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CAN THE LOST BE FOUND?
The Pop Gospel
by David Buckna
Updated: August 2006
TV's hottest show, Lost, is set in the aftermath of a plane crash on a
mysterious South Pacific island.
"Are you lost or incomplete/Do you feel like a puzzle, you can't find your
missing piece"--from "Talk", on Coldplay's 2005 album, X & Y
"It feels like these people have sort of sinned in their lives before, and
now, they're in an environment where they can't talk to the people that they
need to talk to. They can't close the doors that they need to close."--Lost
co-creator, executive producer and writer Damon Lindelof, on ABC's 20/20
(May 6/05)
"The whole concept of man on an island reminds us of who we truly are.
'Three days ago we all died. We should all be able to start over,' Jack
says. Who they were before the crash was their old nature. This time on the
island represents their chance at redemption--if they want it." --reviewer
Maurice Broaddus, on HollywoodJesus.com
Season One chronicles the survivors' first days on the island. How many
days did the Lost producers originally plan to chronicle--40 days, 44 days,
or 48 days?
What cast member is a former counsellor at Green Bay Bible Camp in
Kelowna, British Columbia--Yunjin Kim, Evangeline Lilly, or Ian Somerhalder?
At what hospital had Jack (Matthew Fox) been a spinal surgeon?
What is Jack's last name?
Evangeline Lilly plays Kate Austen. What does the name Evangeline mean?
In "Tabula Rasa," what does Sayid tell Shannon "is a very dangerous thing
to lose."?
What song by Joe Purdy is heard in the closing moments of "Tabula Rasa"?
Claire (Emilie de Ravin) wears a necklace with the Chinese character
"ai." What does "ai" mean?

In "White Rabbit," who discovered caves with a fresh water supply?
In "House of the Rising Sun," Kate runs into a cave, where she stumbles
into the skeletal remains of two bodies. What nicknames are they given?
In a flashback, what member of Drive Shaft confesses to a priest that
he's facing temptation?
What song by the Blind Boys of Alabama is heard as Sayid (Naveen
Andrews) leaves to map the island?
He tells Shannon (Maggie Grace): "Everyone gets a new life on this
island, Shannon. Maybe it's time you start yours." Who said it?
What character does Mira Furlan play?
In "Whatever the Case May Be," Shannon sings Charles Trenet's "La Mer,"
a song from 1946. In what Pixar animated movie is the song heard?
On whom does Jack successfully perform CPR (cardiopulmonary
resuscitation)?
What six words from the 1966 Beatle song, "Strawberry Fields Forever,"
are tattooed on Charlie's left shoulder?
At the end of "...In Translation," what song is Hurley (Jorge Garcia)
listening to on a portable CD player?
In "Numbers," what book is Sawyer (Josh Holloway) reading?
In what episode does Locke (Terry O'Quinn) dream of a crashed plane, and
believe if he finds it, will be able to open the mysterious hatch?
In a flashback, who betrays Locke for money?
What's the first name of Jack's wife?
What name did Claire pick for her baby boy?
What's the name of the 18th century slave ship the group finds in the
jungle?
Just before the raft is attacked by "The Others" and Walt taken, Sawyer
begins singing a Bob Marley song. Name it.

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In "Man of Science, Man of Faith," who tells Locke that the inside of
the hatch door reads 'QUARANTINE'?
The Dharma symbol is comprised of an octagon with eight variations of
three lines. What do three unbroken lines (III) represent?
In a flashback, he asks Jack: "Oh, and you don't believe in miracles?"
Name him.
In the Dharma orientation film, by what other name does Dr. Marvin
Candle (François Chau) refer to Station 3?
In Station 3, where are fish seen?
Michelle Rodriguez joins the regular cast playing Ana Lucia Cortez, a
passenger Jack first met at the airport bar. What do "Ana" and "Lucia" mean?
(http://starbulletin.com/2005/09/13/features/story1.html)
What London-born actor portrays the mysterious Mr. Eko?
In "The Other 48 Days," who does Eko say he will pray for?
After killing two of "The Others" in self-defense, how many days does
Eko go without speaking?
In "Collision," Locke works on a crossword puzzle. The clue for 42 down
is "Enkidu's friend". What's the 9-letter answer?
When Ana Lucia guns down Jason McCormick in the parking lot, what
illustration is seen on his T-shirt?
Who later decides vengeance isn't the appropriate response to Ana
Lucia's accidental killing of Shannon?
In "What Kate Did," what fruit does Kate pick?
What animal does Kate see after crouching to collect fruit from the
jungle floor?
When he awakens from delirium, he asks Kate, "Are we saved?" Name him.
Who taught Claire about "swaddling clothes"?
To whom does Eko tell the story of Josiah rebuilding the temple?
What's found inside the hollowed-out Bible?
What episode is named for one of the 150 Psalms?
On what object are the words "Psalm", "Revelations", "Colosians", and
"Titus" carved?
What song by The Kinks is Charlie singing when he sees Jin (Daniel Dae
Kim) fishing?
When Eko encounters the island's "monster", what form does it take?
Who gives Sawyer a haircut?
In a flashback, what's the name of the Italian woman who asks Jack to
operate on her father?
In "Fire + Water," a reproduction of a painting by Andrea del Verrocchio
(1435-1488) hangs inside Charlie's childhood home. Name the painting.
In the first of Charlie's waking dreams, he hears the sounds of an
infant crying, coming from inside an object washing out to sea. What object?
In Charlie's second dream, his mother (Megan) and Claire appear on the
beach as two _ _ _ _ _ _ .
In the dream that follows, who does Hurley appear as--Goliath, John the
Baptist, or Moses?
What does Eko tell Claire, which casts doubt on him being a real priest?
Who does Eko baptize?
On January 31/06, what member of the Lost cast spoke at the Hawaii State
Legislature?
In "The Long Con," he tells Kate: "You run. I con. Tigers don't change
their stripes." Who said it?
In "One of Them," who crushes a tree frog with his left hand?
In "Maternity Leave," what book is Sawyer reading?
After Claire pulls at some branches and a tarp, she uncovers a set of
doors to another hatch. What symbol appears on the doors?
In a flashback, when Claire turns on the airplane mobile above the crib,
what song begins to play?
What book by Fyodor Dostoevsky does Locke toss on the cot in the armory?
Who cuts off two small locks of his beard with a knife?
In "The Whole Truth," who is seen working in her garden?
To whom does Locke say:"You were running like the devil's chasing
you."--Ana Lucia, Charlie, or Sawyer?
In "Lockdown," what song is heard as Locke packs a picnic lunch for
himself and Helen?
What Bible book does Father Chuck (Geoffrey Rivas) read from during the
funeral service--supposedly for Locke's father?
The Latin expression "Sursum corda" is written three times on the map
made visible by black light. What does "Sursum
corda" mean?


