There are many things I like about LOST. I like the characters. I like the drama. I like the cliffhangers. I even like the crazy time travel stuff. But, as the series progressed, I began to notice something else I liked about LOST: all the religious symbolism.
Religious symbolism, you say? Oh yeah. There were nods to religion (some more subtle than others) all throughout the series, but things got really interesting in Season 6. While I initially noticed some of the analogies when I watched the series live back in 2010, I decided to write down all of the things I noticed as I re-watched each season a few months ago. As I finished in late December, I had myself a page full of references that I'm going to try to make conversational sense of right now. Disclaimer: This list is definitely not all-inclusive and I probably left out (and/or missed) a bunch of things. Ahem. (Oh,
One of the most interesting nods to religion that I found came in the final episode of Season 3 as Jack led an exodus to the radio tower that the Israelites would have been proud of. In fact, Naomi even refers to Jack as "Moses" at one point. What I found even more interesting was that in that same sequence, two men in Jack's group can be seen in the background carrying luggage that looks vaguely akin to the Indiana Jones version of the Ark of the Covenant.
In Season 5, John Locke - or, rather, the Man in Black in the form of John Locke - leads his own exodus, this time leading a group of people to visit (and kill) the Island's Protector, Jacob. Similar to Jack's exodus, there are also men carrying an "Ark of the Covenant," which ends up being the
John Locke, lying dead in a gigantic metal casket. During this excursion, Ben Linus, in a mixture of awe and jealousy, refers to "Locke" as "Moses."
Although his time on the show was somewhat short-lived, Mr. Eko was LOST's most openly religious character. After escaping a troubled childhood, Mr. Eko adopted a life of faith and repentance, characterized by his walking staff, which he occasionally carved Bible scriptures into. While on the Island, Eko often voiced his beliefs to his fellow Survivors, and at one point attempted to recruit Charlie to help him build a church. He also felt strongly about baptism. While his views on infant baptism don't mesh with my own convictions as a Mormon, whatsoever, I do respect the fact that Eko was urgently concerned about the salvation of his fellow men.
It is also of note that Mr. Eko's brother, who basically scammed his way into religion as a profession, crashed on the Island in a plane full of Virgin Mary statuettes. Of course, those porcelain statues were filled with heroin and kind of became the bane of Charlie Pace's tragic existence, but if we're talking about religious symbols in LOST, that's a pretty recognizable one.
On the opposite end of the spectrum from Locke is Jack Shephard - the "Man of Science." Jack refuses to believe in any kind of destiny for a majority of the series. In the episode entitled "316," Ben references Doubting Thomas while he tries to convince Jack to return to the Island. At the end of that episode, Jack reads Jeremy Bentham's suicide note, which says, "Jack, I wish you had believed me. JL." Jack is ultimately convinced that everything bad that happens on and off the Island happens because he and the Oceanic Six left in the first place, which drastically shifts his attitude about faith and destiny. Toward the end of the series - especially in Season 6's "side-flashes," Jack replaces Locke as the "Man of Faith" and is portrayed as a much optimistic version of his previous self.
More scriptural references
Another scriptural reference is found after Jack has a conversation with Jacob during Season 6. When Jack returns to the rest of the Survivors, Sawyer asks him to come down from the mountain and tell them what the Burning Bush had to say. This, of course, is another allusion to the Old Testament, when Moses spoke with God and received instruction through a Burning Bush.
A reference to Original Sin and Adam's Transgression is made in Season 6 ("What They Died For") when Sawyer asks Jacob why the Survivors of Oceanic 815 were punished for his mistake. Jacob responds by pointing out that the Survivors were all living unhappy lives before they came to the Island. They were all flawed, which was why they were all chosen. They were like Jacob - alone and looking for something they couldn't find.
Speaking of Adam, let us not forget that the rotted, decaying corpses of the Man in Black and his mother are referred to by the Survivors as "Adam and Eve."
