8 describes questions that should be asked of the work, one of which asks: "''Is it a 'me too' paper; is it 'salami slicing'?''"</ref>. Independent verification would also serve to bolster these claims that tend to be a radical departure from the more conventional schools of though, which would make the need to be sure of veracity even greater<ref>[http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/PDF/peerReview.pdf Peer Review and the Acceptance of New Scientific Ideas], (PDF) compiled and presented by Tracey Brown; Page 11 states: "The justification given-- that findings were ground-breaking or of too great a public interest to wait for peer review-- might seem reasonable ... However, it could be looked at another way: if a research claim is so significant that it might transform our understanding, for example about what is a cause of illness, or influence regulation or behaviour, then it is all the more important that they research is on sound foundations tested by peers. The time taken to review research is frustrating, but must be considered against the potentially enourmous costs to science and to society of promoting research findings that turn out to be scientifically weak or contain serious errors."</ref>. It is for this reason that the cyclic referencing within the sources-- the ''Zeitgeist'' film citing Acharya S (a.k.a. Dorothy Murdock), who in turn cites Massey or Frazer, both of hainvg their own challenges in veracity (depending on the claim)-- cannot be considered independent review or verification.

====Use of Confirmation Bias Instead of Proof====

Similar to the above section, the film's tendency to make circular reference citations to previously published claims borders on tautology. Describing things in a similar manner does not necessarily make those things similar, and repeating a claim previously made by another author without adding new information or supporting the claim with actual evidence itself (and not simply the other author's words) does little to establish the validity of a claim. Considering the nature of the claims made in ''Zeitgeist'' it would seem reasonable to expect actual proofs stemming from actual culturally and historically relevant evidence, as opposed to quotes of multiple authors making similar claims (and rarely supplying evidence) or misleading language that foregoes cultural and historical context? The burden of proof is upon the film ''Zeitgeist'' to make its case, not on this site or any other source to disprove, since it is the film that has made the claims and supported it primarily with confirmations instead of actual evidence.

====Slow or No Progression of Evidence====

The entire film, understandably, is in a presentation format in order to make the concepts it conveys more accessible. However, within the presentation the film assumes the hypothesis as a given before leading the viewer through the process of evidence to progress the viewer toward the same conclusion as the movie's hypothesis. While attempting to guess why would only be speculation, the importance of having a clear and concise progression of evidence by which the claims can be followed, revisited, and verified outside of the film would have been key in supporting the films claims. Yet it fails to engage in this activity with the viewer, instead explaining everything with an assumed sense of authority and credence that, from the onset of the film, had yet to be earned from the viewer (or reader).

====Vague and Untestable Criteria====

The film makes very little attempt to establish a measurement by which its claims of correlation can be measured, and even by the vague list of properties given in the film the lists of correlations are inconsistent and often unverifiable. In many of the sources for the first section, usually quoted, paraphrased, or flashed on the screen quickly, are often themselves poorly sourced and lacking in sourcing to original materials from the religions and cultures that they are commenting on, instead offering their own interpretation of events. This is a problem in that, were someone willing to attempt to follow the claims through to the original cultures and religions to see the evidence for themselves, there is no path of evidence for that someone to follow left by those authors. Stating whether this was an intentional omission or an honest mistake on the parts of some of the authors would be speculation, but pointing out the difficulty in being able to clearly and independently verify the claims due to lack of clearly sourced originating evidence is significant throughout the Zeitgeist film as well as its sources.

===Claims of Historical Correlation===

One of the main alleged evidences of the ''Zeitgeist'' movie is that possible correlations between different mythologies between religions is representative of either direct or indirect influence. To present substance to this claim, the film attempts to link Christianity to practically every other religion that has existed throughout history. This "[http://ct.grenme.com/index.php/Zeitgeist_Part_I#.27See_What_Sticks.27_Methodology see what sticks]" technique, while able to bring up either vague or random similarities, never bothers to actually provide any actual proof of such claims, neither in the film nor in the sources provided within the transcript. Stating that something is true because someone says something you wish to agree with-- as is the case with a large percentage of the sources provided by the film-- is no different in methodology than religious apologetics, which are exactly the kinds of techniques the film claims to be speaking out against as fraud or wanton deciet. This hypocrisy aside, Some of the alleged claims are listed below:

