I recently completed "Eva" and gained some new insights into this work that started the mainstream textual research trend of animation and is still evolving. This work can be said to be an intertextuality of various cultural archetypes borrowed in its setting. Therefore, these prototypes need to be put back into their own ideological system and cultural background to truly understand their meaning. This can not only help us interpret "what eva is talking about", it can further answer "why it is like this" .
In the interpretation, we have to avoid a common misunderstanding, that is, some key elements in eva correspond to a single prototype, and then apply it simply and rigidly, and confine it to the Judeo-Christian system. This is inconsistent with the fact of creation. Specific to eva, there are three points that need special attention:
First, in the same element (such as characters and events), multiple archetypes are assembled, and they are embodied in different aspects. Typical as Lilith. On the level of "human origin", she corresponds to the part of Lilith in the Judaism tradition as the "ancestor of demons", but she does not have the identity of "wife" and "mother", because she has not been combined with anyone ( Whether it is Adam or Satan), but independently bred human beings; and in the third impact that has not yet occurred, it began to have the meaning of "mother god"; but the divinity of this "mother god" has more sources. Nix, the night god in Orpheusism in ancient Greece.
Second, eva is a work with a distinctly subversive nature. Therefore, in the story, some elements are deliberately turned over from the identity of their prototypes, good and evil, etc., which can be called " devil reversal ." The most typical example is the identity of human beings and apostles.
Third, eva completely uses a set of Judeo-Christian "vocabulary" on the surface, such as Adam, Lilith, the apostle, the gun of Longinus, and the ubiquitous image of the cross. But its core is not the case. At least half of other religious and philosophical concepts are hidden under this Judeo-Christian appearance, such as the "egg" image that has appeared many times. This part is often overlooked.
The author believes that there are four main sources of eva's worldview:
- Judaism-Christian tradition, Kabbalah, dualism
- Pan-Hellenic Tradition: Orpheus Tradition, Platonism
- Modern German Philosophy: Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche
- Jung's Psychoanalytic Psychology
These contents will be analyzed in detail later.
Because there are a lot of nouns such as documents and characters in eva that are the same as those in the real world, but the meanings of the two are subtle differences. All references to eva are underlined (such as "Dead Sea Documents" ) to avoid confusion.
The quotation of the eva worldview in this article is based on the comic version in principle, and some of it involves the tv version and the old theater version. Lots of spoilers, please read carefully.
contents
For your convenience, the full-text catalog is as follows:
Part I. prophecy, the gospel and the end of the Messianic prophecies plan based on the book | fulfillment Gospel | Third Impact | non-Christ-like re-creation
Part II. Dead Sea Documents and the Battle of Light and Darkness "Dead Sea Documents" | Dualism | Kuran Clan | Sons of Light and Sons of Darkness | Dislocation of Positions | No "Atonement" | Apostle | Three Impacts
Part III. Human Completion: "Oneness with God" and "Eternal Reincarnation " Plato's Ideas and Values | Neo-Platonism's " Oneness " | Debate on Identity and Diversity | Shinji's Choice | Eternal Reincarnation
Part IV. Philosopher’s AT Field, Orpheus’s Night and Egg AT Field and the Principle of Individualization | Kant’s Thing-in-itself | Schopenhauer’s Will for Life and "Principle of Individualization" | Nietzsche’s Sun God and Wine God | Hegel's Self-Awareness | Orpheus Tradition
Part I. Prophecy, the Gospel, and the End
Messiah plan based on prophecy
The core of eva's story is based on the prophecies of an unearthed scripture " Dead Sea Document ", and the savior action-"Human Completion Project". The construction of Eva and the establishment of organizations such as Nerv are all for this purpose.
This "Dead Sea Document" (also known as "Dead Sea Scrolls") is a real existence, and is generally used as a starting point for interpretation. But it cannot be viewed in isolation. The "Dead Sea Document" is not as special as many people think, but a part of many Jewish apocalyptic literature in the three centuries BC. To discuss it, we must first separate its commonalities and characteristics.
In fact, before that, there is an even earlier zeroth question, which is
Why should we make such a grand plan based on the prophecies of an ancient scripture?
Messiah
This involves the history of the Jews and their Messianic beliefs. The Jews are a troubled nation. Their predecessor, the Israelites, is considered a descendant of the same ancestor Jacob in the "Bible · Old Testament". The descendants of Jacob's twelve sons evolved into the twelve tribes of Israel. They were reduced to slaves in Egypt, and they were taken out of Egypt by Moses to the land of Canaan (today Palestine, Syria and Lebanon off the coast). This is the story of Exodus from Egypt. In Canaan, after constant wars and exchanges with the locals, they had a short-lived unified and powerful kingdom in the tenth century, which was the 80 years of the rule of the two kings David and Solomon. After that the kingdom split into two branches in the north and south. The eleven tribes of Israel in the north were destroyed by the kingdom of Assyria and gradually merged into other peoples. They were called "the eleven scattered tribes." Nebuchadnezzar II, king of the New Kingdom of Babylon, was decades after the death of the Northern Kingdom, and they were later Jews.