There are some very obvious "afterlife" overtones from the very first episodes of LOST (which I'll get to later), but none of these hints are more obvious than when Locke II (Locke in the Season 6 "side-flashes") mentions his belief in the afterlife when Oceanic Airlines loses Christian Shephard's casket. In the same episode ("LAX, Parts 1 & 2"), Locke II tells Jack II that his condition (paralysis) is irreversible, to which Jack, the born-again "Man of Faith," responds that "nothing is irreversible." This conversation would ultimately lead to Jack II repairing Locke II's spine, allowing him to walk again.
Consider the Source
The Heart of the Island is an interesting symbol. While it is difficult to describe the Heart of the Island in words, I suppose you could say that it is a central location on the Island from which a great amount of electromagentic energy and extremely radiant light emanates. Jacob's mother considered it the source of life, death and rebirth. The Dharma Initiative considered it a mysterious source of extreme power that could, if handled improperly, destroy the entire world.
Rather than focusing on its negative properties, I always thought the image of light shooting out of the Heart of the Island was a powerful one. Similarly, light is a common symbol in religion, so it was easy for me to find connections here. Jacob's mother tells him that every living being possesses a portion of the light, just like Christians (and Mormons, particularly) believe that each living being possesses a portion of the Light of Christ or Holy Ghost.
But just as Satan uses clever counterfeits to distort the work of God, the Man in Black is able to confuse Ben Linus for a great deal of his time on the Island. During the middle of the series, Ben Linus occasionally goes to a secret room below his house in "Otherton" to supposedly summon the Smoke Monster to do his bidding. This hidden chamber contains a murky puddle of water that Ben must unplug in order to communicate with the Smoke Monster. After unclogging the drain, Ben speaks into the hole and tells the Monster where to go. (If you recall, at one point, Ben tells the Monster to meet him out front, but, to his surprise and probable disappointment, "John Locke" walks out of the jungle instead of the Smoke Monster. Little did he know that the man who stood before him
was the Smoke Monster...) Later in the series, Ben realizes that he was not summoning the Smoke Monster, after all; the Monster was summoning
him. Furthermore, we don't realize this until Season 6 - and not a big deal is made of it, either - that Ben's summoning spot looks very similar to the Heart of the Island, which can also be unclogged by removing a plug from the center of a pool of water. We see this in the world today as confused individuals often have pieces of the truth - or, at least, something that partially resembles the truth - are led astray due to their incorrect practices and beliefs.
Bullet points: Good and evil, fate, brothers and Shephards
- In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Lehi says "it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things" (
2 Ne. 2:11). Apparently LOST's head writers were thinking along those same lines because the "good vs. evil" motif is probably the show's most obvious nod to religion. Black and white are popular visual symbols, as well. From backgammon to the clothes worn by Jacob and his brother, monochromatic elements are some of the most heavy-handed clues around.
- Another central plot line is the concept of fate or pre-destination. Several of the main characters, including Charlie, most prominently, believe that it is their fate to have crash-landed on the Island. John Locke, who begins pushing the button in the Hatch seemingly out of "blind faith," thinks the Island is a pretty swell place for a retirement home, as does Rose, both of whom had serious medical issues miraculously healed upon arrival. Walt also really likes the Island - he even burns the Survivors' raft to ensure that they don't find a way off of it. Others, meanwhile, like Jack, Sawyer and Juliet, to name a few, believe that the crash is
not their destiny and actively pursue any means of getting back home. On the religious side of things, a fun conversation (with one clear, correct answer, mind you) that occasionally pops up in LDS culture is that of agency vs. pre-destination. Do our lives have pre-determined endings? Do our actions have real consequences or, no matter how hard we try, will we always, inevitably wind up at the same conclusion? In the end, the death of Jeremy Bentham was apparently enough to get Jack to believe that it was, in fact, his destiny to be on the Island, prompting the classic line, "We have to go back, Kate...