====Horus and Jesus====

Before we begin examining Horus, it should be noted that the name "Horus" in Egyptian mythology and literature stood for many things<ref>[http://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/horus.html Encyclopedia Mythica]: "The name "Horus" is a general catchall for multiple deities"</ref>, but mostly stood as a reference to the sitting pharaoh's divinity<ref>"Live Horus, divine in manifestation; the Two Ladies, divine in birth; Horus of Gold, who has become manifest; the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Khakaure, the Son of Re, Senwosret (III), given life like Re forever." From the 12th Dynasty (Senwosret III) on the Berlin Stele document, found in ''Letters from ancient Egypt'', Wente, Edward Frank, 1930-, Meltzer, Edmund S. Scholars Press, c1990 ISBN 1-55540-472-3 (p 24)</ref> <ref>"Thereupon he (Muwatallis) sent his messenger with a letter in his hand bearing the great name of My Majesty, sending greetings to the majesty of the palace, l.p.h., of Re-Harakhti, Mighty Bull, beloved of Maat, the sovereign who protects his army and is energetic with his strong arm, a bulwark for his soldiers on the day of battle; the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Usermare-setepenre; the Son of Re, the lion, possessor of strength, Ramesses (II), given life forever." From the 19th Dynasty (Rameses II) in a Kadesh poem, found in ''Letters from ancient Egypt'', Wente, Edward Frank, 1930-, Meltzer, Edmund S. Scholars Press, c1990 ISBN 1-55540-472-3 (p 29-30)</ref> <ref>"This is a missive to inform One (the king) at the Palace, l.p.h., "Beloved-of-Maat," the two horizons in which Re is: Turn your face to me, you shining sun who illuminates the Two Lands with your beauty, you solar disk of humankind, who has banished darkness from Egypt." From the 19th Dynasty (Merenptah) in the P. Anastasi II document, found in ''Letters from ancient Egypt'', Wente, Edward Frank, 1930-, Meltzer, Edmund S. Scholars Press, c1990 ISBN 1-55540-472-3 (p 34-35)</ref>. Basically, Horus was an invocation used to connect people (like the pharaoh) and things (like the sunrise and sunset, or the importance of a place) to divinity, having many different meanings depending on on the context of the reference to the name. This should be kept in mind when references to Horus are made, especially when claims connecting Horus to other gods are made, because "Horus" was a fluid anthropomorphosis of a divine aspect and not a single, static character within Egyptian mythology.

The claims made in the film regarding Horus are all of either questionable or outright lacking credibility, or are made up of mistranslations or deceiving interpretations of the mythologies involving Horus within Egyptian literature or other archaeological evidence. The main source for these claims tend to be Gerald Massey or Dorothy Murdock (a.k.a. Acharya S), who in turn relies on Massey's claims as her evidence. Unfortunately, Massey never provided actual textual or literal citations for independent verifications of his claims, and searching through the texts he claims to have been working from (the Ani Papyrus and several tomb writings, for example) turn up no evidence to back up his interpretations.

More information can be found on the [[Horus-Jesus_Correlations]] sub-page.

====(Old Testament) Joseph and (New Testament) Jesus====

Unlike the majority of the other correlations brought up in the film, this one is actually a valid one. However, the correlations mentioned within the film are somewhat superficial and flimsy, while the more academic correlations are ones that are quite valid. Joseph, the son of Jacob<ref>[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Joseph.html Jewish Virtual Library] description of Joseph</ref>, is an Old Testament midrash that can be found in Genesis chapter 37<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2037&version=50 Genesis CH 37] - beginning of the story of Joseph</ref> through Genesis chapter 50<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=1&chapter=50&version=50 Genesis CH 50] - the end of the Joseph midrash</ref>. The film mentions the following parallels as significant "proof" of the movie's claims:

* '''Miracle birth''': Indeed, both the circumstances of Joseph (born of Rachel<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2030:22-30:24;&version=50; Genesis CH 30:22-24] - the "reproach" mentioned in the passage was her inability to bear children to Jacob</ref>) and Jesus (born of Mary<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%201:18;&version=50; Matthew CH 1:18], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201:26-1:38;&version=50; Luke CH 1:26-38]: both New Testament accounts of Mary's conception</ref>)could be interpreted to have been miraculous. However, only in the story of Jesus is the birth by a virgin and is the child considered divine.

* '''12 Brothers / 12 Disciples''': Unfortunately, the narrative in the ''Zeitgeist'' film plays word-games to trick the viewer into believing there is an exact parallel. However, Joseph was one of twelve brothers<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2035:23-35:26;&version=50; Genesis CH 35:23-26] - list of the sons of Jacob</ref>, which means he only had ''11 brothers'', while Jesus had 12 disciples. Jesus was not one of the number of disciples, while Joseph was one of the number of brothers.

* '''Sold for 20 / 30 Pieces of Silver''': Once again, unfortunately, the narrative to the film is playing word-games to try to create a parallel. Judas Iscariot (Hebrew: ''יהודה איש־קריות‎'' Greek: ''Yəhûḏāh ʾÎš-qəriyyôṯ'') did not ''sell'' Jesus, he betrayed him for a price according to the New Testament gospels<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2026:14-26:16;&version=50; Matthew CH 26:14-16] - Judas agrees to take 30 pieces of silver for "deliver[ing]" Jesus to the priests</ref>. Joseph, on the other hand, was sold as a slave<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2037:26-37:28;&version=50; Genesis CH 37:26-28] - Joseph is sold by his brothers and brought to Egypt</ref>. This may seem like a small distinction, but it is an important one if someone is wanting to take an honest look at the two stories from a comparative point of view. Comparative religious study can be interesting, but without intellectual honesty a presentation (like the film) quickly shows an underlying agenda that is less interested in accuracy than it is in its own interpretation of events.

* '''Judah / Judas Suggests Sale''': As previously pointed out, Judas Iscariot did not sell Jesus. In the story of Joseph, Joseph is sold as a slave; in the story of Jesus, the ''loyalty'' of Judas is sold for a price. Again, this may not seem like a huge distinction, but ignoring the distinction is yet another sign of intellectual dishonesty to portray aspects that are not the same as if they were in order to make a point. Such behavior is not scholarly nor is it condusive to those who are looking for any kind of honest assessment.

