Anime and Christianity.

[TsubasaKamen]

Hey everyone, I was inspired by the Holy Spirit tonight to share with you all how indirect Christian fundamentals are used in correlation with certain anime plots. What I mean is, just because the anime will not jump out and say "I am Christian!" does not mean that its inspirations does not come from the Jewish and Christian Bible. I compared the Bible with the plot of Sailor Moon S, the third season of Classic Sailor Moon, to give an idea of what I am talking about. I am in no way condemning anime. I love watching anime. But thought this would interest those of us who like to look deep into story plots of anime from a Christian and spiritual perspective. The following is what I wrote and it does contain SPOILER!

I am going to compare the plot of Sailor Moon S with the Jewish and Christian Bible. I decided to go with Sailor Moon S because it is among the selections of anime that deal with a plot that is absolutely based on Christian fundamentalism. The following will contain SPOILER so read at your own convenience.

In Sailor Moon S it starts with Rei Hino (Sailor Mars) having a visionary dream of the world's end, a coming time of destruction and desolation. This time is called the Silence in Sailor Moon S. Silence is a fitting word to use as the destruction of the Earth would silence the world that seems to be flowing in communications and activities day and night without rest.

The Bible tells us of a 7 Year Period called the Great Tribulation which will be a demonstration of the Wrath of God conducted through the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ Himself. God by Jesus Christ will wage war against prophesied armies that will surround Jerusalem and bring it to near extinction. Christ with His Church following Him from the clouds will slaughter these heathen armies so that the land of Israel will be drunk with the blood of immoral men lead by the Antichrist. It will take exactly seven months in order for all the bodies to be put into burial tombs and graves that is how much slaughter will be conducted during this Day of the Wrath of Almighty God by Jesus Christ. For more information and detail on this topic called "The Battle of Armageddon" please refer to Chapters 38 and 39 of the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel in the Holy Bible.

In order to prevent the Silence in Sailor Moon S a Messiah is sought after, a promised Savior of the Planet. That Messiah, according to Haruka (Sailor Uranus) is what she seeks to be ushered into a new age. But even though this Savior is indirectly pointed at as Sailor Moon (who, you guessed it, Saves the Planet from the Silence) another Messiah is also brought into existence, but a dark Messiah. "The Messiah of Silence." (Mistress Nine.) This Messiah of Darkness is only under one other power, a Powerful Life-form from the outer solar system that is more or less her empowerment. (Pharaoh 90.)

Sounds like a creative plot, doesn't it? Well. This plot was taken from the "Bible!" Jesus Christ is the prophesied and promised Messiah of the Jews, but not only for the Jews, but for the whole world that is Baptized into His Death, Burial, and Resurrection with the Holy Spirit. He has come to Save all who will place their faith in Him from the Wrath and Destruction of God that is actually just on the arisen. However, the Jews did not receive Jesus as their Messiah, and are in fact still waiting for their Messiah to come. They will in fact receive another Messiah that is as every bit as Dark and Evil as the Messiah of Silence in Sailor Moon (Mistress Nine) "The Antichrist" AKA "The Son of Perdition" AKA "The Man of Sin." You may be wondering where does Pharaoh 90 come into play, the only source of power that is higher than the Messiah of Silence? Satan is the evil spirit that will work through the Antichrist, giving the Antichrist his power in both religious and political affairs over the entirety of the world. In fact, he will sit in the Temple of God, showing himself that he is God, and will demand worship until he changes colors and stops the sacrificial system and the oblation.

Anime may not come out and say "I am Christian!" But most anime has its plot in the origins of Christian and Jewish scriptural literature. Sailor Moon is the Messiah of Salvation (Jesus Christ is the Messiah and Salvation in reality.) The Silence is correlated with the Great Tribulation Period prophesied to come on to the entirety of the world as a prioritization of the Glorious Second Coming of God by Jesus Christ. The Messiah of Silence (Mistress Nine) is in correlation to that of the Antichrist, and the higher power from the outer dimension (Pharaoh 90) is Satan.

Based on my Christian understanding of Bible prophecy and fundamentalism I easily seen where the inspiration of Sailor Moon S came from. THE BIBLE! That, or it was actually Satan that gave Naoko Takeuchi her inspirations to create a story that would literally captivate and mesmerize that of countless millions all around the world who love the series. Satan has the power to make us wealthy, famous, and popular, as he is the spirit and god of this world. But in all truth, it is the full picture of the story, prophecies, and fundamentals of the Holy Bible, God's Inspired Word, that the world revolves around.

