In the West it's quite plausible, and not even uncommon, to see an author use symbolism from a religion he doesn't practice, and not to mean anything religious by it, and even to get lots of things wrong. Is it really so far-fetched that a Japanese author might do the same? Nowadays it would...

Hi. Not really sure what to say here. I first encountered Eva back in the late 1990s, and I'd like to think that my reaction was fairly typical for a fan at the time, but I've been out of the fandom for quite a while. I've only recently gotten back into it, and it's been interesting ...