The Jews were moved to the native Babylon by the Babylonians to bear hard labor and hard labor. This incident is known as the "Prison of Babylon" and "The Great Diaspora" in history. The impact of this incident on the cultural psychology of the Jews is immeasurable. In exile and suffering of the Jews in sinks, we hope savior to rescue their pain, then slowly formed Messianism (Messianism).
The term "Messiah", namely Messiah in Hebrew, is now generally understood as "Savior". In Greek, it is translated as Christos (Χριστός), which is " Christ ", which is the name of Jesus later. Its original meaning is "anointed one." Around the first millennium BC, in the Eastern Mediterranean region, highly respected prophets or priests often apply anointing oil on the heads of newly succeeding monarchs or priests to determine their status, which is called "anointing." So the original Messiah is the true monarch in this world.
But the Jews in the "Great Diaspora" no longer have a country and a king. Therefore, they eagerly look forward to the return of the ideal Davidian monarch to lead the nation out of slavery and rebuild a powerful country. So "Messiah" evolved into the meaning of "ideal monarch in the future". Later, although they were allowed to return to their hometown by Cyrus the Great of Persia, they were further persecuted by the Greeks and Romans after Alexander's Eastern Expedition, especially in religious areas. As a result, the Jews further developed the concept of "doomsday" and believed that the end is just around the corner. When the doomsday comes, God will implement the final judgment, destroy all evil, and establish a new ideal and righteous kingdom, not only for the Jews, but also for the world. The Messiah has evolved into the "savior" of the doomsday, coming in the doomsday, cooperating with God in the final judgment, and permanently ruling the new ideal world after the doomsday.
Prophecy
"Messiah" belongs to the future and is extremely anticipated, so a large number of " prophecy " has appeared . What they predicted was the coming of the Messiah. The prophecies depicting the "ideal monarch" Messiah are mostly seen in the prophets of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and other prophets written in the "Bible · Old Testament" during the "Great Exile" period. The depiction of the Messiah as the "Savior of the Last Days" is mainly Jewish apocalyptic literature that was popular in the two to three hundred years before and after AD. The author often uses obscure symbolic brushwork to predict that the end is bound to come. Among them, "The Book of Daniel" put forward the term "son of man", which became the same concept as "Messiah".
These prophecies all enumerate the scene and many elements of the "Messiah" and describe the world after the Messiah comes. for example:
Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign that a virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a child, and he will be named Immanuel. "(Isaiah 7:14)
"Because there is a baby born for us, and a son is given to us; the government will be on his shoulders, and his name is Wonder, Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and peace will be Increase infinitely; he will rule his kingdom on David’s throne, and make it firm and stable with justice and justice, from now to forever.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)
"The Lord said, the day is coming. I will raise up a righteous seed for David. He will reign and act wisely. He will exercise justice and righteousness on earth. In his day, Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. ; His name shall be called the Lord our righteousness." (Jeremiah 23:5-6)
The apocalyptic literature of the named prophet Ezra and the second scriptures of the Old Testament, the Second Ezra, have a more detailed description of the coming of Messiah and the signs of the end:
These are the signs: when all the world is in the pangs of chaos, the end is coming. The road to truth will be obscured, and there will be no more faith in the world. Evil will continue to grow until it becomes worse than you already know.
The country you see now ruling the world will be in ruins, with no residents and no travelers. After this, if God the Most High lets you live long enough, you will see that country is in chaos.
The sun will suddenly shine at night, and the moon will appear during the day. The trees will shed blood, the stones will speak; countries will be in chaos; the movement of the stars will also change.
A king hated by everyone will begin to rule, and all birds will fly away. The fish will be washed up on the shore of the Dead Sea. A person who doesn't know anyone will speak out at night. Everyone can hear it. The earth will crack in many places and fire flames will be emitted from it. Beasts will leave the fields and forests, and women will give birth to monsters during menstruation. Fresh water will become salty. Friends everywhere will attack each other. Knowledge will disappear, and reason will be hidden. Although many people look for it, they cannot find it.
This is the historical background in which the "Dead Sea Documents" appeared. At this level, it is not special. The part borrowed in eva serves as a "prophecy" similar to the above.
In the age of prophecy, many believers believed in it, followed a series of precepts, and waited for the appearance of the Messiah. When the Messiah appears, find him and follow him to perform miracles. SEELE in "Eva" is such a group of believers who believe in prophecies, and they have a lot of social resources, so they can always promote the Messiah 's coming plan, which is "human completion".
The fulfillment of the gospel
In the prophetic books and apocalyptic literature of the Old Testament, there are a large number of prophecies about the coming of the Messiah. So did these prophecies later come true?
The Christians said it was fulfilled, the Jews said it was not.
In the "Bible", the "Old Testament" is a classic of Judaism and is recognized and inherited by Christianity. The "New Testament" is a unique Christian scripture. There are four books in the "Bible·New Testament" that record the life of Jesus, namely the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of John, collectively referred to as the "Four Gospels."
The prophecies of the "Old Testament" prophecies about the "ideal monarchy Messiah" can be combined to outline a picture: the descendants of the David family, born of a virgin pregnancy, and a humble ride into Jerusalem on a donkey To be king, to be both a king and a priest, and to rule righteously, the kingship will last forever.