* '''Work at Age 30''': The narrator in the ''Zeitgeist'' film states that both Joseph and Jesus "began their work" at the age of 30 years, but this is completely false. Jesus did indeed begin his ministry at the age of thirty, according to the New Testament. Joseph "began" his work of predicting things through interpretations of dreams at age ''seventeen''<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2037:1-37:11;&version=50; Genesis CH 37:1-11] - where Joseph dreams his future through through interpretive symbols</ref>, not 30. If Joseph's own dreams are not counted in the "work" of Joseph, then the age he began is still not age 30, but instead age 28<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=1&chapter=40&version=50 Genesis CH 40] - Joseph interprets the dreams of the Egyptian pharaoh's two servants</ref>. ''Two years'' after he first began his interpretation of dreams for others is when he arrived before the pharaoh of Egypt<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2041:1-41:13;&version=50; Genesis CH 41:1-13] - the pharaoh's dreams, where Joseph is then called before the pharaoh</ref>. Again, the narrator and the film use deceitful word-games in the attempt to convince the viewer.

====Other Mentions====

=====Adonis=====

Adonis, being a Greek import from its conquered Middle-Eastern territories (around modern-day Syria, Lebanon, and Israel), was allegedly based on the Hebraicized version of "the Lord" (Adonai, Hebrew: אֲדֹנָי) and the story of the Mesopotamian (Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian) god Tammuz<ref>''Oriental Mythology: The Masks of God'' by Joseph Campbell (p 39-40)</ref>. The film only lists Adonis in a quick scrolling of names, some of which are duplicates of each other, and offers no actual explanation of why he is listed.

Adonis' mythology consisted of many different versions of stories, with varied and quite different accounts of his death and what happens afterward<ref>[http://theoi.com/Olympios/AphroditeLoves2.html#Adonis Aphrodite and Adonis] - multiple versions of Adonis stories concerning Aphrodite. Note that none of them list a virgin birth.</ref>. He represented eternal youth that dies and returns annually, but even this recurring rebirth story is seen as ending with a final demise<ref>"Where a normal child needs to be born only once to liberate himself from the mother, Adonis, as puer, continually returns to the mother and so must be born again and agin. His final death is simply his permanent rather temporary return to her." From ''Theorizing about myth'' by Robert A. Segal (p 110-111)</ref>, so it is unclear how the mythology of Adonis is meant to connect to Christianity, unless the viewer of the film (or, indeed, the reader of its sources) is expected to disregard the aspects of the Adonis myth that contradict alleged connections with Christianity, and only assume the one or two aspects that seem only partially similar.

=====Dumuzi=====

Dumuzi is another name for Tammuz. [http://ct.grenme.com/index.php/Zeitgeist_Part_I#Tammuz See Tammuz] for more.

=====Issa / Isa=====

This claim is taken direct from Dorothy Murdock (a.k.a. Acharya S): "The Arabian Issa purportedly lived around 400 BCE in the western Arabian region of Hijaz, where also existed places called Galilee, Bethsaida and Nazareth, a town that was not founded in Palestine until ''after'' "Jesus of Nazareth's" alleged era. The similarities between the Arabian Issa and the Palestinian Jesus are many and profound."<ref>"The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold" (1999) by Acharya S (a.k.a. Dorothy Murdock), page 124, ISBN 0932813747</ref>

Unfortunately, this claim is made without citation or any evidentiary material through which independent verification can be performed. The only similar claims to the ones made by Ms. Murdock have come in the form of claims that Jesus (or at least the story of Jesus) allegedly travelled through India and Tibet in the "lost years"<ref>"The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ" by Nicolas Notovich (1890), ISBN 141798127X - "''The Earth trembled and the heavens wept, because of the great crime committed in the land of Israel. For there was tortured and murdered the great and just Issa, in whom was manifest the soul of the Universe; Which had incarnated in a simple mortal, to benefit and destroy the evil spirit in them; To lead back to 'peace, love and happiness, man, degraded by his sins, and recall him to the one and indivisible Creator whose mercy is infinite.''" (page 155)</ref>, which tend to actually contradict claims (by Ms. Murdock and by the ''Zeitgeist'' film) that Jesus is a fictional or non-historic figure<ref>"Lost Years of Jesus" by Elizabeth Clare Prophet (1987) ISBN 091676687X - "''Scholars discussed whether Jesus was a man or a myth or some of each; whether he came to establish a new religion or if he was an eschatological figure -- a herald announcing the end of the world. They debated whether there was a rational explanation for the miracles, whether Jesus was necessary to the development of Christianity, whether the synoptic Gospels were historically more relevant than the Gospel of John, and even if there was anything to be gained by further study. The scholarship was so intense and the writings so profuse that entire libraries on the subject of the historical Jesus could be assembled.''

''Scholars are now virtually in agreement that Jesus did in fact exist, but because of a scarcity of historical information no biography of his life, in the modern sense of the word, can be drawn.''

''The earliest writings about Jesus fall into two categories : Christian and non-Christian. The non-Christian records, written by Josephus, Pliny the Younger, Tacitus, and Suetonius about sixty to ninety years after the crucifixion, are so brief that they do little more than help establish his historicity.''

''The Gospels, probably written between A.D. 60 and 100, are the principal source of information about Jesus. Although of immense historical value, scholars contend they were never intended to be biographies -- a judgment that must be reconsidered in light of the fact that we do not necessarily have the writings of the Evangelists and the apostles in their original, unedited form.''" (pages 7-8)</ref>. It would be highly unlikely that Ms. Murdock is referencing ''this'' Issa (or Saint Issa), however, because these references are talking about the very same Jesus that is described in the Christian Gospels. However, with no actual historical reference with which to compare and contrast, no proof of such a claim exists.

