Lost thoughts, Feb. 17
- Published February 17, 2010
- Faith, TV/Movies
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Lost fans have been begging for answers and last night’s episode delivered them in spades, although I’m sure it left a lot of folks still scratching their heads. Personally, I thought the spiritual elements were really powerful, and there are so many parallels between it and the Gospel. So instead of my usual bullet-point braindump of random observations, I thought I’d spend a few minutes analyzing the episode from a Christian standpoint.
Major themes.
There are a couple of broad themes that Lost revolves around: (1) good vs. evil and (2) free will vs. determinism. You see these same themes played out in the Bible as well.
Certainly, it’s not hard to equate the battle between Jacob and the Man in Black to the battle between God and Satan. This is an eternal struggle that began long before mankind was created. Essentially, Satan is trying to defeat God, much the same way that MIB is trying to defeat Jacob, and we as humans are caught in the middle of this battle, just as the people on the island are caught in the middle. And as such, we must choose what side we’re on. Ephesians 6:12 says: “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” We are part of the larger eternal war whether we want to be or not.
Which gets back to the question of free will vs. determinism. MIB tells Sawyer that he has three choices. First, he can ignore Jacob’s invitation (i.e. God’s call to salvation) and see how his life plays out. Of course, the end result is always the same: death, with your name being crossed off the list. (Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”) Second, he can accept the invitation. (Romans 10:9-10: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.”) Or third, he can reject it outright. Likewise, we have the same choices, although really the first and the third lead to the same conclusion.
The debate over free will vs. determinism (or predestination) is a pretty big one within the Christian church. Has God already predetermined who will be saved, written their names and numbered them as Jacob did with his chosen “candidates”? Or are we free to choose for ourselves whether we are saved or not? I won’t even try to go into this discussion here, but you can see how this same theme is directly playing out in Lost. And I think the “sideways” storyline will continue to explore it throughout the rest of the season. Are the six chosen — Jack, Locke, Sawyer, Hurley, Sayid, and Kwon (most likely Sun) — predetermined to end up on the island even in this alternate universe, or did “rebooting” time break that cycle?
The Man in Black.
It’s fitting that the MIB has taken the appearance of Locke (the island’s “man of faith”). Satan, too, often appears as men of faith to deceive us. Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-16: “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act.” In the same way, Sawyer was able to discern the fake Locke from the real Locke based on the way he acted. (The real Locke, he said, was full of fear.) Jesus also warned in Mark 13:5-6 that in the last days (final season?) “many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many.” Sounds like the Man In Black to me. (Incidentally, it’s interesting to note that “sideways” Locke took a job as a substitute teacher. In other words, he wasn’t a real teacher, he was a false one (i.e. a false prophet).)
It’s also interesting to note Ilana’s statement that MIB is stuck looking like Locke. In Genesis 3, God condemns Satan to crawl on his belly, groveling in the dust as long as he lives. In the same way, MIB is cursed to live out his days on the island, stuck in whatever form he takes. Satan is not all powerful; he must conform to God’s rules and limits. MIB must also play by Jacob’s rules.
The death of Jacob.
The Man in Black thought he had found a loophole to defeating (killing) Jacob. Since he himself can’t kill Jacob, as he was reminded by the blonde-haired boy last night (angel? prophet?), he tried to manipulate Ben into killing him. In the same way, Judas Iscariot was deceived into betraying Jesus, which led to Jesus’ crucifixion. When Jesus died, Satan thought he had won (we saw MIB remove the white rock from the scale and toss it into the ocean). But Jesus’ death was part of God’s greater plan for mankind. His death opened the door for mankind to be saved. Jesus died so that we wouldn’t have to. Likewise, Jacob’s death, I believe, is part of a larger plan that will ultimately lead to the redemption of the island castaways. And just as Jesus rose from the grave on the third day after His death, I wonder if we’ll see Jacob be resurrected on the third day. (Ilana reminded us that Jacob was killed “yesterday”, so we should know soon enough.)
Previously:
Lost thoughts, Feb. 10
Lost thoughts, Feb. 3



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