The life of Jesus recorded in the four gospels in the "New Testament" is a response to these prophecies. The believers of Jesus therefore believed that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah and the Son of God Jehovah, so they called him Jesus Christ (the Greek word "Christ" is used because the earliest version of the New Testament that remains today is in Greek) Written). On the basis of the "Old Testament", Jesus created innovative doctrines and denominations, which later developed into Christianity . His first believers were also Jews, the most important being the Twelve Apostles who attended the Last Supper , and St. Paul, who later joined and made great contributions to doctrine and preaching. After the continuous preaching of the apostles, Christianity soon became a universal religion that transcended the nation.
Other Jews, especially those in power, did not recognize Jesus, thinking that he was heresy. After being betrayed by Judas, a betrayer among Jesus' disciples, Jesus was arrested at the "Last Supper" and sentenced to death by the Roman governor Pilate who administers Jerusalem at the strong request of the Jews and crucified. But his followers believe that Jesus rose from the tomb three days after his death and ascended to heaven on the top of the Mount of Olives.
When Jesus was on the cross, a Roman centurion Ronginus used a spear to pierce Jesus' flanks to determine his life and death. The holy blood pierced by the spear splashed into the eyes of the almost blind Langinus, letting him see the light again. He was transformed at this moment and became a monk who could perform miracles. And this gun, because infected Holy Blood, has become a Christian holy Michelangelo Yunus gun (Lance of Longinus). Therefore, the gun of Longinus in "Eva" can pierce all AT-fields, because it is based on this long spear that once pierced the body of the gods.
It can be seen from the above that the content of the four gospels is the fulfillment of the Messiah's prophecy. The main story of "Eva" is also the fulfillment of the predictions of the "Dead Sea Document" , so its name is " Evangelion " (新世纪エヴァンゲリオン), and Shinji corresponds to the Son of Man Jesus . But this borrowing only stops at the step of "this is fulfilled". The specific "fulfillment" content has nothing to do with the content recorded in the Four Gospels.
The prophecies of the "Dead Sea Document" in "Eva" have nothing to do with the real "Dead Sea Document". Where the "harbinger" of various elements, or trigger conditions, mainly on the basis of the "New Testament" crucifixion imagery plus the ancient Greek orphism traditional re-creation, a total of three:
1. Ten evas gathered (from the Jewish mysticism Kabbalah)
2. The spear of Longinus pierced the No. 1 machine (from the Passion of Jesus in the Gospels of the New Testament)
3. Adam, apostle or eva combined with Lilith (from Orpheusism)
Non-Christian re-creation
"Doomsday" is not the real end, but to prepare for the next "re-creation" .
In "Eva", this part is the same as the "destroying the world " link, divided into two possibilities: the first is that human beings as the "child of darkness" are completely wiped out from the earth, and the world after that is completely apostolic and has nothing to do with human beings. . The second type is "human completion". The latter is the result that SEELE wants to promote, and its content has nothing to do with Judaism-Christian culture.
In the Gospels, the coming of Jesus brings salvation to mankind, but the "completeness of mankind" does not have the nature of salvation. The greatest feature of the post-apocalyptic creation of the two major religions is that they are judged on the basis of morality and belief and determine the whereabouts of each soul. This kind of morality and distinction between different people does not exist in "Eva".
The "human complement" of "Eva" is "combining the human soul into one body". And this concept does not exist in all Judaism and Christian traditions.
Therefore, the "human complementation" in "Eva", that is, the " re-creation " link, has nothing to do with the Judaism and Christian systems. This is a point that is easy to deviate when reading. Its cultural prototype is mainly derived from Pan-Hellenic Orpheusism and Platonism , and is reflected in modern philosophy and Jungian theory. This is something later.
Part II. Dead Sea Documents and the War of Light and Darkness
"Dead Sea Documents"
Finally came the link to explain the peculiarities of the Dead Sea Document itself. "Eva" chose this book because it has two unique characteristics compared to other Jewish prophecies: dualism and emphasis on struggle .
In 1947, in a cave in the sparsely populated Khirbet Qumran (also translated as "Qumran") on the northwest coast of the Dead Sea, a shepherd found an ancient scripture sealed in a urn. In the following ten years, more ancient scriptures were unearthed in nearby caves.
These ancient scriptures are collectively referred to as "Dead Sea Scrolls" (Dead Sea Scrolls, mostly translated as "Dead Sea Scrolls" in China), and are considered to be a branch of Judaism in Palestine from the third century BC to the first century AD-the Kuran Clan Classic. The Kuran sect is often regarded as a member of the Essenian sect that advocates hermitage in Judaism. This Essianism is closely related to John the Baptist in the Gospels of the New Testament-and John the Baptist is named because he baptized Jesus. Therefore, the relationship between the Kuran Clan and later Christianity is full of imagination and controversy in academia.
