In the 1997 movie “Conspiracy Theory”, Mel Gibson plays Jerry Fletcher, a man who whole-heartedly subscribes to every imaginable conspiracy theory in existence and writes a newsletter about them. In the movie, Gibson’s proven to be right in the end about his ultimate conspiracy worry – that there are men who want him dead.
There are some strong parallels with Gibson’s movie and the “zeitgeist movie”, which is available for viewing on the Web, in that nearly all the assertions put forth are wrong, but the end fear is correct and backed by Scripture (depending on one’s view of biblical eschatology).
I was privileged to help write a formal response to the allegations put forth in the movie about Christ being nothing but a mere myth for gotquestions.org - for the full response please see: http://www.gotquestions.org/zeitgeist-movie.html. I would like to add a bit more color to that answer by exposing the main source used by the movie.
If the proverb “A person is known by the company he keeps” is even remotely true, then the producers of the zeitgeist movie (Jeff Rense and Peter J.) are in bad company. Listed as two of their sources for their treatment of Jesus are works from Acharya S entitled “Suns of God” and “The Christ Conspiracy” from Adventures Unlimited Press, a publishing house known for putting out books on time travel, the existence of werewolves, and the lost city of Atlantis. Acharya S, whose real name is D. Murdock, is an “interesting” individual in that she may not believe in the Christian God, but she most certainly believes in aliens and UFO’s (http://www.truthbeknown.com/aliens.htm), and has appeared in several articles of “Paranoia” magazine.
Although the zeitgeist movie only lists her as “a” source, it is clear it takes much of its content in the area of astrology and a supposed mythological Jesus from her work (note the “Special thanks” to her at the very top of the “Part 1” source section and the acknowledgement she gives on her blog at http://tbknews.blogspot.com/2007/08/rense-zeitgeist-nod-to-acharya-s.html.) Acharya S’s work has been shown to be historically inaccurate and blatantly false in these areas. The statement on the zeitgeist movie site says the film is based on “documented evidence”, which evidently means it takes its cues from Acharya S letter-for-letter. Archarya S goes farther than even the most liberal scholars who at least admit the fact that a historical Jesus lived.
Though the faith of the producers is not exposed, there is a blurb at the end speaking to the effect that “all is one”, with a clip of noted evolutionist/materialist Carl Sagan being shown who says that the earth is a single organism and that a "new consciousness is developing" that shows all is one. Statements of pantheism can be found on Acharya S’s website. Jeff Rense’s web site does not appear to promote any religious agenda , but it does have lots of information on UFO’s, adds for physic power, love, and money generators, and book recommendations including one that asserts the planet Mars contains ruins of ancient civilizations – facts, the author asserts, that are covered up by world governments.
Never has the warning "consider the source" been more appropriate than when one chooses to consider the truth claims of the zeitgeist movie.
For a few online resources on this topic, see Mike Licona’s scholarly review of Archarya S’s work (which serves as a clear foundation for the film) and responses to her criticisms at http://www.risen-jesus.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=109 and http://www.risen-jesus.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=109.
For information on Archarya S (whose name means "guru" or "teacher") and her denials of the existence of a historical Jesus, please see http://www.truthbeknown.com/.