Furthermore, the new age that Sailor Uranus briefly mentions in Sailor Moon S is also in the Bible! After the Rapture of the Church takes place at the Mid Half of the 7 Years of the Great Tribulation Period, and just after the Church returns with Christ at His Glorious Second Coming to Execute Judgment on all the ungodly for their ungodly deeds Christ will usher in a "New Age" called the "Kingdom Age" which will be a time period of precisely 1,000 years (Called The Millennium) when Christ will reign supreme over the entirety of the Earth as the Earth's One World President from the Holy City, Jerusalem.

Again, Christianity is not sounded like an alarm in anime, but most of the plots in anime like Sailor Moon S and many others are completely and absolutely INSPIRED BY THE BIBLE! But who gives the world the inspiration to wicker stories that originate from the Holy Scriptures? You guessed it, Satan, the spirit that gives a temporary glory to the perishing world.

Read more at http://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=760 ... HlMDwev.99

[Nate]

There's a flaw in your analysis, that being that Mistress 9, while being Pharaoh 90's messenger and the Messiah of Silence, was being battled by Hotaru from within. In the end, Mistress Nine was defeated by Hotaru so that she could take her true form as Sailor Saturn, who had the power to end the world (at the cost of her own life) and in fact used this power to defeat Pharoah 90, saving the world. Sailor Moon followed her in though, determined not to let her sacrifice herself.

Mistress 9 makes a very poor antichrist considering that she is defeated by the strength of Hotaru's will before she can destroy the planet, whereas the antichrist will actually succeed. This also brings up issues with free will, as in, Mistress 9 was an alien force who took over the innocent Hotaru's body. I would assume that the antichrist would be someone who does it because they want to, not because Satan is using their body like a puppet.

Furthermore both the Messiah of Silence and the Messiah both had the potential to destroy or save the world, depending on who held the Holy Grail. Unless you think the antichrist could actually succeed in defeating God, this also doesn't work.

I'm not saying the Bible didn't have any influence on Naoko Takeuchi's work. You don't put an item in called the Holy Grail and use the term Messiah without intentionally trying to evoke Christian mythology, but I would bet money she hasn't actually read the Bible and is merely just familiar with the most common representations of Christian beliefs.

Also Godzilla still remains the greatest Christian work ever made.

[Xeno]

List of all the Jewish/Christian references in Evangelion, which is definitely not a Christian or Jewish series. Just including references and terms doesn't make something inherently Christian.

#
666 (End of Evangelion, "type-666 defense/firewall program")[666 is the number of the beast in Christianity]

A

Acheron (Section of Bethany Base in Eva 2.0) [Acheron was the river bordering Hell in Dante's Inferno]
Adam (First Angel) [First human being of Genesis]
Angels (Sammael in OP and Angels #03 to #17 in the show) [Taken from Judaic lore]
Apostles (Translation of shito, Japanese counterpart of "Angel")
Ark ("Ark called Eva", EoE)

B

Bethany Base [Bethany (Beth anya ,"house of the suffering") was the birthplace of Mary mother of Jesus. In Eva 2.0 Bethany Base is where Mari is introduced.]

C

Chamber of Guf (#21', #23, #26') [Judaism, realm where souls originate]
Cocytus (Section of Bethany Base in Eva 2.0) [ninth circle of Hell in Dante's Inferno]
Cross / Crucifiction (#01, #02, #19, #25': Cross-shaped explosions of Sachiel, Zeruel, EVA-02, and EVA-01; Lilith on the cross; #18, EVA-03's aerial transport; #23, "double cross"-shaped depression in Terminal Dogma; #26', "crucifiction" of EVA-01 and Shinji, shape of Tree of Life, pose assumed by harpies upon death and EVA-01 upon going dormant, green crosses that form to launch souls into the air and float away once HIP fails]

D

Dead Sea Scrolls (Seele's Secret/Ura Dead Sea Scrolls) [The documents discovered in Qumran]
Divine Retribution/The Flood (World flooding from Second Impact) [Story of Noah]
Doors of Guf: See Chamber of Guf

E

Eva [First woman in Genesis, Chavvah/Eve, made from Adam]
Evangelions [Greek word for "gospel"]