WE HAVE TO GO BACK!!" An incredibly in-depth look at fate, destiny and free will can be found on
Lostpedia, but I'm not going to get into that discussion any further at this time.
- Locke and Mr. Eko, who both, at times, consider the Hatch to be somewhat of a holy place, remove their shoes upon entering.
- Hurley, who was raised in a religious household, prays for help in starting the Dharma van in "Trisha Tanaka is Dead."
- Locke refers to Ben as a Pharisee in "The Man from Tallahassee."
- Aside from their comparatively similar names, am I the only one that thinks that the relationship between Jacob and his twin brother is very Jacob-and-Esau-esque? I don't know. Just a thought.
- Then, of course, there's the Shephard family. Kate Austin has a particularly hard time getting over that blatant symbolism. In a moment during the waning hours of the series, Desmond takes her to the church for Christian Shephard's funeral and Kate, realizing the obvious religious meaning behind the deceased man's name, exclaims, "Seriously?
Christian Shephard?"
The ageless wonder
Let's talk about Richard Alpert. Richard, to me, is one of the most fascinating characters in the entire show. In his long-awaited flashback episode, "Ab Aeterno," Richard, who is depicted as being very religious before his time on the Island, accidentally kills a man. Richard takes the mistake very hard and his sin weighs heavily on his soul. He is sent to prison, where he spends time meditating and reading scripture before being sent away as a slave on the Black Rock.
Before he gets shipped off, a Catholic priest tells Richard that the devil will be waiting for him in hell. When the Black Rock runs into the tidal wave that causes its shipwreck, Richard peeks outside the ship and spots the Island's Statue, which he mistakenly believes to be "the devil." Once shipwrecked, the Smoke Monster attacks and kills every passenger on the Black Rock before sparing Richard. This traumatic event reinforces Richard's belief that Smoke Monster is the "devil" that the priest was referring to. Upon his arrival on the Island, Richard also sees a hallucination of his wife, Isabela, who tells him that they are all dead and are in hell. She also refers to the Smoke Monster as "the devil." This is a belief that Richard harbors for the rest of his life. At one point, he tries to convince the Survivors that they're trapped in some form of Purgatory.
Angels and demons
Not unlike our guy-lined buddy, Richardus, many viewers quickly jump to the conclusion that the Smoke Monster/Man in Black is "the devil" and Jacob is "god." Certainly, there are a ton of similarities and the whole black and white/good and evil aspect is there, so I can see why people make that assumption. Let's break down the arguments for each character:
Case: The Man in Black is "the devil"
- The Man in Black practically offers the world to several characters with very little intention of keeping his promises.
- The Man in Black uses tactics that are confusingly similar to Jacob's in order to convince people to do things.
- The Man in Black often refers to people as "friend" while making false promises and deals.
- The Man in Black offers Richard the option to change his mind after entering into a promise with Jacob.
- The Man in Black manipulates people, giving them the illusion of free will.
- The Man in Black makes Jacob promise not to tell their mother about the game they've been playing without her knowledge.
- The Man in Black is a skilled liar.
- The Man in Black does not have his own physical body.
- He is referred to by Jacob as the embodiment of evil.
- The Man in Black is extremely jealous of those who have the agency to do as they please - especially their ability to leave the Island.
- After discovering the Light that emanated from the Heart of the Island, the Man in Black led men to it. These men had "interesting ideas about what to do with it."
Case: Jacob is "god"
- Jacob does not want to force anyone to do what is right. He says that having to step in and remove their agency is "meaningless."
- When speaking of his chamber in the shadow of the Statue, he tells Richard, "No one comes in unless I invite them in." Sounds like you better set up an interview for a recommend renewal ASAP.
- The ritual involved in becoming the Protector of the Island somewhat mirrors the sacrament or communion.
- Jacob is "not like" the Man in Black. He does not know how to lie.
- For the most part, Jacob is an unseen leader. The Dharma Initiative sees Jacob as an Island deity worshipped by the Hostiles.
