Zionism, was a movement in the 19th and 20th centuries whose sole purpose/desire was the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, the original land of Canaan. there are also numerous sites, etc. named 'Zion'
*Sigh*...
Ok, Neo is like jesus, yes, they are similar, but they are also very different. The Oracle and the Architect can be considered different aspects of God. The Merovingian is not Satan, but Hades. As for the crew being like the Apostles, yes, they were martyred, but not for Neo, just because Cypher was a turncoat.
yeah, but think of it this way...the matrix is a simulation of real life...so they took what we had from 1999 and kept it that way...there was most definately religion in the matrix, and so i think that the people that were free knew full well about Jesus and christianity and other religions...however, i dont think that them saying Jesus has anything to do with their religious affiliation. I know plenty of people who are of other religions and say "Jesus Christ" as a curse all the time...As for religion being a control- i doubt it...the machines would have no understanding of believing in an entity that is beyond human comprehension...so i dont think they'd try to harness it. However, they do use some aspects of religion for personal benefit. Some exiles choose the form of an angel (as stated by the oracle) so there are some matricized religious aspects.
i dont know if i made a point...but thats all i had to say