''Speculation'': This could also be a case of mistranslation on the part of Ms. Murdock or others, mistaking the name 'Issa' with one of the following:
# The god Assur, who may have been the personification of the city Assur of Assyria, and was later absorbed into both Sumerian and Babylonian mythologies and mixed with existing gods of those respective pantheons<ref>"Gods, Demons, and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia" (2003) by Jeremy Black and Anthony Green, ISBN 0292707940, (pages 37-38)</ref>
# The goddess Ishara, who to the Sumerians was a goddess of love and to Anatolians and northern Syrians was a goddess representative of the underworld<ref>"Gods, Demons, and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia" (2003) by Jeremy Black and Anthony Green, ISBN 0292707940, (page 110)</ref>
# The god Isum, who was a popular but minor god in Sumer, often associated with the underworld<ref>"Gods, Demons, and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia" (2003) by Jeremy Black and Anthony Green, ISBN 0292707940, (page 112)</ref>

Once again, however, it should be noted that none of these possibilities match the story and myth of Jesus, so these names may not be the basis from which Ms. Murdock or any other source for the ''Zeitgeist'' film came up with their claims. These possible references are being pointed out not to argue that they were the inspiration for the unsupported claims made by the film or the writers it sources, but to show that the most likely possible historical candidates fitting the same or similar name are not, in fact, supportive of the hypothesis put forth by ''Zeitgeist'' or its sources.

=====Tammuz=====

<shtml hash="26923422acb688193623e30f4241da0a"><img src="http://image.grenme.com/ct/zeitpi/dumuzid-Cun.png" width=376 height=122 alt="Dumu-Zid - Sumerian & Babylonian name for Tammuz" /> </shtml>

The mention of Tammuz (of Akkadian, Sumerian, and Babylonian origin) is an interesting one, mostly because the film's list states that Tammuz was a "savior god worshipped in Jerusalem." This is a blatant example of misinterpretation. Tammuz (Hebrew: תַּמּוּז) was called "Lord" which, in Hebrew, is the word "Adonai" (אֲדֹנָי). It is often cited that the name "Lord" used for Tammuz was likely later borrowed by the Jews when speaking about their god (YHWH, Hebrew: יהוה), whose name is forbidden to be pronounced aloud. Tammuz was probably worshipped in Jerusalem, but not any time even close to the Roman Empire and not by the Jews. This was a Babylonian god and, as of around 600 years Before Common Era (BCE), Jerusalem and Israel were conquered by Babylon.

While it is clear that Tammuz is states as a template for the Semitic-Hellenistic myth of Adonis<ref>''Oriental Mythology: The Masks of God'' by Joseph Campbell (p 39-40)</ref>, the best that the list flashed by in the film offers in correlation with Christianity is that Tammuz was worshipped in Jerusalem-- as many gods were at different points in history, which does not connect to anything-- and that Tammuz is somehow considered a "savior." However, the "savior" story of Tammuz deals explicitly with Inanna (also known as Ishtar), for whom he travels into the underworld to trade his own soul for the release of Inanna<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/ane/ishtar.htm sacred-texts.com] - The Descent of The Goddess Ishtar Into the Underworld From ''The Civilization of Babylonia and Assyria,'' M. Jastrow, 1915</ref>, who had ventured to the underworld to see her sister<ref>[http://www.mircea-eliade.com/from-primitives-to-zen/158.html Mircea-Eliade.com] - excerpt of "From Primitives to Zen" by Mircea Eliade. ISBN: 0006234747</ref><ref>[http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.1.4.1&display=Crit&charenc=gcirc# Transliteration] from an alternate source (the [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/edition2/etcslsitemap.html ETCSL Project]) for [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.4.1# Inana's descent to the nether world]</ref>.

In all intellectual honesty, the only connection Tammuz has with Christianity is the use of the name "Lord" (Adonai or אֲדֹנָי) for both Tammuz and the Hebrew god. In this, it seems they only share a title ("Lord" or "Adonai") in common, which barely even qualifies for a tenuous correlation.

<shtml hash="de099fcf05014dc1a1329990c46c8c7c"><img src="http://image.grenme.com/ct/zeitpi/adny-Heb.png" width=172 height=163 alt="ADNY - proper Hebrew spelling for Adonai" /><img src="http://image.grenme.com/ct/zeitpi/yhwh-Tet.png" width=175 height=135 alt="YHWH - the Hebrew Tetragrammaton" /> This is the Hebrew word "Adonai" next to the Hebrew Tetragrammaton. Adonai is used in non-religious text and often used as the pronounciation for the Tetragrammaton when spoken. </shtml>

===Claims of Thematic Correlation===

===New Age Subject Matter===

Most of the astrological references made in the film are based on modern astrological concepts, used together in modern forms of astrology (New Age), and reminiscent of only parts of older traditions from various points in history, though not all of them come from antiquity.

====Modern Astrology====

The film continually references constallations and astrological terms as they are presented in modern astrological use, even though modern astrology is exactly that, modern, and that ancient forms of astrology differed depending on the culture, part of the world it was practiced, and location in relation to ''how'' the stars would be seen in the first place.