What valuable items does Jack win from Sawyer in a poker game?
In "Dave," Dr. Brooks tells Hurley: "There were 23 people on that deck."
How many people was the deck built to hold?
Sawyer tells those arguing over the Dharma food: "Hold on, take it easy.
You guys are like _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ". What?
What is Sawyer's nickname for Libby (Cynthia Watros)?
She tells Hurley: "So the island won't let you lose weight--you destroy
your stash, then bang--more food falls from the sky." Who said it--Ana
Lucia, Kate, or Libby?
Who questions "Henry Gale" (Michael Emerson) in the scene where he is
strung up in the armory?
What is Eko building?
He tells Locke: "God doesn't know how long we've been here, John. He
can't see this island any better than the rest of the world can." Who said
it?
In "S.O.S.," Rose tells Bernard: "Uh, cereal goes on the left, Bernard."
Name the cereal.
Jack disinfects the shoulder wound of "Henry" before changing the
dressing. In one of Jesus' parables, who bandaged the wounds of a man who
had been stripped and beaten by robbers?
Eko tells Bernard: "People are saved in different ways, Bernard." What
is Bernard's response?
What's the name of the spiritual healer Rose meets while she and Bernard
are vacationing in Australia?
In the clip-show,"Reckoning," the narrator asks: "Can you survive on
faith alone? Or do you take matters into your own hands to right what is
wrong?" Who's the narrator--Lloyd Braun, Peter Coyote, or James Earl Jones?
What time is it when Christian Shephard (John Terry) knocks on Ana
Lucia's hotel room door in Sydney?
Ana Lucia tells Michael: "I couldn't even kill him. I looked at him and
he--I can't do this anymore." Who is "him"?
To whom does Eko say: "To receive God's forgiveness you must be penitent
for your sins."
What's the other name for Station 5?
When are the words "Pala Ferry" first heard?
How many heroin-filled statues does Charlie throw into the ocean?
"Live Together, Die Alone," begins when funeral-goers are distracted by
a sailboat moving towards shore. What's the name of the sailboat?
Desmond tells the Master Sergeant: "I'm savin' it so it will be the last
thing I ever read before I die." What book?
What is Desmond's full name?
Who pays for Desmond's cup of coffee?
What color was the bird that squawked Hurley's name twice?
During their journey by sailboat, Sayid, Jin, and Sun see the remains of
a gigantic statue--a left foot with only four toes. In 2 Samuel 21, how many
toes does a descendant of Rapha have on each foot?
On what date did Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 crash?
During Marc Peyser's exclusive visit to the set during the filming of
the Season Two finale, he mentions that Evangeline Lilly "reads a Christian
self-help book." What book?
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12776785/site/newsweek/)
Peyser continues: "The producers are so nervous about guarding their new
secrets, they've given the very last scene a code name." What name?
He told Entertainment Weekly (May 19/06): "For me, Lost is about
meaning--and the search for meaning." Who said it--Abrams, Cuse, or
Lindelof?
On July 20, 2006, Entertainment Weekly senior writer Jeff Jensen put
forward a new Lost hypothesis, which involves "finding scientific ways of
restoring mankind, and the world, back to its pre-fall condition." What does
Jensen call this hypothesis?
On July 22, 2006 at ComicCon, Damon Lindelof commented that the "five
hieroglyphics together on the countdown clock are the symbol for..."--what?
When this actress was asked by Lost: The Official Magazine (July/Aug
2006) what she would like to see in Season Three for her character, she
replied: "I'd like to be the person on the island filled with so much love
and faith who saves the day." Who said it--L. Scott Caldwell (Rose), April
Grace (Miss Klugh), or Sonya Walger (Penelope)?
Name three things described as lost by Jesus in his parables at Luke
15.
Answers
40 days. From (http://www.lost-tv.com): "Forty days? Was that
coincidental? It does seem to rain a lot for no apparent reason on the
island. We asked the obvious question: was the biblical reference
intentional? [Lost co-creator] Damon Lindelof's answer was immediate. 'That
was NOT unintentional,' he said with a hint of glee in his voice."
In the 3-part episode, Exodus ("departure") a raft is launched. After Noah
and his sons built an ark, "rain fell on the earth 40 days and 40 nights"
(Genesis 7:12)
However, when ABC asked the producers to extend the number of episodes, it
caused the show's time frame to go beyond 40 days. The Season Two episode
recounting the first days of the tail-section survivors is titled "The Other
48 Days".
Evangeline Lilly, who plays Kate. As a teenager Nicole Evangeline Lilly
"came up to Kelowna for a number of summers in the late '90s to work as a
counsellor at the Green Bay Bible Camp (http://www.greenbay.bc.ca) on the
Westside. 'She was great with the kids, because she's such a caring and
compassionate person,' said another of her friends, Jay Young, who first met
Lilly in 1999 when he also worked as a counsellor at the camp. 'She's such a
down-to-earth, real person, so it's just so odd to see her now as this
bigtime celebrity,' said Young, now the camp's director. Lilly, who did
missionary work in the Philippines as a teenager, lived in Kelowna for a few
years before returning to Vancouver to attend the University of B.C. She was
studying international relations, and decided to try modelling to help pay
her tuition." ("Local girl found on Lost", The Kelowna Daily Courier,
December 8, 2004)
St. Sebastian Hospital. St. Sebastian was a martyr (286) in Roman Emperor
Diocletian's persecution of Christians.
Matthew Fox said of his character in Season Two: "Jack will have a very
different journey, a philosophical journey...The whole man of faith vs. the
man of science and the struggle going on between him and Locke. Jack'll have
to let go of some really strict science dogma, given the situation in which
he's living." Regarding the true nature of the island, Fox's favorite theory
is that it is purgatory."Based on what's happened so far, 'Lost' is about us
finding redemption so we can move on emotionally, individually and
spiritually to a better place. We had just better not be dead." (Honolulu
Star-Bulletin, Aug. 22/05)
Fox commented on ABC's 20/20 (May 6/05): "I'm a huge fan of redemption
stories. I'm very much into the idea that all of these characters are trying
to escape a past version of themselves that you know, they've all made
mistakes and harbored secrets and told lies."
Shephard. One of the recurring numbers on the show is 23. Psalm 23 begins
"The Lord is my shepherd..." Jack and his fellow passengers board Oceanic
Airlines Flight 815 (8 + 15 = 23) at gate 23, and was assigned seat 23B.
Evangeline (feminine) and Evangel (masculine) mean "good news" in Greek,
and is the New Testament word for "gospel".
"Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the
good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the
people." (Matthew 4:23)
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem Evangeline (1847) was inspired by the
expulsion of the Acadians in 1755.
Hope.
Sayid: "No one's going to tell them anything. To relay what we heard without
fully understanding it will cause a panic. If we tell them what we know we
take away their hope. And hope is a very dangerous thing to lose."
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not
see" (Hebrews 11:1)
"Wash Away", from his 2004 album, Julie Blue.
"And I have sins, Lord, but not today/Cause they're gonna wash away
They're gonna wash away"
Mike Hume of Falls Church News-Press (www.fcnp.com) writes: "As fate would
have it, the album [Julie Blue] was also a springboard. While recording on
his temporary island abode [an island cabin amid the waters of the St.
Lawrence] Purdy received a call from Bryan Burke, a producer for ABC, who
wanted him to write a song about a group of castaways living on an island.
Thus a reprised version of Julie Blue’s opening track, 'Wash Away,' landed
on 'Lost' and the mainstream was introduced to a backwoods songwriter from
Arkansas." (Sept. 21/06)
love. "Ai" resembles the sound "eye". (http://www.answersingenesis.org/Docs/388.asp)
"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." (1 John 4:8)
Jack. Later, he tells the group: "Every man for himself is not going to
work. It's time to start organizing. We need to figure out how we're going
to survive here. Now, I found water. Fresh water, up in the valley. I'll
take a group in at first light. If you don't wanna come, then find another
way to contribute. Last week, most of us were strangers. But we're all here
now. And God knows how long we're gonna be here. But if we can't live
together, we're gonna die alone." The LORD answered Moses, "Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of
the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck
the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike
the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses
did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the place
Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested
the LORD saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?" (Exodus 17:5-7)
Adam and Eve. According to Genesis 5:5, Adam lived to 930; Eve's age
isn't mentioned.
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Charlie (Dominic Monaghan).
Priest: Well, we all have our temptations, but giving in to them, that's
your choice. As we live our lives it's really nothing but a series of
choices, isn't it?
Charlie: Well, then, I've made my choice. I have to quit the band.
*
On the island, Rose (L. Scott Caldwell) prays with a grieving Charlie over
Claire's baffling disappearance:
Charlie: Your husband was in the tail section of the plane.
Rose: Yes, he was. But he'll be back.
Charlie: You think he's still alive?
Rose: I know he is.
Charlie: How?
Rose: I just do. It's a fine line between denial and faith. It's much better
on my side.
Charlie: (crying) Help me.
Rose: Baby, I'm not the one that can help you....Heavenly Father, we thank
you. We thank you for bringing us together tonight, and we ask that you show
Charlie the path...