The unearthed "Dead Sea Documents" are mainly divided into three parts: one is the manuscript of the Bible (of course, only the "Old Testament"); the other is the commentary, interpretation and supplement of the Old Testament according to its own doctrine (these supplement the new chapters of the Old Testament) , Generally regarded as "apocrypha" and "apocrypha"); the third is the prophecy about the end.
dualism
In orthodox Judaism, it is strictly monotheism, which can also be said to be monism-everything in the world originates from the creation, omnipotent and omnipotent God of Jehovah. The so-called "good" is to obey God's law, and "evil" is to deviate from the law, that is, to deviate from God's correct belief. Throughout the "Old Testament", all "evil deeds" are essentially weak or wrong beliefs, especially idolatry and foreign gods. These foreign gods are false, do not exist, and have no power, so they are not the source of "evil" power. There is no "evil origin" that can rival God's goodness in the world. The act of believing in a false god is "evil" because it causes people not to do "good"—that is, to believe in God correctly. The believers do not need to "struggle" with anyone, as long as they return to the correct faith piously, God will naturally give them the ideal kingdom of God.
But the doctrine of the "Dead Sea Documents" of the Kuran Order is different. Especially in the important piece "The Battle of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness" , a clear "dualism" idea appeared. "Evil/Dark Primal" appeared, and it was Belial the demon king (Belial, that is, the "crazy magician" in "Angel Sanctuary". The war he led was The prototype of the later "Lucifer led the 1/3 angel rebellion" event). Belial is a fallen angel, his ability is almost worthy of contending with God. He led all the heretics and heretics who deviated from the right way in the world to form an army of "sons of darkness" and fought fiercely with the army of "sons of light" led by angels. The whole world is the battlefield where the two battle. This battle will last for 40 years. The two sides fought three times and each had the upper hand. Finally, after the unremitting struggle of the Son of Light, Belial and the Son of Darkness were defeated, and the Kingdom of God came.
The emergence of this doctrine is due to the influence of the dual religion from Persia, namely Zoroastrianism, the state religion of Persia (commonly known as Zoroastrianism, but this title has a derogatory meaning and is not recommended). Its core doctrine is that the origin of the world is the two supreme gods independently produced-the origin of light and the good, Ahura Mazda and the origin of darkness and evil, Akhriman. Light means good, and evil is equivalent to darkness . The history of the entire world is the eternal battle between the two camps. The good side is Mazda, the gods of light, and the true believers, and the evil side is Akhriman, the dark demons, and the heretics. The struggle is divided into three stages, each lasting three thousand years, with light and dark gaining power respectively. In the end, the light prevailed, and Achliman and the demons were repelled forever into the realm of darkness. The wicked in the world were destroyed, and the righteous enjoyed eternal happiness with God in the kingdom of heaven.
Comparing the two, we can see how deeply influenced the world view of the "Dead Sea Document", including details such as three encounters. Of course, after all, it has not broken away from the framework of monotheism. The demon king Belial is still lower than God (the Persian gods of light and dark are completely equal), and the angels are the leaders of the Army of Lights (Later generations gradually believe that the commanding angel of the Army of Lights is Mi Caleb) rather than the deity of God. But compared to the monotheistic tradition, it has turned upside down. The demonology of later Christianity was also greatly influenced by this trend of thought.
Looking back at "Eva", we can see the vivid dualism in its worldview . In the Earth-Moon world , there are two completely equal camps:
On one side is Adam (the first apostle) and his apostles . They come from the earth and are the native life of the earth. The source of its life is the "White Moon" located under the Antarctic.
On the other side are Lilith (Second Apostle) and the humans from her . They originate from celestial bodies outside the earth, and are outsiders. This celestial body was captured as the moon after it hit the earth. The source of their lives is the "Black Moon" underground in Hakone, Japan.
Therefore, in "Eva", the war between humans and the apostles is the "War between the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness" recorded in the "Dead Sea Documents". When this war is divided, the end will come, followed by the rebirth of the kingdom of God and the world.
Kuranzong
The dualistic Kuran sect is more responsible and active in the process towards the end of the day than the monistic traditional Judaism. The latter only needs to obey the precepts and be faithful to God, and then wait for God's salvation. God can do all miracles, and all evil is vulnerable. The former must be the son of light, fighting side by side with the messenger of God, through hard and bloody battles, and defeating the army of darkness that is comparable to one's own strength, so that the doomsday will fall to a bright future for mankind, especially for Orthodox believers. Of course, they firmly believe that the future is bound to come.
The Kuran Clan believes that the Law of Moses is the true way to salvation, but it has lost its original intention after the falsification and distortion of "false prophets" and "false teachers" in the past. They believe that they are the true elect, the only ones who have a correct interpretation of the "Bible". They followed Moses’ warnings, lived in seclusion in the wilderness, and shouldered the sole responsibility of guiding people back to the right path in times of chaos.
It can be clearly seen that in "Eva", SEELE, who believes that he has the secret truth behind the scenes and is responsible for leading humanity, corresponds to the Kuran Sect.
The Kuranzong believes that the end is imminent. The "Dead Sea Documents" recorded their detailed and sophisticated combat plan, and in it there was a military organization similar to that of the Roman Legion. Of course, it is not known whether they have actually implemented it. This is why SEELE established Nerv, a spy agency of the military organization, and used it as a trigger for "Human Completion"-the main practitioner of the Doomsday Plan-which corresponds to the Kuran Clan's vision of military organization.
