I'm Not an "End Times" Enthusiast But Does Anyone Else Find It Worrying...

[12th Doctor]

How much the European Union throws around the "Tower of Babel" and "Europa Riding the Bull" image, with such flagrant impunity?

Seriously.  The European Parliament building in Strasbourg is modeled directly after the popular image of the Tower of Babel.  And outside of it, and many other European Union buildings, the image of the woman riding the beast is prominent.

I'm not saying this is a sign of the end times, but come on....

[12th Doctor]

Google's not much help.  Someone's gonna have to explain this one.

European Parliament



Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder



People who have worked on the project, and people in the EU government have stated that this painting was the inspiration for the building, claiming that the theme of "many languages speaking with one voice" was the notion behind it.

Other EU officials and people who worked on the project have claimed that the design of the building was merely inspired by the Colosseum (which is just weird... I mean, why)... which is interesting, because so was the design in Bruegel's painting.

Then we have this image, in a poster to promote the EU...



Statue of Europa Riding the Bull Outside EU Parliament



It is an image that has become very popular in Europe as a symbol for Europe in general and the EU in particular.

 

It's based off the Greek myth of Europa.  But it is also, quite undoubtedly, a woman riding a beast.  Wouldn't draw a raised eyebrow from me, except that it is now the more or less accepted symbol for the EU.

[12th Doctor]

I don't think of these things as necessarily "End of Times", but they are unabashedly "pagan" images all the same.

In fact, the more I think about it, the "woman-riding-the-bull" (not "harlot-riding-the-beast") symbolism was chosen precisely to eliminate whatever residual Christian spiritualism that had been retained from the EU's start as a Catholic project.

Excuse me.

[12th Doctor]

I don't think of these things as necessarily "End of Times", but they are unabashedly "pagan" images all the same.

In fact, the more I think about it, the "woman-riding-the-bull" (not "harlot-riding-the-beast") symbolism was chosen precisely to eliminate whatever residual Christian spiritualism that had been retained from the EU's start as a Catholic project.

Excuse me.

Schumann and Monnet were both devout Catholics; think that's what he's getting at.

As were De Gaulle and Adenauer.

From what I read of it, the Catholic social influence behind the start of the EU seems irrefutable.

The EU is a Catholic plot?  Okay.

[12th Doctor]

I don't think of these things as necessarily "End of Times", but they are unabashedly "pagan" images all the same.

In fact, the more I think about it, the "woman-riding-the-bull" (not "harlot-riding-the-beast") symbolism was chosen precisely to eliminate whatever residual Christian spiritualism that had been retained from the EU's start as a Catholic project.

Excuse me.

Schumann and Monnet were both devout Catholics; think that's what he's getting at.

As were De Gaulle and Adenauer.

From what I read of it, the Catholic social influence behind the start of the EU seems irrefutable.

The EU is a Catholic plot?  Okay.

No-one said that. Most of the original architects of the EU were Catholic. However didn't that particularly last very long...

Storebought said it was a "Catholic Project".  If he is going to claim that, then my assumption is that his claim is based on more than the fact that a few people who happened to be Catholic were highly influential in getting it started.

[12th Doctor]

I'm going to let everyone in on a secret... I started this thread in part to see what "prophetman" would say.  Entertaining.

I do find all these things odd, but I am not losing sleep over it.