Monaghan told the Sunday Herald Sun (Aug. 22/05): "Charlie's a drug addict,
but he's also a man of faith...The question is: Did he take the statue [of
the Virgin Mary] as a symbol of his faith or for the drugs that might be
inside?...I love the way his faith and addictions are moulded together. The
heroin is inside the statue of the Virgin Mary, so his weakness is trapped
inside his strength...I love the symbolism--he's going to have to break what
he believes to get into his weakness."
In a TV promo for Lost, Charlie says in voice-over: "How long will it take
for redemption? Like the chance to put the past behind me. To start over.
Maybe that's what this is. A second chance. An opportunity to earn
forgiveness. They say that everything happens for a reason. I wish I could
believe that."
Cocaine smuggled in Virgin Mary statues [March 31, 2006]
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060331/od_nm/crime_statues_dc)
"I Shall Not Walk Alone." From the song: "When my legs no longer
carry/And the warm wind chills my bones/I reach for mother Mary/And I shall
not walk alone"
John Locke (Terry O'Quinn). John Locke was a 17th century philosopher
whose ideas later influenced American law and government.
In his Two Treatises of Government (1690), Locke writes: "The state of
nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one: and
reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will but consult it,
that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his
life, health, liberty, or possessions: for men being all the workmanship of
one omnipotent, and infinitely wise maker; all the servants of one sovereign
master, sent into the world by his order, and about his business; they are
his property, whose workmanship they are, made to last during his, not one
another's pleasure..."
Keith Green's song, "If You Love The Lord" (1980) includes the line: "We are
His workmanship, created for good works in Christ", echoing Ephesians 2:10.
Danielle Rousseau, the Frenchwoman stranded on the island for 16 years,
responsible for the distress call. She is named for 18th century French
philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who argued that man is noble but society
corrupts him.
This is paralleled by the characters on Lost: Locke embraces both nature and
the need for organization, while Rousseau prefers nature and refuses to join
the survivors in their village.