The human (Eva) and the apostle fight, occupy the largest in the process of scenes, it is in line with the true spirit of the "Dead Sea Scrolls", the brightness of the war must end before the believers to be hands-on.
But then there is a question: these two parties, who is the son of light and who is the son of darkness?
Son of Light and Son of Darkness
From the many hints above (the moon of "black" and "white", Adam and Lilith), it is obvious that in the world of "Eva", humans are the children of darkness, and the apostles are the children of light .
"Eva", the human race is Lilith (Lilith), son of this Jewish - Christianity is the opposite. Lilith's name is not found in the "Bible", but in the important Jewish folklore "the Alphabet of Ben-sira" (the Alphabet of Ben-sira, dated 7-10th century). In this legend, Lilith and Adam were made out of clay by God. The two are mutually independent and equal in origin-this is the same as in "Eva"-so she was unwilling to live under Adam and left. The Garden of Eden fled to the Red Sea. There, she refused the persuasion of the angels and insisted on crossing the Red Sea to become a female demon (since "Exodus", the Red Sea has a strong symbolic meaning of "crossing boundaries"). It is generally believed that the "Night Witch" mentioned in the "Bible · Old Testament · Book of Isaiah" refers to this Lilith, so she is also called the "Night Demon" . In fact, Lilith originated from the older Mesopotamia, the evil spirit Lilith who attacked men at night. Therefore, it is inevitable for the Jews to arrange her exodus and demonization.
Next, in the Jewish Kabbalah legend, she married the demon Samer; in Islam, she made peace with Satan. In short, Lilith is not only a female demon, but also the wife of the demon king. The son of the demon they gave birth to, called Lilin, is considered to be a female demon who charms men in dreams.
Here is an explanation about the "Devil". In the centuries between the writing of the Old Testament and the New Testament, several images of the devil appeared in texts such as apocalyptic literature. Satan, Belial, Summer, etc., in their respective texts, are the only kings at the apex of all demons. Later in the third century or so, Christian theologians arranged and partially merged these images, confirming that Lucifer was equal to Satan, the devil and the lord of hell, and Belie and Summer became the advanced demons second only to him.
In the "Bible", humans are all sons of Adam and Eve. This is well known.
In the world of "Eva", the concept of Lilith and Li Lin appeared . Lilith here , similar to Lilith in the Jewish tradition, is the mother of demons, but not exactly the same. In the first impact, that is, in the creation , she did not combine with any other existence (whether it was Adam or other demons), but independently gave birth to all human beings. At this time, Lilith did not possess any gender characteristics, and did not have the identity of "wife" and "mother". Adam and Lilith both produce their own offspring independently, and there is no distinction between " Adam as the father and Lilith as the mother".
Combining the above dualistic perspective, it is clear that she alone is the " dark origin " ( in the world of "Eva", the concept of good/evil is basically not involved , only light and dark) itself. She absorbed the godhead of the demon king Believ in the "Dead Sea Documents" of the Kuran sect , and was even higher, equivalent to the dark original Akhriman in Zoroastrianism, and completely equivalent to the light original. At the same time, there is no "God" in the Judeo-Christian sense in the world of "Eva" , and the origin of light is Adam .
The identity of Lilith's "wife" and "mother" did not begin to appear until the end of the day, that is, the third shock (including the process of all parties' efforts to move towards the third shock). At this time, Adam , the apostle and eva competed to merge with him to achieve the end of the day. This identity has nothing to do with Lilith of Judaism, but the "mother god" of Orpheusism. This is something later.
Dislocation
Li Lin in "Eva" is a human being . Human beings are the dark existence originating from foreign invaders, and they are the "sons of darkness" in the "Dead Sea Documents" of the Kuran sect. This is a great subversion, the so-called "devil's reversal" , which brings about a dislocation of position and further a reversal of perspective. It is not simply the reverse, but in different contexts, there are different roles. Readers cannot choose sides once and for all, but constantly change and flip their perspectives. This is precisely the tension in the setting of "Eva".
In the real Kuran sect, those who believe in the "Dead Sea Document" and act in accordance with its loyalty are the "Orthodox" in the worldview of the scriptures, and the "Son of Light" who will surely defeat the "Son of Darkness." This book records and predicts their victory and bright future. The post-apocalyptic world belongs to them.
The content of the " Dead Sea Document " in "Eva" is split into two branches, which respectively predict the victory of the "son of light" and the victory of " humanity ". Because the identities of the two no longer overlap.
The triumphant branch of the "Child of Light" basically corresponds to the "Dead Sea Document" of the Kulanzong. Heaven. There will be no humans after this branch. The Apostle of the Son of Light regained its own earth and established the kingdom of light, while human beings were permanently erased from the world as the Son of Darkness.
" Human " Winning branch, it is true, "Dead Sea Scrolls" no "dark child" to win new branch, namely "human-completion." Humans destroy the apostles and then become gods. But the souls of all people are united and become gods together, and each individual has perished, and the life in this world will still be annihilated. This process of elimination can be regarded as another form of "third shock."