F

Fruit of Life & Fruit of Knowledge/Wisdom (#26') S² Engine and Human's ability to reason

G

Gaghiel (angel ep. #08) [angel associated with fish and water]
Giant of Light (Form Adam assumes leading to Second Impact) [In Judaic lore, Adam before consuming the Fruit of Knowledge]
"God" [Used loosely throughout NGE is various senses of the term]
Golgotha Base (Golgotha was where Jesus was crucified)

H

Haloes (#23', appear above EVA-00 right before she self-destructs, Rebuild of Evangelion)

I

Israfel (angel ep. #09) [means The Burning One, angel of the trumpet in Islam]
Ireul (angel ep. #13) [supposedly the angel of fear]

L

Leliel (angel ep. #16) [Angel of night and demon prince of conception]
Lilith (Progenitor of humanity and Adam's counterpart) [Babylonian/Assyrian night demoness --> First wife of Adam in "Alphabet of Ben-Sira"]
Lilin (#24, spoken by Kaworu) [Demonic offspring of Judaic Lilith)
Limbo Area (Section of Bethany Base in Eva 2.0) [Limbo was the first circle of Hell in Dante's Inferno]
Lingam/Yoni (#26', Tree of Life entering GNR's Third Eye) [Sacred union of male and female, "fountain of life" placed in "source of all that exists", from Hinduism]

M

Malebolge System (Section of Bethany Base in Eva 2.0) [The eight circle of Hell in Dante's Inferno]
Many-Eyed Ones (OP, #26': Eyes on wings of Sammael, EVA-01, harpies; also sprouted by Tree of Life) [Description of various angels]
Marduk (Marduk Institute) [Central Babylonian/Assyrian god]
Medium/Yorishiro (#26', used in reference to EVA-01) [exact religious connotations undetermined]

R

Rainbow (whenever an angel dies) [The covenant between God and humanity not to destroy the world with water]
Ramiel (angel ep. #05 and #06) [means thunder of God, angel of hope, responsible for divine visions, and guides the souls of the faithful into Heaven.]
Red Earth (#14, referenced in Rei's monologue) [Judaism, used toform the first human(s)]
Red Earth Purification Ceremony (#26', mentioned by Seele) [exact source unknown]

S

Sachiel (angel ep. #01 and #02) [means the covering of God, angel of money, finance, law, politics, and religion]
Sahaquiel (angel ep. #12) [means Ingenuity of God, Angel of the Sky, positive aspects of Wealth and Business, Charity and Dignity]
Sandalphon (angel ep. #10) [means co-brother, archangel in Judaism and Christianity]
Shamshel (angel ep. #03) [means sun of God, said to have taught men the songs of the sun during the days of Jared]
Sephirotic Tree of Life (OP; ceiling of Gendo's office; #25', layout of circular "pools" in Terminal Dogma, with Rei inside Malkhuth; #26', projected into sky by Eva Series) [In Kabbalah, the Tree of Life diagramatically representing the path to become one with God, also to reunite God with Shekinah]
Seven Eyes of YHWH (Seele's crest, Lilith's mask) [YHWH described with 7 eyes throughout Bible; is this in Judaism, as well?]
Shekinah (concept possibly encompassed by Giant Naked Rei) [Divine presence; in Kabbalah, female emanation of God and antithesis of Lilith]
Souls [no comment ]
Spear of Longinus (organic weapon) [Spear used by Longinus to confirm Jahshua's/Jesus' death]
Stigmata (#26', given to EVA-01 and Shinji - in the wrong place!) [Nail wounds on the wrists (or, inaccurately, palms) of Jesus]
Star of David (#19, Gendo's Desk) [Symbol of Judaism]
Styx Shaft (Section of Bethany Base in Eva 2.0) [Styx was the fifth circle of Hell in Dante's Inferno and in Greek mythology the river separating Earth from the Underworld]

T

Tabgha Base ( Tabgha, "seven springs," was a valley in nothern Israel mentioned many times in the Bible)
Third Eye (#26', when GNR takes in the ToL, Eva 2.0 Evangelion Unit-08 and Eva Pseudo-Evolution) [from Eastern mysticism]
Three Wise Men (The MAGI Supercomputers: Balthasar, Caspar, Melchior)
Tree of Life (OP: diagram by Fludd; #26': fusion of EVA-01 and Spear) [Archetypal religious concept, found in Judaism and central to Kabbalah]
Trinity (Seele's crest, three triangles-within-a-triangle; #26', symbol formed by EVA-01 and harpies, only visible very briefly) [Christian concept of a tripartite god]