=====The Number 12=====

The film states: "In fact, the number 12 is replete throughout the Bible. This text has more to do with astrology than anything else." However, what the film doesn't specify is ''which'' astrology this has to do with, even though the description that follows is clearly a variant of modern New Age astrology. Ancient astrologies were not only replete with the number 12, but also the number 18 or variances of the numbers six or three<ref>[http://orion.huji.ac.il/symposiums/1st/papers/Schmidt96.html Ancient Jewish Astrology: An Attempt to Interpret 4QCryptic (4Q186)] by Francis Schmidt - this document describes in some detail Jewish astrology of antiquity, from which significant numbers such as 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 36 are derived according to their '''lunar''' (not solar) calendar.</ref> <ref>[http://free-vedic-astrology.com/planets.php Free-Vedic-Astrology.com] - "Indian Astrology is based upon '''nine''' planets; they are the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and the two Shadow planets are Rahu and Ketu. Out of these the first seven are material planets and can be seen with naked eye, the remaining two are imaginary points formed by the intersection of the paths of the earth and the moon. There are other planets also in the space namely the Uranus, Neptune and Pluto but they do not find any place in Indian Vedic astrology. The reason is that they were not discovered at the time of Parashar, the father of Indian Vedic astrology or the planets are far away from the earth to give influence upon human beings."</ref>.

But what does this mean in relationship to numbers used in the Christian Bible? The film isn't clear on the precise nature of such an alleged relationship, except to state that both have the use of the number 12 in common with one another. That's all well and good for proselytizing New Age astrology, but it doesn't necessarily coincide with the many different types of astrological computation methods that existed in the Middle East before Christianity or the Common Era. This is another example where the film (and many of its sources) are conflating modern astrology with aspects of ancient mythology and structure.

=====The Southern Crux (Cross)=====

The Souther Crux, which is called "the cross of the Zodiac" in the ''Zeitgeist'' film, is described in the movie as reflective of the sun while traversing the sky over the span of the year. It appears that not much research took place in the course of adding this to the production, since if the makers of ''Zeitgeist'' had checked into this constellation they would have found that it is a modern discovery<ref>[http://www.nla.gov.au/cdview/nla.ms-ms7860&mode=moreinfo Overview: Letter of Andrea Corsali 1516-1989] - "After rounding the Cape, Corsali observed the curious behaviour of an unrecorded group of Stars (the Southern Cross) which he described and illustrated." - the Southern Cross was discovered in the Sixteenth Century, and this letter is one of the first mentions of it.</ref>. The reason the crux was not discovered until the sixteenth century is because it was not visible from the Northern Hemisphere for much of the year (note: not during the winter), and it became identified and used because explorers and ship captains who sailed in the Southern Hemisphere would use it as a guide<ref>[http://www.windows.ucar.edu/the_universe/crux.html Windows to the Universe] at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research: "Because it is not visible from most latitudes in the Northern hemisphere, Crux is a '''modern constellation''' and has no Greek or Roman myths associated with it. Crux was used by explorers of the southern hemisphere to point south since, unlike the north celestial pole, the south celestial pole is not marked by any bright star."</ref>.

It is evident that this claim made in the film mixes up ancient astrologies with more modern versions in order to make its dubious case. How do the makers of this film justify this mistake? The simple way: they don't. Despite the fact that the Southern Crux only appears in the lexicon of astrology 1600 years after the beginning of the Common Era and more than a millenium and a half after the beginning of Christianity, the film attempts to use this constellation as a 'proof' in a tautological fashion.

===Misc===

====Correlation as Causation====

It seems that most of the claims of correlation made within the film are presented in a manner to suggest that the creation and evolution of the Jesus mythology over the years have been taken primarily from these other myths. Leaving aside the questionable integrity of the claims or their mixed levels of validity, the fact remains that similarities alone would not necessarily imply any sort of causative relationship between the religions. Just because two religions have a deity or hero who is reborn does not necessarily imply that one of the two religions took from the other, or that they even developed their rebirth stories from the same source or context. This is a tactic used quite often in linguistic pseudoscientific claims, that similar-sounding words<ref>[http://members.aol.com/yahyam/coincidence.html List of similar sounding words] (incomplete list)</ref> imply some sort of originating relationship between languages, but this claim has been addressed on numerous occassions, both in dealing with individual words<ref>[http://www.zompist.com/chance.htm Zompist.com]; ''How likely are chance resemblances between languages?'' by Mark Rosenfelder - "The reader may well conclude that with the appropriate choice of parameters, any number of matches is possible!" The document goes on to provide a more robust and specific conclusion as well.</ref> and in dealing with phrases<ref>[http://lds-mormon.com/wordprin.shtml LDS-Mormon.com]; ''Book Of Mormon "Wordprints" Reexamined'' by D. James Croft - the study deals specifically with the Book of Mormon, but the methodology and detail applies to many forms of "wordprinting" claims</ref>, and such claims are almost exclusively shown to be of dubious or questionable veracity. This is a good example of how the arguments of correlation as causation should be viewed with a reasonable amount of skepticism when direct connections are not described, and in the case of the claims within the ''Zeitgeist'' movie the claims are typically of questionable accuracy or validity on their own, not even counting their intended use as correlative conditions.