In "Eva", SEELE , who believes in the "Dead Sea Document" and acts on behalf of human beings , as a "son of darkness", is to avoid the branch of light over darkness and achieve the branch of darkness over light. Of course, all parties involved in the Human Completion Project, SEELE, Ikogentang, Ikurei, and the Apostle, all have different plans.
There is no "atonement"
Some analysts believe that SEELE's actions in "Eva" are an atonement for mankind. And there are two possible sources of sin, one is that as the son of Lilith , he is of human origin, and the other is to steal the fruit of wisdom. Both of these claims are unfounded.
In the background culture involved in "Eva", "atonement" is a purely Christian concept, not found in Judaism, nor in other cultures and philosophies. However, neither of the above two assumptions makes sense in the context of Christianity.
In the "Bible", humans are not the sons of Lilith, but the products of God's creation. The nature of human beings is light and good. They are only sinned by eating the fruit of the tree of wisdom, so they can "atonish their sins" and be saved because of their sins being forgiven. Lilith and all the demons, including their descendants, in the theories of most theologians, are purely "evil" at the root, and can only be eliminated in the final judgment or sent to hell forever. There is no "atonement". "And the possibility of being saved. In "Eva", human beings belong to darkness from the root. They are not originally light but contaminated with darkness. According to the Christian doctrine, this sin of birth cannot be redeemed.
And stealing the fruit of wisdom is a sin in the Bible because there is a supreme one God—God Jehovah. This God clearly told Adam and Eve that they could not eat the fruit of the tree of wisdom. They violated God's command—this is the highest truth and law in the world—so they committed a sin. In the world of "Eva", this God does not exist. There are only two origins in the world-the light origin Adam and the dark origin Lilith . No god has said that the fruit of the tree of wisdom cannot be eaten. The tree of life and the tree of wisdom are just the evolutionary directions chosen by light and darkness. The two are absolutely equal-this is a dualistic world. There is no sin here, and there is no God that can allow you to redeem it.
The concept of "sin" has never been involved in "Eva". The "Human Completion Project" is the root cause of dissatisfaction with human beings and the pursuit of transforming them into advanced forms-that is, becoming a god . Becoming a God by oneself, if this idea is put in Christianity, it is an arrogance of God and the greatest crime. It is impossible for human beings to "atone for sins" by committing greater sins.
apostle
Finally, talk about the apostles. In "Eva", there are two sets of images of apostles: one is the twelve apostles who are constantly coming (and the human being is the thirteenth apostle , there are a total of seventeen in the animated version), they are open lines, from the name See; the second is the thirteen members of SEELE.
In Judaism-Christianity, there are two sets of corresponding concepts: one is the thirteen apostles who surrounded Jesus when he was alive, including Judas the betrayer; the other is the twelve "holy people" in the Kuran Clan. "Form the general headquarters that controls everything.
The two of the two are not in one-to-one correspondence with each other, but are intermingled and mixed together. SEELE in "Eva" undoubtedly corresponds to the twelve commanders of the Kuran Clan in the role of the whole process; at the same time, the number thirteen undoubtedly implies the thirteen apostles beside Jesus at the Last Supper table (strictly In other words, there were twelve people attending the Last Supper, including Judas. After Judas betrayed, another one came in. This is the source of the number of thirteen. In fact, there is no scene where thirteen is present together).
The apostle in "Eva" uses the same word as the apostle in the "New Testament" (Apostle), but the actual identity and deeds are not similar to it. Their respective names come from Angels of Judaism and Christianity, but their identities are closer to the "giants" in the "Bible·Old Testament·Genesis".
When people became more numerous in the world and gave birth to daughters, the sons of God saw the beauty of human women and chose them at will and married them. The Lord said, since a man is natural, my spirit will not live in him forever. However, his life can still reach one hundred and twenty years. At that time, there were great men on the ground, and later the sons of God and the women of men had intercourse and gave birth to children, who were famous in ancient times. The Lord saw that human sins are great on the earth, and everything he thinks about all day long is evil. Jehovah regretted that he had created man on the earth, and his heart was sad. (Genesis 5:1-6)
This "ancient heroic and famous person" is an angel ("Son of Jehovah" here is just a general term, different from the meaning of Jesus being the only son of God) and a giant born of a human woman. In the Apocrypha and apocalyptic literature "The Book of Enoch", this period of history is expanded. God left some "Watchers" to take care of the world. These angels to Asa diarrhea Le (Azazel) headed by mating with human women, and teach human-made armor, gems, astrology and other knowledge. This is a further extension of humans stealing the fruit of the tree of wisdom. From the perspective of Judaism, it is a sin for humans to master wisdom, and it is of course a felony to teach humans to use more knowledge for mundane battles and enjoyment, which will make people farther away from the way of God. But the giants born by angels and humans ate up the produce on the earth and caused huge disasters. So the Lord was furious and threw the guard angels into the prison under the earth, and flooded everything to destroy everything. This is the explanation of the source of the great flood in the Book of Enoch.
Three shocks
It can be seen from the above that the three impacts of "Eva" correspond to events in the "Bible".
The first impact corresponds to the creation of the world. Although the creation in "Eva" is dualistic, and the devil is reversed.