W

12 Wings (OP: Sammael, EVA-01; #26': Lilith, EVA-01) [Number of wings possessed by Sammael/Satan]
Wheels of Fire (#23, Armisael) [Used to describe the choir of angels called ophanim]
Wings of Light (#12, Adam; EoE, EVA-01) [Used to describe angels in general]

[TsubasaKamen]

There's a flaw in your analysis, that being that Mistress 9, while being Pharaoh 90's messenger and the Messiah of Silence, was being battled by Hotaru from within. In the end, Mistress Nine was defeated by Hotaru so that she could take her true form as Sailor Saturn, who had the power to end the world (at the cost of her own life) and in fact used this power to defeat Pharoah 90, saving the world. Sailor Moon followed her in though, determined not to let her sacrifice herself.

Mistress 9 makes a very poor antichrist considering that she is defeated by the strength of Hotaru's will before she can destroy the planet, whereas the antichrist will actually succeed. This also brings up issues with free will, as in, Mistress 9 was an alien force who took over the innocent Hotaru's body. I would assume that the antichrist would be someone who does it because they want to, not because Satan is using their body like a puppet.

Furthermore both the Messiah of Silence and the Messiah both had the potential to destroy or save the world, depending on who held the Holy Grail. Unless you think the antichrist could actually succeed in defeating God, this also doesn't work.

I'm not saying the Bible didn't have any influence on Naoko Takeuchi's work. You don't put an item in called the Holy Grail and use the term Messiah without intentionally trying to evoke Christian mythology, but I would bet money she hasn't actually read the Bible and is merely just familiar with the most common representations of Christian beliefs.

Well it is true there are some differentiations between the two, so that they are not consistent in comparison without an alternative but it is true that the Antichrist is a "Messenger" or "Messiah" of Satan, much like Mistress Nine is a Messiah of Pharaoh 90. I am not sure if Hotaru had the power to bring Salvation to the planet. Even if she was awakened as Sailor Saturn it would be hard to say if she could stop the Silence because she was not the Messiah that Haruka and Michiru were seeking as the Chosen Ones along with Setsuna. Sailor Moon was seen twice by Haruka as the Messiah that would stop the Silence and bring in the new age. My comparison of Sailor Moon being the Jesus Christ of Sailor Moon S and the usher of the New Age which I compared to the 1,000 Kingdom Age of Revelation Chapter 20 is pretty similar when you compare. As for Hotaru using the Holy Grail to defeat Pharaoh 90; in other words, the Messiah of Silence, comparable to the Antichrist, being able to stop the power of Satan from influencing him would go into an entirely different realm of thought as everything is preordained according to the foretelling of prophecy and that everything is just unfolding according to how it is written under God's Will. For that reason I wouldn't say that the Antichrist could thwart God's Will concerning his perdition, so in that Mistress Nine differs from the Antichrist. But I am speaking in a general sense of their comparable similarities.

Free will is something that is challenged in Christian Scripture, as everything is moved by the Holy Spirit according to prophecy. God will either move you by the Holy Spirit to confess Christ or reject Christ. Our conscience detects that we made a free choice to either believe or not believe but is ultimately God the Father that reveals Christ or else seals Christ away from our spiritual notice. (See John 6:44 and 65.)

I am not saying that the creator of Sailor Moon knew personally every element of Scripture in the Jewish and Christian Bible, but I know that Satan can inspire stories that make the world famous which is in all actuality idolatry. I believe that Satan takes from the Bible, wickers it so that it takes glory away from Christ, and presents it to the world as an inspiration of its own without the Author (God) getting the credit for the work. The word again is wickering.

You clearly have more knowledge on the anime than I do so I wouldn't be as ignorant as to challenge your insights. But I was talking from a general perspective of things. Thanks for your comment, and if you have more to say, please share it.


Also Godzilla still remains the greatest Christian work ever made.