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Finding Nemo (2003)--in which a clownfish (Marlin) swims to Sydney in
the hope of finding his son (Nemo).
Shannon: It was the cartoon about fish, you know, one of the computer ones?
Sayid: Why are you telling me this?
Shannon: Because the movie was dubbed in French. And at the end there was
this song. Those notations, they're song lyrics. And your French woman,
she's just like Laurent, because she wrote them over and over and over
again.
*
In his review of Finding Nemo, Ted Baehr of Movieguide.org writes: "There
are no references to God, but there are redemptive allegories and a lot of
'thank goodnesses.' In his article, Behind the scenes at Pixar, Baehr
recounts: "More than 24 PhDs work for Pixar, by far the most number of PhDs
in the movie industry....I asked (writer) Andrew (Stanton) why each one of
his movies had a strong redemptive element. Finding Nemo even has a leap of
faith in the belly of a whale reminiscent of the biblical story. Andrew
said, "I’m a Christian, and so are most of us."....This is a place that
makes movies for people who still find hope, joy and redemption in the
world." (http://www.assistnews.net/STORIES/2003/s03050112.htm)
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Charlie. CPR is a combination of mouth-to-mouth respiration and closed
cardiac massage.
Nikki Stafford writes in Finding Lost: The Unofficial Guide: "...this scene
is a perfect example of him [Jack] refusing to give up, even when it seems
futile not to. The question is, can you imagine what would have happened if
he had? As the sky opens and the rain begins to fall, this scene is like a
baptism for Jack, because while he's hostile to others throughout the
episode for reminding him of his father, the person who reminds him most of
Christian [Shephard] is himself. By doing what he does in this scene, he's
able to do something Christian was unable to do at the end of his career."
Elisha the prophet performed mouth-to-mouth respiration on a dead boy, who
miraculously came back to life (2 Kings 4:34), and "...the LORD God formed
the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life, and the man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7)
According to Genesis, God also performed the first surgery: "So the LORD God
caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took
one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God
made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to
the man." (Genesis 2:21-22)
Robert E. Kofahl writes in The Handy Dandy Evolution Refuter: "Few people
realize that the Genesis account of the creation of woman from man accords
with modern knowledge of genetics which was unknown to Moses. In humans, sex
is determined by the two sex chromosomes. The female has in each body cell
two X chromosomes, whereas the male has an X and a Y. Thus, if the female
had been created first, it would not have been possible to create the first
man from genetic material entirely related to the woman. This is because God
in making Adam would have had to create Y chromosomes, for Eve had no Y
chromosomes in her cells. As a consequence the resulting race would have
been a hybrid race. But because man was created first, woman and man could
be completely related to each other."
"Living is easy with eyes closed". The 1966 song written by John Lennon
started out as a nostalgic view of a Salvation Army orphanage, where he and
childhood friends Pete and Ivan played in the trees.
"Delicate" by Damien Rice: "So why d'ya fill my sorrow/With the words
you've borrowed/From the only place you've known/Why d'ya sing hallelujah/If
it means nothin' to ya/Why d'ya sing with me at all?"
The CD player stops playing just as "hallelujah" was to be heard a second
time: "Why d'ya sing h---".
The Hebrew "hallelujah" combines "hallelu" and "yah," and translates as
"Praise God". The phrase is found in the book of Psalms (such as 113:1) and
four times in the book of Revelation (such as 19:1)
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Madeline L'Engle's sci-fi classic, A Wrinkle in Time (1962), about three
children who travel through time to rescue a father from an impending evil
force. Prior to the 2004 broadcast of the film version on ABC, the
85-year-old L'Engle was interviewed by Newsweek:
Newsweek: So to you, faith is not a comfort?
L'Engle: Good heavens, no. It’s a challenge: I dare you to believe in God. I
dare you to think [our existence] wasn’t an accident.
Newsweek: Many people see faith as anti-intellectual.
L'Engle: Then they're not very bright. It takes a lot of intellect to have
faith, which is why so many people only have religiosity.
"Deus ex machina"--Latin for "god from the machine". The term originated
with Greek and Roman theater, when a mechane would lower a god or gods
onstage to resolve a seemingly hopeless situation. In short, a deus ex
machina is a quick fix in a story.
Locke and Boone do find a plane hanging in the trees. Flown by drug
smugglers disguised as Nigerian missionaries, it contains heroin-filled
statues of the Virgin Mary.
In The Simpsons episode "Thank God, It's Doomsday", after the rapture occurs
and Homer is taken to heaven, he asks God to reverse what's happened. God
agrees, then proclaims "Deus ex machina" and normality is restored.
-
Emily Locke, his mother.
Emily: [entering John's hospital room]: It was his idea. I'm sorry, John.
Locke: What are you doing here?
Emily: I needed some money. He's always been good that way. Your father's
always been generous.
Locke: You told me I didn't have a father.
Emily: Well, he said that was the only way you would give it to him. It had
to be your idea. He told me where to find you. He asked me to go see you. I
wanted to see you.
Locke: This can't be happening. This is a misunderstanding. This can't
happen to me. He wouldn't do this to me. He wouldn't do this to me!
Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot for 30 silver coins. (Matthew 26:14;
Matthew 27: 3-10; Zechariah 11:13)
Sarah. According to Genesis 17 and 21, Sarah [from the Hebrew "princess"
or "noble"] was originally named Sarai. God renamed her Sarah after she
married Abraham; she gave birth to Isaac at age 90.
-
Aaron. The book of Exodus identifies Aaron as the older brother of Moses
(Exodus 7:7). When the time came for the deliverance of the Hebrews out of
Egypt, God sent Aaron to meet his long-absent brother in the desert (Exodus
4:27)
Claire: Do you mind if I sit?
Eko: Please.
Claire: Thanks. So you're Eko, huh?
Eko: Yes.
Claire: Claire; and this is Aaron.
Eko: Aaron? The brother of Moses?
Claire: Yeah, that must have been tough to live up to, right? The pressure
of everyone saying, "Why can't you be more like your brother, Moses."
Eko: Yes, I'm sure it was. Why did you choose it--Aaron?
Claire: I just liked it.
Eko: Aaron was a great man. Moses had great difficulty speaking so it was
Aaron who spoke for him.
-
The Black Rock. According to
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Grace) John Newton (1725-1807) penned
"How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds" (a.k.a. "Amazing Grace") circa 1772
while waiting in an African harbor for a shipment of slaves.
Steve Turner comments
(http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/113/12.0.html): "Arlo Guthrie
tells the story on stage that Newton was transporting slaves and the storm
hit the boat, he was converted on the spot, changed his mind about slavery,
took the slaves back to Africa, released them, came back to England, and
wrote the song. That would be nice. That would be the way we'd like to write
the story. But the fact is that he took years and years before he came to
the abolition position. And he never captained a slave ship until after he
became a Christian. All his life as a slave captain was actually
post-conversion."
It wasn't until 1780 that Newton began to express regrets about his part in
the slave trade--thirty-two years after his conversion. In 1785 he began
speaking out against slavery, and he continued to do so until his death in
1807.
See also: (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/005/11.50.html)
Redemption Song, which opens with the lyrics:"Old pirates, yes, they rob
I/Sold I to the merchant ships/Minutes after they took I/From the bottomless
pit"
Meanwhile, on the island, Jack, Locke, Hurley, and Kate blow open the hatch
to reveal an extremely deep shaft, a seemingly "bottomless pit".
"The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss (bottomless pit)."
(Revelation 9:1b)