- Jacob has the power to do miracles. For example, Richard's agelessness is a gift from Jacob and John Locke is brought back to life by Jacob after seemingly falling to his death. Also, he no longer appears to age and can teleport himself anywhere in the entire world.
- Jacob is a vigilant figure who oversees the actions of many people. Take a look at his Lighthouse, for crying out loud.
- Jacob visited - and touched - those he watched over at times when they felt most alone and vulnerable.
- Jacob believes that there is good in all men and wants them to become like him.
However... I'm not sold on the idea that Jacob is a Christlike character - because he's not. He says it himself: he's flawed - and we definitely get to see some of those imperfections and mistakes in his personality and actions during his brief time on screen. He's a mostly benevolent, semi-Messianic figure to a large degree, sure, but I would never go so far as to compare him to the capital-G God or Jesus Christ. Here's why:
- While Jacob generally appears as a pretty mellow, contemplative guy, the first few times we actually get to see him, it's apparent that he started out as an emotional, jealous dude. Jacob's temper gets the better of him a couple times early on in life. I mean, he murders his own brother, for goodness' sake. He also engages in fisticuffs and nearly drowns Richard Alpert the first time they meet. He is, at one point, described as "unforgiving" - a characteristic certainly unbecoming of someone that many compare to the Savior of the World.
- Eventually, Jacob's temper subsides and he turns into the mild-mannered, soft-spoken man we often see him as in Season 6. But, to me, it seems like he has toned down his emotions so much that he sometimes comes off as being insincere. His infamous question to Ben Linus shortly before his untimely assassination stands out more than anything. Ben, frustrated to no end about his mistreatment as an authoritative figure on the Island, asks Jacob, "What about me?" Jacob, straight-faced, responds, "What about you?" This exchange pushes Ben over the proverbial edge and he stabs Jacob to death. Similar indifference can be noted as Jacob visits several of the Candidates off-Island. He is often heard saying "I'm sorry" to the downtrodden future passengers of Oceanic 815, but his words lack any tangible feeling. Sure, Jacob says that he cares for these people, but it sometimes seems like he's just a guy who has grown tired of his job and is determined to find a replacement so he can call it a day and head home. Surely, we sometimes think that God has forsaken us or that he doesn't much care about our present circumstances. Surely, God sometimes puts us through challenges, difficulties and tribulations. But God surely cares for his children, regardless of what decisions and mistakes we have made. Jacob never particularly struck me as this type of "god." I'd bet you money that the actual God would never respond with a humdinger like "What about you?" (The Doctrine and Covenants is full of people asking for their standing before God and he responded much more lovingly than that.)
- Jacob is highly inaccessible to all but a very select few people on the Island, and even some of those who do have access to him find him vindictive and unapproachable at times.
- I'm not saying it's true, but, as one TV blog suggests, Jacob says he's not the devil - and that's exactly what the devil would say.
- Jacob is unable to absolve Richard of his sins so that he doesn't go to hell. Christ, on the other hand, selflessly atoned for the sins of everyone who would ever come to the earth.
- Although Jacob's death has some ramifications for the Island and its inhabitants, the demise is surprisingly unceremonious and almost insignificant. One minute he was there, and then, suddenly, he wasn't. Life went on. In contrast, the death of Jesus Christ is arguably one of the most significant, well-known events in the history of the world.
- Jacob's fascination with Candidates seems more like a game, a test or a hobby than anything else. There were apparently more than 240 Candidates, initially, although LOST only focuses on about six to 10 of them. The purpose of Jacob's hobby was to prove to the Man in Black that not all men were as corrupt as their mother said they were. But when a Candidate was not up to snuff, for whatever reason, or, say, became a mother like Kate and Sun, Jacob scratched them off of his list and moved along without them. The actual God has a purpose for each of us and would never discard anyone on a whim. Undeniably, there are requirements to get into Heaven and all of that, but those rules are clearly laid out for anyone to read and know and God is very forgiving of those who fall short.