The second impact corresponds to the flood. The Antarctic disappeared, the water level rose, and half of the world’s population was lost. At the same time a giant ( apostle ) appeared.
The third impact corresponds to the end, and at the same time the image of Jesus coming from the Gospels of the "New Testament" is added.
At this point, the cultural background of Judaism-Christianity has basically come to an end.
Part III. Human Completion: "Oneness with God" and "Eternal Reincarnation"
Next, is the most important theme in the "Eva" series, "Human Completion" and AT-field, or the unity and dispersion of human souls. In the world view of "Eva", people and people maintain a state of being independent of each other because of a force field called AT-field; and "human complementation" is to break this mutual independence, which can also be said to be isolation. , Unite all people into a whole.
This is not a Judeo-Christian concept, but a philosophical tradition derived from ancient Greece. In this concept, the "division" between people is low-level and imperfect, and "unity" is high-level and divine. The popularity of this trend began with Plato, and it was Nietzsche that initiated its ultimate denial.
Plato's Ideas and Values
Plato (429-347 BC), living in Athens in the late classical era of Greece, is the one who has the greatest influence on future generations. "Idea" is his most important theory. This concept divides the world into two levels: the "ideal world" and the "sensible world". The latter is what we call the "real world" every day, and all kinds of things in it can be understood through the senses; the former is composed of various "ideas" that can only be understood by rational reasoning. Ideas are abstract ideas common to many concrete things. For example, when we mention "dogs", what often comes to mind is not a specific dog, but a universal image of a dog. This is the "idea".
Plato believes that "ideas" are real, eternal, perfect, and advanced. The sensible world is low-level, imperfect, and immutable. The things in it, such as a specific dog, are the incomplete "fake" of the concept of "dog" because it is "divided into" the "dog". "The idea of becoming a dog. Plato once used a well-known cave metaphor to describe this process, namely "Plato's Cave".
This theory sounds counter-common sense, but if you think about the manufacturing process of modern industry, you will realize its truth. Take the car as an example. First, the general design of this model of car appears in the designer's drawings, that is, the "concept prototype", and then many specific cars are produced on the production line according to the drawings. These cars are "sensible", they are basically the same as the drawings, but each has individual characteristics in details. This is an idealistic process.
The discourse on Plato's worldview is most mainly in his "Timeo". He believed that the universe was created by gods. Because of his all-knowledge and all-goodness, this creation god created a copy of it-the universe we live in, based on the most ideal idea. Because the universe is similar to its perfect prototype, it has the characteristics of "perfection"-perfection, self-sufficiency, order, and rationality, as well as life and soul. It includes everything and has the most uniform and perfect shape-a sphere. There are seven kinds of movements in the world, and the universe itself has only one of them-the most perfect self-rotation.
From the above, we can see Plato's value orientation: simplicity is better than diversity, universal is better than individual, self-sufficiency is better than dependence, evenness is better than unevenness, and stillness is better than movement . This represents a very common orientation in the ancient world, from which we can already see the clues of the idea of "human complementation".
The "One" of Neo-Platonism
In the third century, Plotinus (204-270) in Alexandria, Egypt, inherited and developed the mysticism component of Plato's worldview, and created a philosophical school called " Neo-Platonism" (Neo-Platonism). At this time, more than 500 years have passed since Alexandria’s Eastern Expedition that began at the end of the first four centuries. The vast lands of Greece, Egypt, Canaan, and northwest India have already formed a cultural community built on the Greek language, in which civilizations communicate closely. , The most important cultural center is in Alexandria.
Plotinus believes that the highest and most essential existence of the world is the undifferentiated ultimate reality, called "The One" (The One) . The One is an abstract, impersonal, perfect and self-sufficient platonic god, pure light. Plotinus once described it like this: "It is everything and nothing; it may not be anything that exists, but it is all."
And all existences, including humans, are the products of the overflowing the Universe , like circles spreading out from the center of the circle. From the inside to the outside, that is, from high to low, it is divided into three levels: nous, soul, and matter. The farther the outer layer is, the farther away from the light of the One, the lower and weaker, the lower and the weaker, living in the darkness of light and weakening. The lowest level is the material world where our senses are.
This overflowing process is the distance of all things from the original one, which means differentiation, mixing and diversity , bringing conflicts and differences . In the eyes of neo-Platonism, this is a kind of degradation .
This process is reversible. Since all beings are formed and differentiated from the Tai first class, they all naturally desire to reintegrate into a whole and return to the unity of the “One” . This kind of return is the "deification" opposite to the fall, and it is also the highest pursuit of human spirituality. This is basically consistent with Plato's original value orientation.
The debate between identity and diversity
The above value orientation is very common in ancient philosophy, but it is often counter-intuitive to us modern people. This reflects the difference between ancient and modern concepts at the bottom.
Take Buddhism as an example. The Buddhist worldview is a vertical structure. The top layer is the thirty-third heaven, and the five realms below are asura, human, animal, evil spirit, and hell. The passage of time between the heavens and the earth is uneven. The higher the world, the more sacred and advanced, and the slower the passage of time. Therefore, after Buddhism was introduced into China, the concept of "one day in the sky and one year on the ground" appeared in Han. And the Tusita Heaven where Maitreya Bodhisattva is located, one day is equivalent to four hundred years in the world.