Kate.
One idea discovered during the Black Plague was quarantine. But nearly 3000
years earlier, God told Moses and Aaron that any person with an infectious
disease must cover the lower part of his face and be quarantined: "The
person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair
be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, 'Unclean!
Unclean!' As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live
alone; he must live outside the camp." (Leviticus 13:45-46)
-
Heaven. Some have speculated that the Dharma symbol is first seen on the
side of the plane at the conclusion of "Tabula Rasa." [00:41:25 to 00:41:30]
(http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Persistent_rumors)
Dr. Jean Sloat Morton writes in "Science in the Bible" (Moody Press,
1978):"There are three heavens mentioned in Scripture. The apostle Paul said
he was caught up to the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2). The first heaven
is the atmosphere where birds fly (Jeremiah 8:7). The second heaven is where
the celestial bodies are located (Genesis 1:14-17). The third heaven is
God's heaven, and its location is indicated as northward...(Leviticus
1:10-11). Satan recognized the importance of the north:...(Isaiah 14:12a,
13)"
Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick). Jesus' first miracle was turning water into
wine at a wedding in Cana:
"Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial
washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the
servants, 'Fill the jars with water'; so they filled them to the brim. Then
he told them, 'Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.'
They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been
turned into wine." (John 2:6-9)
The Swan (http://www.swanstation.com/swan/). Cygnus (Latin for "swan")
is a northern constellation, and sometimes known as the Northern Cross. The
bird extends over the Milky Way, appearing to fly south.
-
on the mural painted by Desmond
(http://www.geocities.com/alt_tv_lost/mural.html)
(http://www.cs.iastate.edu/~andorfc/iowa_mural.html)
The fish became a symbol for Christianity in the early days of the church.
It is frequently found carved on the walls of the catacombs beneath the
ancient city of Rome.
(http://chi.gospelcom.net/images/img_factoids/fishanch.gif)
The Greek word for "fish" is ichthus, and each letter represented a word,
namely: i (Iesous - Jesus), ch (Christos - Christ), th (theou - of God), u
(huios - Son), s (soter - Savior). The fish became a code word, during times
of persecution, by which believers expressed the conviction: "I believe
Jesus Christ is the Son of God and my Savior."
(http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/bible/images/ichthus.gif)
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." (Mark
1:17)
Ana or Anna are forms of Hannah, meaning "grace" or "favor"; Lucia is
the feminine form of Lucius, meaning "light".
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje [ADD-ay WAHL-ay ACK-id NOY-ay AG-bajay] who
told SCI FI Wire (http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire): "I think that the writers
obviously brought this character [Mr. Eko] in to be able to explore the more
spiritual, mystical elements of the island...That's what they've told me
about Eko. And, you know, they have the man of science, I believe, which is
what Jack represents. And then you have Locke, who's a man of philosophy,
somewhat dark sometimes. And they wanted to juxtapose this man of faith
against those. So it's like a pyramid. So that's where they originally
perceived of him being placed."
-
Bernard's wife (Rose), and the rescue planes.
Bernard: I heard that you were the one who pulled the dead bodies out of the
water.
Eko: Yes.
Bernard: Were any of them African American?
Eko: No.
Bernard: That’s my wife. I can’t find her!
Eko: I’ll pray for her.
Bernard: Where the hell are the rescue planes?
Eko: I will pray for them too.
-
40 days.
Ana Lucia: What are you lookin' at?
Eko: It going to be okay.
Ana Lucia: What? You talkin' now?
Eko: It’s been 40 days.
Ana Lucia: You've been waiting 40 days to talk?
Eko: You waited 40 days to cry.
Gilgamesh.
Frank Lorey writes in "The Flood of Noah and the Flood of Gilgamesh"
(http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=414):
"The Book of Genesis is viewed for the most part as an historical work, even
by many liberal scholars, while the Epic of Gilgamesh is viewed as
mythological. The One-source Theory must, therefore, lead back to the
historical event of the Flood and Noah's Ark. To those who believe in the
inspiration and infallibility of the Bible, it should not be a surprise that
God would preserve the true account of the Flood in the traditions of His
people. The Genesis account was kept pure and accurate throughout the
centuries by the providence of God until it was finally compiled, edited,
and written down by Moses. The Epic of Gilgamesh, then, contains the
corrupted account as preserved and embellished by peoples who did not follow
the God of the Hebrews."
a cross inside a coat-of-arms
See also: (http://www.hum.aau.dk/~ossk01/DeadGuy'sShirt.jpg)
Sayid.
"It is mine to avenge; I will repay." (Deuteronomy 32:5)
mangoes. Bruce Cockburn's 1999 song Mango begins:"She's got a mango in
the garden/Sweet as can be/She's got a mango in the garden/Full of
mystery/She's got a mango in the garden/From the original tree/She's got a
mango in the garden/Shares it with me"
Contrary to popular belief, the book of Genesis doesn't mention the
forbidden fruit eaten by Adam and Eve was an apple--only that the fruit was
from "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" (Genesis 2:17).
Speculations about the fruit include: apple, apricot, mango, and
pomegranate. (http://www.semissourian.com/story/1128388.html)
a black horse.
When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say,
"Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was
holding a pair of scales in his hand. (Revelation 6:5)
From Lost: The Official Magazine (July/Aug 2006):
Q: (to Evangeline Lilly) Did the appearance of the horse in the episode have
a specific representation in your mind?
Evangeline: I don't know the _actual_ symbolism of the horse, but I did feel
that the role the horse played in the flashback, combined with the role the
horse played on the island, was very symbolic. Not only was it a turning
point in both stories, but it was also a bit of a supernatural foundation in
both those stories. When Kate is able to reach out and touch that horse at
the end of the episode, it's where her salvation comes from. It's what
brings her from being insane, unstable and potentially going over the edge,
to her feeling in some way, shape or form, that she touched God, or her
soul, or something untouchable, that has proved her sanity. There is a grace
for her. I might be reading too much into it, but I really feel that is what
happened--a grace was passed through that connection. When she has that
moment with Jack, right before the kiss where she says to him, "I just
can't... I can't... I can't." She doesn't specify what she can or can't do,
except for, "I can't." I feel like maybe after that moment with the horse,
it's like she is given the grace so that she can believe in herself. In the
whole episode, she thinks she has seen a ghost, but then the ghost turns out
to be real and I think it sends her a message to believe in herself."
Sawyer. Lynnette Porter & David Lavery write in "Unlocking the Meaning
of Lost": "The Christian concept of being born again, or 'saved,' even
affects characters who do not seek redemption and most likely doubt that
they are spiritually saved. When self-proclaimed sinner Sawyer awakens from
delirium to find himself in a bunk bed inside the Hatch, he believes the
castaways have been rescued. Kate assures him that they are still on the
island and finally takes him outside to prove it. 'We're not saved?' Sawyer
mournfully asks. 'Not yet,' Kate replies. Although the two outlaws have not
yet sought redemption, Lost's writers imply that spiritual rebirth--being
saved--is possible even for those who so far have not embraced their second
chance for a new life."
-
Locke.
From "Abandoned":
Locke (hearing Aaron crying): Well. What's wrong?
Claire: He just won't sleep.
Locke (as he wraps Aaron tightly in a cloth): Babies like the feeling of
being constricted. It’s not until we're older that we develop the desire to
be free. There.
...
Claire: I can't believe he's asleep.
Locke: Swaddling works every time.
A screen capture from the episode resembles a nativity scene, with baby
Aaron as Jesus, Claire as Mary, Locke as Joseph, and three castaways in the
background as Wise Men.