- Along those lines, Jacob says his plan is all about agency and free will, but, not unlike "The Adjustment Bureau," he makes a habit of nudging his Candidates in the direction he wants them to go, whether or not they realize it.
I figured I'd take my questions about Jacob to the source, himself, so when Mark Pellegrino came to Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience a couple weeks ago, I made sure to take a second to ask him about the inspiration behind his character and his thoughts on the show's mythology. Here's what he had to say:
"I
[…] received direction very early on when I was doing Jacob – like, literally,
the first day that we were filming – that, for me, was the in-road to that
character and it was accidental. I was doing a scene – and I don’t even
remember what scene it was, to be honest with you, but I remember the
direction. Jack Bender, who was one of the executive producers on the show and
directed many of them, said, ‘That’s it, Mark! That’s it: Jesus the Carpenter.’
So I always thought of Jacob as that down-to-earth, Messianic figure… that very
identifiable figure where the god-like aspects of it were in the background and
what came to the foreground was an empathy and understanding for the souls of
other people. […] What instantly affected me on that – as an image of that – [were]
the great, first three chapters of ‘The Master and Margarita,’ where it’s a
scene between Jesus and Pilate that has always moved me very much because of
Jesus’ accessibility, but also His power… So that was kind of my template that
I worked from. I don’t know whether it showed or not, but that was kind of the
idea. [Laughs]"
At length, I have come to a conclusion: Jacob is a Christ-like figure, but not always a Christlike character. Notice the hyphen. It's important. While Jacob is to be seen as a metaphor for Christ - a sympathetic (not always empathetic) leader whose purpose was to help others and lead them away from sin - he was not Christlike in his approach, often letting his emotions, anger and frustration play a part in his leadership. Overall, though, I think that Jacob, for as mysterious as he was during his short-lived time on-screen, was a good guy. I just think he's a little misunderstood.
The wine bottle
When I was watching LOST for the first time, the scene that really made me notice how much religious symbolism was involved in the plot was the "
bottle and the cork" scene from "Ab Aeterno." Jacob is speaking with Richard Alpert on the beach and Richard, the skeptic that he is, has a few questions for the Protector of the Island.
In order to explain to Richard what, exactly, the Island is, Jacob holds up a bottle of wine. He asks Richard to think of the wine as what he keeps calling "hell." Jacob says there are many other names for it, as well - "malevolence, evil, darkness..." The wine, he explains, swirls around in the bottle because, if it wasn't kept in the bottle, it would spread. He then plugs a cork into the top of the bottle. The cork, Jacob says, is representative of the Island - the only thing keeping the darkness where it belongs. (At the end of the episode, Jacob gives the wine bottle to the Man in Black as a way to "pass the time"; the Man in Black smashes the bottle in a fit of anger.)
He goes on to say that the Man in Black believes that all men are corruptible because it is in their very nature to sin. Mormons refer to this as the "natural man," so, doctrinally speaking, LOST is on the right track here. It is then that Jacob explains his purpose: he brings people to the Island to prove the Man in Black wrong. "And when they get here," Jacob says, "their past doesn't matter." This line is a bit uncharacteristic of Jacob, who seems a little ruthless at times, but it's an interesting bit of dialogue, nonetheless.
What follows is an intriguing exchange where Richard inquires as to how many people Jacob had brought to the Island:
"Many," the Protector responds.
"Well, why didn't you help them?" Richard asks.
"Because I wanted them to help themselves... To know the difference between right and wrong without me having to tell them. It's all meaningless if I have to force them to do anything. Why should I have to step in?"
"If you don't, he [the Man in Black] will!"
After thinking for a moment, Jacob offers Richard a position as an intermediary between him and the people he brings to the Island. If Jacob can't step in, Richard can, instead. Perhaps it's a bit of a stretch, but this is somewhat reminiscent of the role of the Holy Ghost, who resides on the earth to help God's children make appropriate decisions since God and Jesus aren't always available to "step in." Again, that's probably a bit of a stretch, from a gospel standpoint, but kind of interesting to think about.