In the game "Revisited Fantasy World" made by modern people, the world view is similar to it. It is also a vertical structure with uneven up and down time. The higher the place, the more sacred and advanced it is. There is only the opposite, that is, the higher the time, the faster the passage of time.
The difference lies in the system. Modern people's thinking is based on the scientific and technological revolution and the theory of evolution. So we instinctively hold the concept of "progress" and believe that the world is moving forward. Then the faster the time, the longer the development time, the higher the level will be.
However, ancient philosophy generally believed and advocated a sacred origin of the "One too" type, which is quiet. Stillness means purity and identity, while movement means differentiation and diversification. Movement and variety derived from pureness and quietness is a kind of degradation, a road to decline. The purpose of repairing is to return to the pure and pure origin. Therefore, in the Buddhist world, the slower the time, the closer to the quiet, the more sacred and advanced, and the more the goal of spiritual ascent. The ultimate goal of practice is "Nirvana," and it must be outside the heavens and reach the "Four Sacred Realms" that is completely still and pure.
This idea of Neo-Platonism also had a great influence on Christian theology in the Middle Ages. Its essence is actually the denial of human beings , denying personal and worldly emotions and values, and pinning hopes on the other side of transcendence and pure spirit. In contrast, the concept of affirming the individual, diversity, life and movement on this shore is "humanism . "
Return to the Human Completion of the One
At this point, the meaning and motive of "unity" in "Eva" in "Human Completion" has been fully revealed.
Initially, Lilith gave birth to the thirteenth apostle (the eighteenth in the TV version). However, this apostle could not maintain a unified form, and split into numerous human individuals. The AT-field is created between each body to separate each other, so "diversity" is produced. And this AT-field is not strong enough, so that the individual bodies cannot be completely isolated, and they have to interact with each other, leading to long-term "mixing" and "fighting", which in turn means "sports." In ancient philosophical concepts, all this is a fall away from the divine origin.
The so-called "human complementation" is to break the AT-field in turn, merge the souls of all people into one, eliminate diversity, confusion and struggle, and then eliminate movement and return to the original and divine "One". Sublimation into a god . Of course, this is an abstract, impersonal god. In a sense, it can be inappropriately compared to the "Nirvana" of Buddhism.
Neo-Platonists believe that to achieve this kind of return to the One, it is not through an outward pursuit, but an inward spiritual depth. The human soul originates from the One and contains our connection with the One and the world as a whole. Just because of the chaos of the world, the soul is lost and forgotten its simple nature, thus losing this connection. Only through meditational spiritual practice, the soul returns to its original simplicity, transcends the limitations of material, senses, and intelligence, forgets its own existence, and returns to the true self, and then can once again experience the feeling of being one with the Taiyi. Be fascinated by the One.
Plotinus once described this state like this:
As far as we are concerned, here we should put other things aside, focus only on'this', throw away all our burdens, and become only'this'... Embrace God with our whole life, and even ours There is no part of life that is not closely connected to God. At this time, we can see God and ourselves as described by the oracle: we are in the splendor, full of intellectual light, or light itself, pure and light like a dream—in fact, we are already Become—God. "
This is the mental synchronization rate between the driver and eva in "Eva". When the synchronization rate reaches 400% of the limit, the driver will dissolve and become one with the eva, which is what Plotinus said is the concretization of the experience of being in one body with the Tai. The final completion of human beings means that everyone has reached this state, thus self-dissolving into the invisible and becoming one.
Because everything overflows from the great first, returning to the one is not only a return to the origin of divinity, but also a return to the origin of time. This kind of return often uses "return to Eden" as a metaphor in art. The Garden of Eden in the "Bible·Old Testament·Genesis" is the place where the first human ancestors Adam and Eve first lived after they were created, and it was the first paradise. When they were lured by a snake to eat the fruit of the tree of wisdom, they were punished and driven out of Eden, and began to experience death and reproduction. This symbolized the separation from the gods and the beginning of the concept of movement and time. Therefore, the Garden of Eden is also a symbol with the meaning of "primitive" and "stillness".
The Garden of Eden in the "Bible" is generally considered by scholars today to be in the southern part of the Mesopotamia, that is, in the territory of Babylon. After God drove Adam and Eve out of Eden, he set up cherubim guards on the east side of the garden to prevent them from going back and approaching the tree of life. The Cherub here comes from Kirabu, a holy beast commonly seen in Babylonian reliefs. In the eleventh volume of the "Eva" manga, when Nagisa Kaoru was about to set off to meet Lilith and cause the third impact, he stood on a stone statue of cherubim, symbolizing "return to the original."
"Eva" also has a science fiction background. The "time starting point" and "primordial life" of life on earth are, in a scientific sense, the "primitive soup" of 4.6 billion years ago, that is, LCL. So at the time of complete synchronization, the body also returns to LCL, which is a simile of "return" on another level.
Road to godhood
The completion of human beings in "Eva" is the road to godhood . In addition to the essence of the Plotinian "One" god, there are three metaphors, namely the Kabbalah Tree
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