Correlations are not a completely useless method of determining a relationship between different things, but only if such correlations can withstand scrutiny and can display some sort of actual connection to suggest a relationship. Unfortunately, the ''Zeitgeist'' film not only fails to present correlations that can withstand scrutiny-- in fact, the majority of the claims are incredibly inaccurate or misleading-- but it also fails to establish any type of relationship between the various mythologies it presents in contrast to Christianity to imply sufficient reason to belileve that a relationship, causative or otherwise, actually existed.

===='See What Sticks' Methodology====

As evidenced in the sheer number of claims for correlation listed by the film itself, along with the random mixture of similarities in attributes listed by the film<ref>[http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/list.htm zeitgeistmovie.com]: "List of Gods which share such attributes as virgin birth, born on/near Dec.25th (the winter solstice), born in a cave, was baptized, worked miracles, was called the "Savior", had Eucharists, was hung on trees or crucified, had disciples, were resurrected and returned to heaven, ect. [Acharya S.: The Christ Conspiracy, Adventures Unlimited , 1999. Page 106-107]"</ref>, the narrator of the film (and its sources) seem to take the figurative approach of tossing spaghetti against the wall and seeing what sticks in order to support their foregone conclusion, instead of using the evidences they present to actually build the conclusion from the ground up. Once again, even ignoring the mistranslations and misdirections made in the list of correlations, there still don't exist sufficient evidence that any one of the listed names stand up to a one-to-one comparison for correlations, and are instead quickly flashed across the screen in the movie without much exposition, expecting the viewer to take for granted that the claims of similarities are already proven instead of actually providing evidential information that gives credence to the claims.

This 'see what sticks' methodology is highly questionable at the very least, and is a red flag to the dubious level of intellectual honesty taking place otherwise.

====Mixed Signals====

A quote from the zeitgeistmovie.com website: 
"''That being said, It is my hope that people will not take what is said in the film as the truth, but find out for themselves, for truth is not told, it is realized.''"<ref>[http://zeitgeistmovie.com/statement.htm zeitgeistmovie.com/statement.htm] - a statement made by the maker of the film (presumably Peter Joseph).</ref>

Unfortunately, this hope has not been realized. Moreso, Mr. Joseph himself seems to be promoting his film as an "awakening" and a "revolution"<ref>[http://zeitgeistmovie.com/zday.htm ZDay] - an event that seems to be in the works by the makers of the ''Zeitgeist'' movie.</ref>, which seems to send a mixed message. If this film isn't meant to be taken as truth, then what exactly makes it revolutionary or cause for an awakening? That certainly seems like a question whose answer may be helpful to understand not only ''how'' this film should be taken, but ''why'' it seems to be presented in such an authoritative fashion even though the "not take what is said in this film as the truth" disclaimer is plainly made. Until such a clarification can be made explaining otherwise by Mr. Joseph regarding the level of authoritativeness of the claims in the film, the only recourse is to take the claims seriously and address them as the historical, allegorical, and logical fallacies that they actually are.

===Note About This Page===

This page, while a refutation of the dubious claims made in the interet film ''Zeitgeist'', are neither an essay on apologetics in favor of any religion (including Christianity) nor a page supporting statements against any religion. This page is meant to clarify a number of fictitious or misleading claims that exist, as disseminated by an internet film on conspiracy theory. This page is not a theological document, and is not meant to direct a reader in any direction in terms of whether they should or should not have faith in a given religion. Such decisions are personal choices that are probably better dealt with by the individual themselves, or with whatever counsel that individual chooses to seek of their own accord. Regardless, those matters are beyond the scope of this page and this statement is making clear that no religions are being defended or chastized here.

===Notes:===

<references />

Federal Reserve

2008-01-13T00:48:32Z

Summary: /* The Federal Reserve Act */

'''''This article is incomplete. More will be added'''''

==The Federal Reserve==

====What is the Federal Reserve?====

The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States of America. Think of the Federal Reserve as the “bank for banks" <ref>Term from [http://money.howstuffworks.com/fed.htm HowStuffWorks.com]. The How Stuff Works website (howstuffworks.com) has many informative and interesting articles on our federal reserve system, money, and other unrelated topics. </ref> in this country. It is basically the central bank of the whole country, which privately-owned banks look to for depositing their money into accounts and other operations for storing and acquiring funds. Also, as a central bank it controls the money supply for the nation and regulates the banking policies of its smaller private member banks<ref>[http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/E/usbank/bank01.htm A Brief History of Central Banking in the United States] by Edward Flaherty - a general description of central banking. The main essay can be found [http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/E/usbank/bankxx.htm online]</ref>. The main goal of the Federal Reserve is to maintain the US economy and to keep it relatively stable, even in times of crisis.

====Who started the Federal Reserve, and when?====

=====Third Version=====

The Federal Reserve as we know it today is actually the third version of a central bank in the United States. The first <ref>[http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/E/usbank/bank03.htm First Bank of the United States (1791 - 1811)]</ref> and second <ref>[http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/E/usbank/bank04.htm Second Bank of the United States (1816 - 1836)]</ref> versions of a central bank happened in the first quarter of the history of the United States, though each lasted only twenty years. However, the years between the first and second central banks saw huge problems with inflation and deflation<ref>General inflation and deflation data can be calculated online [http://www.measuringworth.com/inflation/ at this website].</ref>-- both of which are troublesome to an economy.

