Christianity,  Culture

“Lost” Is Back

How many of you are fans of the television series “Lost”? The new season starts this week, and Newsweek has an interesting report on it titled “The End Is Near.”

“As fans start speculating about the show’s final season (set to launch on Feb. 2), they would do well to remember that more than anything else—and more than any other acclaimed show ever on television—Lost is a show about faith.”

This assessment is certainly correct. I would, however, take it a step further and say that “Lost” focuses on themes related to the Christian faith in particular. It constantly alludes to the Bible, one of the main characters is named “Shephard,” and the promo poster for the new season is made to look like Jesus’ last supper.

It remains to be seen how all of this will be brought together to answer some of the mysteries that have been introduced since the first episode. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

6 Comments

  • Matthew Anderson

    I desperately want to agree with you here, but I’m not (yet) convinced. While there’s some obvious overlap in the themes, the imagery that Jacob weaves is more Egyptian than anything (as is the statue that he apparently lives in). That makes me think that it’s going to be less Christian and more mushy, ‘faith for faith’s sake.’ Also, the “Last Supper” theme is pretty popular for last seasons, as both BattleStar Galactica and the Soprano’s had it. And John Locke is also a central character, yet he’s the one who ‘believes’ the most throughout the show….either they are going behind his political theory to his theology (doubtful), or they have taken it in directions they didn’t expect.

    But, as you can see, I definitely enjoy it and find it thought provoking! : )

    Best,

    matt

  • Josh

    I had never thought about Lost as a faith show before…but it seems as though all faiths are represented in it. I mean, even John Locke is there. Its funny though how much faith Lost’s Locke has in the island, as opposed to the real John Locke, a British empiricist. And by Shepherd, does it mean Jack or his dad–Jacob, the island’s sort-of Messiah?

  • Donald Johnson

    That pic is most certainly NOT similar to Jesus’ Last Supper. What it IS familiar with, is Da Vinci’s picture of same, which got most of the historical details wrong.

  • David (Not Adrian's Son) Rogers

    One of my theories based on absolutely no objective evidence is that Jacob’s opponent is named Esau. I also theorize that he is the smoke monster.

  • Derek Taylor

    I’m a big Lost fan too. I did some reading on this last year and it appears that the themes in the show strongly parallel Egyptian mythology and borrow various concepts and symbolism from many other religions.

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