The church / The End
There are a lot of churches in LOST. Several of Mr. Eko's storylines revolve around churches, Sawyer's parents' funeral is at a church, Jack gives a eulogy for his father at a church, Desmond used to live at a monastery, Charlie confesses his sins at a church, Kate gets married at a church, the Others have a temple and, of course, Eloise Hawking's secret Dharma base, the Lamp Post is based in the back of a church in Los Angeles. See? Lots of churches. But no scenes involving places of worship are more poignant than that controversial ending in Season 6... While a deep discussion of The End will have to wait for another time, I've got to touch on it lightly while we're on the topic of religion.
As Season 6 draws to a close, the Survivors begin to arrive at the Lamp Post church one by one for Christian Shephard's funeral. Outside, an interesting conversation takes place between Ben and Hurley, where Hurley invites Ben to join them in the chapel. Mr. Linus refuses, saying that he is not ready to go yet and has a few things to wrap up before he can come in. While no extra clarification or context is given, I have always thought that this meant that Ben was not yet dead and either still had some sins to repent of or had a couple extra tasks to wrap up in mortality. This also leads me to the (correct) assumption that everyone else who
does go inside is already dead. I believe that the "Survivors" were unable to "move on" until they came to the realization that they were already deceased. Whether that was in the plane crash or otherwise, that's totally different conversation.
At long last, Jack arrives at the church and heads in the back door, where he finds his father's coffin. When he touches the casket, his mind is immediately flooded with memories from the Island. Jack opens the box and finds it empty inside. Christian appears behind Jack and begins speaking with his son. During the conversation, Jack gradually comes to the realization that
he, too, is dead. His arrival at the church, along with the other Survivors, is a representation of their entry to the long-awaited afterlife.
Christian explains to Jack, "There is no
now here," which is fairly consistent with a popular theory about the concept of time in heaven. (For instance, Mormon doctrine teaches that one day in heaven is 1,000 years on earth. That's a long time.)
Papa Shephard then describes the church building as "a place that you [the Survivors] made together so that you could find one another." He continues, "The most important time of your life was the time that you spent with these people. That's why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone, Jack. You needed all of them and they needed you." Two points here:
- Doctrine and Covenants 130:2 says "And that same sociality which exists among us here [on earth] will exist among us there [in heaven], only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy." Mormons believe that they will be able to live with God and their families (and their friends, I assume, too) if they live worthily in this life. When Jack realized that he was dead, he was immediately reunited with his father and the people who were most important to him.
- Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles once taught that, while salvation is an individual matter, exaltation is a family matter. Jack couldn't make it to the church alone. He needed everyone else in order to get there. On the religious side of things, an individual can gain salvation alone (by keeping the commandments and remaining faithful to covenants), but exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom is only achieved through temple marriage and endurance to the end and cannot be obtained individually.
Conclusion
To put a nice, shiny bow on this behemoth of a blog, I cannot emphasize enough that these are just my thoughts. Obviously, LOST has absolutely nothing to do with gospel doctrine or, certainly not, the LDS Church. I simply thought it was interesting that glimpses of doctrinal truth were evident throughout the series. Although I would (probably) never quote or reference the show during Sunday School or sacrament meeting, I do think that my own, personal testimony of the gospel was at least slightly strengthened as I saw the things I referenced in this blog and said quietly to myself, "Hey, you know what? There's a little bit of truth to that!"
Anyway, what did YOU think? Am I totally crazy? Up in the night? Way off base? Is it completely wrong of me to even bring this discussion up? Or did you notice anything similar? I'd love to hear what you have to say in the comments section below or on Facebook or Twitter.
In the meantime, I leave you with this final clip, which will either make you feel a little nostalgic or really ticked off. Take your pick.
Namaste... and good luck.
