| religion in evangelion |
Many aspects of Neon Genesis Evangelion are based on religious symbolism and Judeo-Christian mythology. The Japanese title for the series is called "Shin Seiki Evangelion" which can accurately be translated to "The Gospel of the New Century." The title, however, is not the only thing that implies religious meaning. The Angels are working according to some plan that is meant to seer the human race. But why are they called Angels? Angel was the term that was used in english, but the Japanese name meant Emissary or Apostle. And no one can forget that the Angel's attack is cross-like in appearance (Episode 1) and this attack is used repeatedly throughout the series. As the series progresses the Angel's attacks become more and more powerful, which forces Eva and the pilots to advance in their relationship to destroy them. As the pilots progress in their relationships with their respective Evas the pilots become aware that there is more to the Evas than meets the eye. During their first meeting Shinji believes that Eva Unit 01 is nothing more than a giant robot (Episode 1). He releases after the battle that Eva is something special underneath all the armor (Episode 2). The Evangelions are modeled after the four Barons of Hell from Judeo-Christian mythology.


Four Barons of Hell:- The first Baron has one large eye--Eva Unit 00 The second Baron has a single horn upon its head--Eva Unit 01 The third Baron is blood red with four eyes and two jaws--Eva Unit 02 The fourth Baron is pitch black with exceedingly long arms --Eva Unit 03

The religious symbolism in Neon Genesis Evangelion does not stop at organisms. NERV itself is full, in every sense of the word, of symbolism. The phrase, "God's in His Heaven; All's Right With the World" can be seen clearly underneath the NERV logo. Then there is the MAGI computer system which has been named after the three wise men, Melchior, Balthazar, and Casper. Gendou's office is full of mystery as it has the Systema Sephiroticum, drawn by the German priest Athanasius Kircher in 1953, on the ceiling. It was here that we were first introduced to Adam, the first human, which is said to be the corner-stone of the Human Instrumentality Project. Deep inside the Central Dogma is the LCL plant which contains the second Angel Lillith, who in Judeo-Christian mythology was the first wife of Adam. Lillith is attached to a crucifix-like support by the Lance of Longinus, which is probably symbolizing Jesus and the Spear of Destiny. Lillith has seven eyes on its face which represent the seven eyes of God. The third impact is said to occur when an Angel is able to come together with Lillith. The two other "impacts" were the flood and the melting of Antarctica respectively. The second impact occured when NERV was trying to shrink the first Angel, Adam, down into embryo form.

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