The term "swaddling clothes" is often associated with the birth of Christ.
In the holiday classic "A Charlie Brown Christmas" Linus reads from the book
of Luke (chapter 2, verses 8-14):
Linus: Lights, please..."And there were in the same country shepherds
abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the
angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round
about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, 'Fear
not: for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is
Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe
wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was
with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward
men.'"...That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
(http://www.dltk-holidays.com/xmas/meaning_of_christmas.htm)
-
Locke.
Locke: Hello again.
Eko: Hello. I have something I think you should see. If you don't mind, I
will begin at the beginning. Long before Christ the king of Judah was a man
named Josiah.
Locke: Boy, when you say beginning, you mean beginning.
Eko: At that time the temple where the people worshipped was in ruin. And so
the people worshipped idols, false gods. And so the kingdom was in disarray.
Josiah, since he was a good king, sent his secretary to the treasury and
said: 'We must rebuild the temple. Give all of the gold to the workers so
that this will be done.' But when the secretary returned, he had no gold.
And when Josiah asked why this was the secretary replied, 'We found a book.'
Do you know this story?
Locke: No, I'm afraid I don't.
Eko: What the secretary had found was an ancient book--the Book of Law. You
may know it as the Old Testament. And it was with that ancient book, not
with the gold, that Josiah rebuilt the temple. On the other side of the
island we found a place much like this, and in this place we found a book.
[Eko unwraps the Bible and pushes it toward Locke] I believe what's inside
there will be of great value to you.
The story of Josiah is recorded in 2 Chronicles: 34-35, and 2 Kings: 22-23.
From: Lost: The Complete Second Season (DVD):
Evangeline Lilly: The way he [Eko] tells the story. The way the cloth around
the book is so ancient looking. The way he's in tatters, you know, and the
cloth that he's wearing, it feels like we have been now transported back
into biblical times. It speaks of another generation, of another time. And
then Locke looks so today, you know, he's in a T-shirt, and he's kind of
grinning, and there's a great contrast.
See also:
(http://life-of-rubin.blogspot.com/2006/05/learning-about-faith-from-televis
ion.html)
a small reel of 16mm film. The Bible, a radio, and a glass eye were
found inside a box by the tail-section survivors in the Arrow station during "The Other 48 Days". Locke unrolls part of the reel and recognizes Dr. Marvin Candle, the
narrator of the orientation film.

-
The 23rd Psalm.
Charlie: So, are you a priest or aren't you?
Eko [putting his dead brother's cross around his neck]: Yes, I am...The LORD
is my shepherd; I shall not want./He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters./He restoreth my soul: he
leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake./Yea, though I
walk through the shadow of the valley of death, I will fear no evil: for
thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
[The following lines are spoken as voice-over as Sun and Jin bring a fish to
Ana Lucia]:
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou
anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over./Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of
the LORD for ever. Amen.
[Note: In the episode both Eko and Charlie reverse "valley" and "shadow",
saying "shadow of the valley of death", which is incorrect. In Hebrew,
"shadow of death" is a single word.]
From: Lost: The Complete Second Season (DVD):
Damon Lindelof: ...but I think like Eko actually sort of changes the words
around a little in the actual 23rd Psalm.
Carlton Cuse: Right. He didn't get it literally, but that's okay. I mean,
you know, I think that...
Damon Lindelof: He's not really a priest!
Carlton Cuse: I think actually it's one of the sort of like, little gaffes
that actually kind of makes it seem more real on a level, you know. It
wasn't intentional but had someone pitched that to us, and one of the other
writers or someone we would have said that's actually cool. Let him actually
misplace a couple of the words in it. That's more...tuned to the reality of
what the situation is.
...
Carlton Cuse: Essentially, what _is_ a priest? You know, Yemi [Eko's
brother] has this line in that scene we just saw where he basically says,
"You know, me signing this piece paper won't make you a priest, Eko." And
the whole idea of, sort of, you know, that the decision to sort of be a man
of God really starts from within, and what that journey is, and that being a
story that we wanted to tell through a character--who, you know, was
essentially a drug kingpin in Nigeria--seemed very very appealing to us.
-
on Eko's stick. Psalms, Revelation, Colossians and Titus are all books
of the Bible.
Claire: What are you writing?
Eko: Things I need to remember.

(http://lost-media.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&album=847&pos=13)
(http://lost-media.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&album=839&pos=28)
Inscribing scripture on the stick was the idea of Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje,
not the writers. (http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Jesus_Stick)
He's Evil, from The Kinks' 1974 album, Preservation: Act 2. Charlie
[singing]: "He's got wit he's got charm/But when he gets rough he'll break
your arm/He's got taste, manners and grace/But when he gets tough he'll slit
your face/He'll buy you jewels, expensive shoes, uh, oooo--Hey Jin, do you
like the Kinks? Kinks?"
a billowing cloud of black smoke. Flash images appear in the smoke from
Eko's past (http://lost.cubit.net/pics/2x10/) which include a
crucifix
-
Kate. In the book of Judges, Delilah entices Samson to reveal the secret
of his great strength ["No razor has ever been used on my head."] and then
betrays him to the Philistine rulers:
"Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven
braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him."
(Judges 16: 19)
One can interpret the cutting of Sawyer's hair as a subtle twist on the
biblical story--Kate cuts Sawyer's hair only after his strength begins to
return.