=====Free-Banking Period=====

After the Second Bank of the United States closed in 1836, with much criticism by president Jackson at the time, the country did not immediately turn to a third charter for a central bank. Instead, measures were taken to try to eliminate banking fraud and establish controls on legal contracts involving money. During this time laws like the Michigan Act<ref>[http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/E/usbank/bank07.htm The Michigan Act of 1837], an attempt at near-free banking</ref> were attempted in order to stabilize the economy, where states had more control over their banking rules to stimulate the economy. Also during this period inflation and deflation ran rampant, fluctuating wildly and with little to no regulation on a national level to help matters<ref>[http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/E/usbank/bank08.htm Link] - Economic instability between the time of the Second Bank of the US and the federalized National Banking Acts</ref>. With the states' control of banking, the US economy experienced huge drops in the value of the money that an average person had to their name.

=====Federal Government Steps In=====

Around the time of the beginning of the Civil War (starting in 1863), the federal government decided to try to solve the problem of the wildly fluctuating economy and the growing instability of the nation's money. The federal government issued the National Banking Acts<ref>[http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/E/usbank/bank10.htm The National Banking Acts (1863 & 1864)]</ref>, which attempted to standardize the currency being used by people and add extra cost to using state-issued bank-notes. This helped to a small degree, and can be considered the first steps toward the government later establishing what we know as the Federal Reserve. Already embroiled in a war (the Civil War, 1861 - 1865), the United States economy was in dire need of stimulation. The National Banking Acts, along with the influx of "greenbacks" (the United States' first federally-back fiat currency), helped to fund the war effort as well as provide a temporary solution to the problem of private- and state-issued paper money abuses.

=====Economic Troubles Near the Turn of the Century=====

By the last couple decades of the 1800’s state-issued money was still going strong. As such, the inflation/deflation fluctuations continued. These fluctuations, the still (relatively) low regulation on banking, and other factors led to numerous economic disasters during the last quarter of the 19th century and going into the 20th century. Two historical examples of disaster were the depression of 1893<ref>[http://www.bos.frb.org/about/pubs/begin.pdf Historical beginnings... the Federal Reserve] (PDF) by Roger T. Johnson, pg 15: “Financial panics occurred with some frequency, and they often triggered an economic depression. In 1893 a massive depression rocked the American economy as it had never been rocked before. Even though prosperity returned before the end of the decade-- and largely for reasons which this nation could not control-- the 1893 depression left a legacy of economic uncertainty."</ref> and the banking panic of 1907<ref>[http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-7162(190803)31%3C8%3ATPO1AS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-7 The Panic of 1907 and Some of Its Lessons] by Myron T Herrick - some issues leading to the panic of 1907</ref>. These panics led to the Aldrich-Vreeland Act of 1908 as a stop-gap to address the economic problem of chronic depression and instability in the national economy<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=eZuNLMCJgdkC&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&source=web&ots=isPOQP1-6O&sig=IyAWelSPHbA6JBw8KJiLg5kLAyE#PPA21,M1 (books.google.com)] - The Federal Reserve System: A History by Donald R Wells (pg 21); the chapter of the book explains the Aldrich-Vreeland Act in moderate detail.</ref>. While successful as a stop-gap measure to prevent a toppling economy, the Aldrich-Vreeland Act was finite: Congress needed to enact a long-term solution before January of 1914, when the act would expire.

=====Many Years in the Making=====

By 1912, Congress and the federal government were already in the process of developing a plan to extend the provisions put into place by the Aldrich-Vreeland Act. While debate had been commonplace in the political and banking circles over this issue since 1908 (and earlier, depending on your historical source), by 1912 the debate had become a part of public discourse<ref>[http://www.minneapolisfed.org/pubs/region/88-08/reg888a.cfm minneapolisfed.com] - a 1988 article on the attempt by one economics professor in 1912 to convince rural bankers to come together under a federal system to help repair the economy</ref><ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F04E2DA113AE633A2575BC0A96F9C946396D6CF&scp=7&st=p New York Times Archive] September 8th, 1912: '''''Putting The Farmer In Command Of Ready Money''''': "''IT has long been conceded by bankers and financial students that the United States is far behind in the race for efficiency and adequacy in the methods of commercial banking. It is now being realized that the country has not even left the starting post in the race to afford credit facilities to the farmer.''" ([http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F04E2DA113AE633A2575BC0A96F9C946396D6CF download via PDF])</ref> (similar to debate over the Iraq War today). Amid fears that private interests or a "Money Trust" would take control of a central banking system, Congressman Arsene Pujo of Louisiana chaired a committee (known as the Pujo Committee) that investigated suspected monopolistic practices or ilicit trust activities in the banking arena<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9905E0DC163FE633A25754C0A9679C946296D6CF New York Times Archive] January 7th, 1913: '''''Think Money Inquiry Forced Chase Sale'''''; ''Pujo Committee Elated at Bank Passing from the Control of First National'' ([http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9905E0DC163FE633A25754C0A9679C946296D6CF&oref=slogin download as a PDF]) -- a NYT article on one of the many consequences of the Pujo Committee inquiring against private interests</ref>. Near the end of 1912, President Taft in one of his last speeches near the end of his presidency, stated that "[t]he most crying need this country has is a proper banking and currency system."<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C07E0DC1E3AE633A25754C0A9649D946396D6CF&scp=10&st=p New York Times Archive] December 7th, 1912: '''''Taft Asks Congress To Aid His Policies'''''; ''In Valedictory Message He Pleads for Currency, Army, Navy, and Court Reforms'' ([http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C07E0DC1E3AE633A25754C0A9649D946396D6CF download as a PDF])</ref> Taft goes on to call the currency system in 1912 "inadequate," and says that "every one who has studied the question admits it." The need for a solution to the national currency problem was one of the forefront issues at that time.