My comparison was from a general perspective based on the idea that Mistress Nine is the incarnation of a higher formless power (Pharaoh 90) much like the Antichrist will be the incarnation of Satan, who will actually be empowered by Satan. Whether Hotaru had been awakened as Sailor Saturn I am not sure exactly how much influence she would have over the Silence as she did not obtain a Pure Heart Crystal as brilliant as that of Sailor Moon's, who was seen by Haruka two times through out the season as the Messiah that would usher in the new world, and that Haruka and Michiru were seeking as the Chosen Ones along with Setsuna. I would not be as crazy as to say that the Antichrist could win over God, so in that the comparisons may differ and not be in total accuracy. But Sailor Moon is comparable to Jesus in that she is the Messiah even though it is indirectly pointed at, and she was that destroyed Pharaoh 90 using the Holy Grail. As for free will, the Christian Scriptures challenge the idea of free will based on the idea that everything is preordained. Such Scriptures as Romans 9:20-22 and Revelation 13:8 tell us that although people can detect within their own conscience what decisions and choices they will make in life based on the acceptance and rejection of Christ it is ultimately God who guides the heart to make either decision (See John 6:44 and 65.)

[mechana2015]

Moved to anime section.

[Nate]

and she was that destroyed Pharaoh 90 using the Holy Grail.

Bzzzzzt. Wrong. The Holy Grail was destroyed and Sailor Moon couldn't use its power to fight Pharaoh 90. This is why they had the scene of her screaming "CRISIS MAKE UP" over and over and beating her fist on the ground, unable to transform into Super Sailor Moon, because the Holy Grail was destroyed. This is also the reason why Sailor Saturn told her she would have to stay behind and not face Pharaoh 90, because she couldn't transform into her super form anymore, and thus Sailor Saturn was the only one who had the power to stop him.

Of course, Sailor Moon was able to transform into Super Sailor Moon solely through her strength of will in the end, without the Holy Grail. But she definitely did not use the power of the Holy Grail to do it as, again, it had been destroyed. Rather, it was the power of the Silver Crystal that allowed her to help Sailor Saturn beat Pharaoh 90, as well as cause her to be reborn.

As for free will, the Christian Scriptures challenge the idea of free will based on the idea that everything is preordained. Such Scriptures as Romans 9:20-22 and Revelation 13:8 tell us that although people can detect within their own conscience what decisions and choices they will make in life based on the acceptance and rejection of Christ it is ultimately God who guides the heart to make either decision (See John 6:44 and 65.)

I don't really agree with this but this thread is about Christian symbolism in anime, and not free will vs predestination (which is an extremely thorny subject anyway), so we'll just have to leave it at that.

[TsubasaKamen]

Haha, too each their own I guess. I didn't really think my article on the subject would bring so much animosity to the table. Regarding Predestination and Election, it's Written about in the Scriptures. Another famous one in the Old Testament is Psalm Chapter 39 with pretty much disarms all argumentation on the subject. But I won't go into any farther discourse on the matter encase it causes you to become weak in the faith. Everything I said in regards to the Messiah of Silence, Pharaoh 90, Sailor Moon (As the good Messiah) the new age that Haruka was looking to be ushered into by means of locating the Messiah, and whatever else I mentioned in that Blog Entry all point to the unarguable fact that animes such as Sailor Moon (S in particular) have their plot origins from Jewish and Christian Fundamentalism. You may argue that not everything is consistent in my analysis but the better part of it clearly shows where the origins of inspiration spawned from. The Devil, who knows the Scriptures better than you and I combined, would have revealed these Biblical themes to Naoko Takeuchi so that she could make billions of yen OFF the Unadulterated and Holy Word of Almighty God. Basically it has everything from a Messiah (Jesus) to a Dark Messiah (Antichrist) to a higher power as a form of empowerment to the Dark Messiah/Messiah of Silence (Satan is said to be the influence and power working within the Antichrist to give him his powers of miracles, signs, and wonders [2 Thessalonians Chapter 2].) Satan influences the imagination in more ways than you think. In fact, anything that substitutes or takes away from the Cross of Christ is in fact sinful and Satanic. Satan has no originality. He gets all his ideas FROM THE BIBLE! If Naoko Takeuchi didn't use Jewish and Christian Fundamentalism as the source of her inspirations and plot ideas she would not have been nearly as successful as she is! You outranking me in Sailor Moon knowledge does not take away from the fact that there is Truth and Inspiration of the Holy Spirit in regards to my analysis on the subject at hand.

[mechana2015]

Theology
Discussions of theology have not been allowed due to their propensity for turning into fights. Questions about spiritual issues are fine for the time being.

Per:
http://www.christiananime.net/viewtopic ... 23&t=65767

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Take any further, respectful discussion to PM.