Gabriela Busoni (Monica Dean). Gabriela is the feminine form of Gabriel.
In Hebrew, Gabriel means "God is my strength". The archangel Gabriel
appeared to Daniel (Daniel 8:16), Zacharias (Luke 1:19), and Mary (Luke
1:26-38).
The Baptism of Christ (http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/v/verocchi/painting/baptism.html)
piano. Charlie's dream of a crying baby near shore is reminiscent of
Exodus 2: "Pharaoh's daughter...saw the basket among the reeds [of the Nile
River] and sent her slave girl to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He
was crying, and she felt sorry for him.'This is one of the Hebrew babies,'
she said. (Exodus 2:5-6). Pharaoh's daughter "named him Moses, saying, 'I
drew him out of the water.'" (Exodus 2:10). As mentioned previously, Aaron
was the older brother of Moses.
angels from the Verocchio painting. They repeatedly tell Charlie he must
"save the baby."
(http://www.geocities.com/alt_tv_lost/plane.html)

John the Baptist. (Matthew 3:1-17)
-
that John the Baptist cleansed Jesus of "all his sins".
Claire: But, do you think the baby has to be baptized?
Eko: Do you know what baptism is?
Claire: It's what gets you into heaven.
Eko: It is said that when John the Baptist baptized Jesus the skies opened
up and a dove flew down from the sky. This told John something--that he had
cleansed this man of all his sins. That he had freed him. Heaven came much
later.
*
If Eko was a real priest, he would have been familiar with the scriptures
which state Jesus was without sin.
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as
we are--yet was without sin." (Hebrews 4:15-16)
"God made the one who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we
would become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Claire and her baby Aaron.

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Eko). However, unlike the way he recited Psalm
23 in the Lost episode (broadcast Jan. 11/06), in the legislature he
correctly said "valley of the shadow of death" at verse 4.
From (http://starbulletin.com/2006/02/02/news/story09.html):
"Akinnuoye-Agbaje was invited to deliver the invocation by Sen. Fred
Hemmings (R, Lanikai-Waimanalo) after the senator saw the 'Lost' episode
featuring Eko's story....'Not only is the 23rd Psalm powerful, but this man
is powerful. And he's a Buddhist reading what is actually a Judeo-Christian
psalm....Interesting,' Hemmings said."
Sawyer. "A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but in his
heart he harbors deceit." (Proverbs 26:24)
Sawyer. In the book of Exodus, the second plague against Egypt was the
plague of frogs (Exodus 8:1-15)
"Lancelot" by Walker Percy

(http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1189)
(http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1763)
The Caduceus of Hermes/Mercury (medical symbol)

(http://drblayney.com/Asclepius.html)
Jack's hospital badge
(http://longlostlist.kazorum.com/longlostlist-about422.html)
The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is
bitten can look at it and live." So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up
on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze
snake, he lived. (Numbers 21:8-9)
Jesus said: "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of
Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal
life." (John 3:14-15)
an instrumental version of "Catch A Falling Star" (1957). Like the Swan
station, the medical station is found at the bottom of a shaft. Revelation 9:1:"The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that
had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the
shaft of the Abyss."
-
"The Brothers Karamazov".
Charles Colson said in his address to Harvard's Business School (April 4,
1991): "I was in the former Soviet Union last year and visited five prisons,
four of which had never been visited by anyone from the West. I met with
Soviet officials. It was really interesting. I met with Vadim Bakatin, then
Minister of Interior Affairs. When talking about the enormous crime problem
in the Soviet Union, he said to me, 'What are we going to do about it?' I
said, 'Mr. Bakatin, your problem is exactly the one that Fyodor Dostoyevsky,
your great novelist, diagnosed. In Brothers Karamazov, he had that debate
between the older brother, who is unregenerate, and the younger brother,
Alexis, who is the priest, over the soul of the middle brother, Ivan. At
onepoint, Ivan yells out and says, 'Ah, if there is no God, everything is
permissible.' Crime becomes inevitable. I said, 'Your problem in the Soviet
Union is 70 years of atheism.' He said, 'You're right. We need what you're
talking about. How do we get it back in the Soviet Union?'"
In "The Brothers Karamazov", set in 19th-century tsarist Russia, four very
different brothers scheme against their cruel father. The eldest brother,
Dmitri, is constantly in search of money, desperate for his rightful
inheritance that his father will not allow him. His saintly younger brother
Alexi loves all the brothers equally, while Ivan, a dispassionate
intellectual, and Smerdjakov, an illegitimate schemer, are rivals for their
father's attention and money.
(http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/id-46.html)
From the 1958 motion picture "The Brothers Karamazov" directed by Richard
Brooks. Left to right: Grushenka (Maria Schell), Dmitri Karamazov (Yul
Brynner), Alexi Karamazov (William Shatner).

From the episode "The Whole Truth":
"Henry": [reading from "The Brothers Karamazov"]:"Men reject their prophets
and slay them, but they love their martyrs and honor those whom they have
slain." [to Jack] So what's the difference between a martyr and a prophet?
Jack: Either way, it sounds like you end up dead.
"Henry": That's the spirit.
Eko. Among the Jews, to shave or to pluck one's own beard was a sign of
mourning (eg. Ezra 9:3) "When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak,
pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled."
Sun (Yunjin Kim). Near the end of the episode her husband (Jin) joins
her to help replant some of the taro he had earlier pulled out in anger. "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and
take care of it." (Genesis 2:15)