=====The Federal Reserve Act=====

The Federal Reserve Act spent most of 1913 being debated in Congress and in public<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9800E6DB153FE633A2575AC0A9619C946296D6CF&scp=15&st=p New York Times Archives] July 9th, 1913: '''''Glass Currency Bill'''''; ''Ex-Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Sees Defects.'' ([http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9800E6DB153FE633A2575AC0A9619C946296D6CF download as a PDF])</ref> <ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9906E4D6113BE633A25753C3A96F9C946296D6CF&scp=24&st=p New York Times Archive] September 30th, 1913: '''''The Currency Bill'''''; ''Prof. Jenks Says It Is Still Short of His Ideal.'' ([http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9906E4D6113BE633A25753C3A96F9C946296D6CF download as a PDF])</ref> <ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9901E5DC1E3BE633A25756C2A9669D946296D6CF&scp=29&st=p New York Times Archive] October 25th, 1913: '''''Wilson Upholds Glass Money Bill'''''; ''But Senators Think His Statement Offers a Loophole for His Accepting Vanderlip Plan.'' ([http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9901E5DC1E3BE633A25756C2A9669D946296D6CF download as a PDF])</ref> <ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A02E1DC1E3BE633A25755C2A9669D946296D6CF&scp=30&st=p New York Times Archive] October 26th, 1913: '''''Ten Chief Acts Of Currency Legislation Analyzed'''''; ''Roger W. Babson, from Detailed Review, Finds the Lessons of History to Show That Pending Owen-Glass Bill Will Be Ultimately Harmful if It Is an Inflation Measure.'' ([http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9A02E1DC1E3BE633A25755C2A9669D946296D6CF download as a PDF])</ref> <ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C01E3D8113CE633A25752C1A9679D946296D6CF&scp=31&st=p New York Times Archive] November 11th, 1913: '''''Wall St. Defended To Owen And Glass'''''; ''Bankers and Sponsors Debate the Currency Bill at Economic Club Dinner. F.A. Vanderlip Attacks It. Says Legislation Can Wait and Urges President Not to Put Party Triumph Above Country's Needs.'' ([http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C01E3D8113CE633A25752C1A9679D946296D6CF download as a PDF])</ref> <ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=950CE6D9103FE633A2575BC0A9649D946296D6CF&scp=33&st=pNew York Times Archive] December 8th, 1913: '''''Ideal Reserve Plan'''''; ''Should Seek to Help Local Banks, Not to Make Money.'' ([http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=950CE6D9103FE633A2575BC0A9649D946296D6CF download as a PDF])</ref>, and managed to barely get passed just before the beginning of 1914<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C0CE4D61139E633A25757C1A9649D946296D6CF&scp=35&st=p New York Times Archive] December 14, 1913: '''''Root Sees Peril In Money Bill''''' ([http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9C0CE4D61139E633A25757C1A9649D946296D6CF&oref=login download as a PDF]) - From the end of the article: "''After numerous conferences of an informal nature at to-night's session, a tentative agreement was reported to begin voting on the bill in its final form, next Thursday, Dec. 18.''"</ref> <ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/dec23.html memory.loc.gov] Today in History - despite conspiracy theory claims, Woodrow Wilson signed into law the beginnings of the Federal Reserve (the Owens-Glass Act) on December 23rd of 1913, which was after it had gone through Congress in open public debate</ref> (the year the Aldrich-Vreeland Act would be running out). Essentially, the Federal Reserve came about as a result of more than 100 years of attempts by the United States government to maintain a strong, flexible, and stable economy. It was a process that began back in 1791 and has changed a number of times over the years. It’s a process that still continues today. It is a government agency that is both a part of our federal government and is simultaneously able to operate without being beholden to Congress or the standing presidency<ref>[http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode12/usc_sec_12_00000248----000-.html USCode at law.cornell.edu] - Title 12 of the US Code, Chapter 3, Subchapter II, section 248; this lays out the division of powers over the Federal Reserve system, none of which are foreign</ref>. The US Federal Reserve system was set up this way specifically to disallow any group of people, whether a political party or a private trust, to gain control over the nation’s economy.

====Management of the Fed====

Management of the Federal Reserve is done through members of the Board of Governors, who are nominated by the President of the United States of America and confirmed through the United States Congress in order to get into the office. The term of a board member is fourteen years, and term appointments are staggered so that one term appointment is made every two years. The position of Federal Reserve Chairman is also appointed by the President and approved by Congress, and they serve a term of four years.<ref>[http://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/bios/board/default.htm FederalReserve.gov] - brief explanation of board appointments.</ref>. This means that a new government-appointed board member is introduced to the seven-member board as another one's term is completed, keeping a constantly-changing list<ref>[http://www.federalreserve.gov/bios/boardmembership.htm FederalReserve.gov] - a list of Federal Reserve board members going back to its inception in 1914</ref> of government-appointed members to the board.

====Notes:====

<references />