[EVA]Jesus, Jesus Everywhere

[Chris Kim]

Gnosticsm is the only tradition I know of that uses both Christian and Kabbalistic sources extensively.  Thus, when you get the Kabbalic/Gnostic tree of life, plus the Christian/Gnostic crucifixion imagery, I assume they are drawing on Gnosticism, instead of going to the trouble of investigating both Jewish mysticism and Christianity.
   
  Basically:
  Kabbalism:Judaism::Gnosticism:Christianity
  Gnosticism - Christian influence = Kabbalism
   
  Certainly, Christian phraseology and imagery were widely used in Eva, but because of the statements made by the aformentioned person who worked on the series, I would think that their use was asthetic, and thus carries no "deep literary significance".

  Walker, Texas Ranger used buddhist ideology in some of it's episodes, but we're not supposed to assume that it's some fancy schmancy metaphorical portayal of Siddhartha or the Eighfold path.  Rather, they use buddhism because most americans see it as mystic and exotic, thus bolstering the "cool factor" of the show.
   
  PS
Are you going to reply to the other half of my comments?  I would like to know what your basis for your MMC claims were.
   
  
"Rachel K. Clark" <rachel.k.clark at comcast.net> wrote:
  << And as the people who worked on Evangelion have already stated, they used 
Christian (Gnostic Christianity to be precise, which is generaly considered 
a heretical sect by most christian traditions) imagery because it seems 
exotic to most Japanese, as Christians in japan are a very small minority, 
and most Japanese know little about Christianity >>

I haven't done an investigation into Gnosticism, but what is the basis for 
your claim? Many of the religious/esoteric references can be pinpointed, 
without too much effort, to the Old and New Testament, Judaic apocrypha, and 
the bounty of Kabbalistic tradition.

> So no, there is NO Christ figure in Eva.

The references and allusions to Christ seem fairly blatant, at the very 
least. Gendo even uses an alternate description for the Human 
Instrumentality Project that is pulled straight from Jesus Land -- that is, 
/kami e no michi/, the Way/Path to God. More here: 
http://animenation.net/forums/showthread.php?p=5819443#post5819443

--Reichu 

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