-
Ana Lucia.
[Ana Lucia is seen running hard on the beach. Locke sits under a tree eating
a banana.]
Locke: You were running like the devil's chasing you.
Ana Lucia: Maybe he is.
*
Similarly, in "Man of Science, Man of Faith":
Desmond: You a doctor then? [Jack nods. Desmond offers Jack his water
bottle] So what's your excuse?
Jack: Excuse?
Desmond: To run like the devil's chasing you.
*
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from
you." (James 4:17)
"I'll Share My World With You" (1968). From the song: "Let me give you
my two lips/They'll be smiling if you do".
In Song of Songs (4:3) the Lover says to his Beloved: "Your lips are like a
scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely."
I Thessalonians: "For we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will
live with the Lord forever." (4:17)
"Lift up your hearts"--said or sung by a priest at the start of the
Eucharistic Prayer during the Catholic Mass, followed by a response from the
congregation. "Lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven." (Lamentations 3:41)
See an additional image of the map at:
(http://lost.cubit.net/pics/2x17/blastDoorMap.jpg)
-
medical supplies.
There's a famous photo of W. C. Fields holding a poker hand from the 1940
film "My Little Chickadee", in which he stars with Mae West. Cousin Zeb, a
rube who wants to join the game, asks, "Uh, is this a game of chance?"
Fields, as Cuthbert J. Twillie, responds, "Not the way I play it, no."
In "God of Chance" (http://www.godofchance.com) David J. Bartholomew
(professor of statistical and mathematical science at the London School of
Economics) concludes that chance is not only real but intended by God.
From: (http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/jan1991/v47-4-article1.htm) "In this
assessment, he [Bartholomew] finds the most convincing rebuttal to Monod's
argument. God actually designed the universe in such a fashion that chance
had a role to play. God's goal for human life could not be obtained without
human freedom; but if there is to be scope for the operation of real
freedom, creation must provide for genuine uncertainty. The presence of
chance in the universe, therefore, instead of leaving no room for God, is
rather an important means whereby divine purposes are attained. In contrast,
Monod's thesis makes the universe not only extremely improbable, but
virtually impossible."
http://www.gotquestions.org/luck.html
-
eight.
Hurley: If I, uh--if I w--if I wasn't so fat, they never would have died.
Dr. Brooks: There were 23 people on that deck. It was built to hold 8.
And it would have collapsed whether you went out there or not.
*
God told Noah to build an ark of cypress wood 300 cubits long, 50 cubits
wide and 30 cubits high (about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high)
with lower, middle and upper decks.
(http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/3027)
In the Bible the number 8 is associated with the beginning of a new era eg.
8 people survived the Flood: Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives.
See: Genesis 6-9 and (http://vic.australis.com.au/hazz/number008.html)
Locusts. In the book of Exodus, the eighth plague against Egypt was the
plague of locusts (Exodus 10:1-20)
Moonbeam. Sawyer (to Libby):"Great plan, Moonbeam. And after that we
can sing Kumbaya and do trust falls."
From (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbaya): "Kumbaya (also spelled Kum Ba
Yah) is a nineteenth century African American folk song, originating among
the Gullah, an enslaved African people living on the Sea Islands, near the
coast of South Carolina and Georgia. (The translation of 'kumbaya' is
'comeby here'.) Originally a spiritual, the song enjoyed a revival during
the folk revival of the 1960s, and became associated with the civil rights
struggles of that decade. The melody is believed to be of Gullah or African
origin."
The first verse: "Kumbaya my Lord, kumbaya/Kumbaya my Lord, kumbaya/Kumbaya
my Lord, kumbaya/Oh Lord, kumbaya"
-
Libby. Food (manna) fell from the sky during the Israelites' Exodus from
Egypt:
"Then the LORD said to Moses, 'I will rain down bread from heaven for you.
The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this
way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On
the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be
twice as much as they gather on the other days.'" (Exodus 16:4-5)
"The people of Israel called the bread manna. [meaning "What is it?"] It was
white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey....The
Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was
settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan." (Exodus
16:31;35)
Jesus said: "I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the
desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven,
which a man may eat and not die." (John 6:48-50)
In "Lockdown," when Jack and Kate find a pallet of supplies and a
parachute--presumably from an airdrop--the first box Kate picks out is
DI 9FFTR731 Dharma Initiative Macaroni & Cheese Supper.
Sayid. Earlier, Sayid, Ana Lucia and Charlie find a balloon, and dig up
the body of a black man with a Minnesota driver's license identifying him as
Henry Gale.

The way "Henry" is strung up is reminiscent of Christ on the cross.

In "The Whole Truth," he tells Ana
Lucia: "That's what they all keep asking me to do--draw a map. And if I mess
up they'll crucify me."
a church. (http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/diary/105866.html) The first time the word "church" is
mentioned in the New Testament is in Acts 8:2, when "a great persecution
broke out against the church [the believers] at Jerusalem..."
"Henry Gale" a.k.a. "Fake Henry" and "Not Henry". Although he says God
"can't see this island", Proverbs 15:3 states: "The eyes of the LORD are
everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good."
DI 9FFTR731 Dharma Initiative Multi-Grain Cereal.
God gave the prophet Ezekiel a recipe for multi-grain bread:"Take wheat and
barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a container and
make them into bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the 390 days you
lie on your side" (Ezekiel 4:9). Whole grain was also parched, roasted or
cracked and made into a gruel (2 Samuel 17:28).
In "The Whole Truth," after "Henry" is offered some DI 9FFTR731 Dharma
Initiative Breakfast O's, he asks Jack and Locke: "You guys got any milk?"
"Elijah's Manna" (1904) was the original name of C.W. Post's "Post Toasties"
cereal.
(http://lost-media.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&album=1
039&pos=3)
a Samaritan. "He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and
wine." (Luke 10:34)

-
Bernard: What? Could I at least grab some of these logs? We could sure
use them.
Eko: We're using them.
Bernard: For _what_ exactly?
Charlie: A church.
Bernard: A church?
Eko: Yes.
Bernard: Everybody on this island is building something! I'm trying to get
us saved!
Eko: People are saved in different ways, Bernard.
Bernard: I think I liked you better when you just hit people with your
stick.
Charlie (to Eko): I like you just the way you are.
Isaac of Uluru (Wayne Pygram). Isaac means "he laughs" in Hebrew. In the
book of Genesis, Issac was the son of Abraham and Sarah. When God told
Abraham that Sarah would bear him a son, he "fell face down [and] laughed
and said to himself: 'Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will
Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?' (Genesis 17:17). After Issac was
born, Sarah said: "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about
this will laugh with me." (Genesis 21:6).
Peter Coyote. Lloyd Braun provides the "Previously on Lost" voice-over
at the beginning of each episode; James Earl Jones provided the menacing
voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars films.
-
3:51 a.m.
(http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage.php?album=1049&pos=201)
In view of the fact that Shephard gave Ana Lucia money to serve as his
bodyguard, a scripture from Numbers comes to mind:
"Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, as he was commanded
by the word of the LORD." (Numbers 3:51)
"Henry Gale". Bob Dylan sings: "Mama, take this badge off of me/I can't
use it anymore./It's gettin' dark, too dark for me to see/I feel like I'm
knockin' on heaven's door./Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door...Mama,
put my guns in the ground/I can't shoot them anymore./That long black cloud
is comin' down/I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door./Knock, knock,
knockin' on heaven's door..."
-
Caldwell. Eko's comment to Caldwell echoes Yemi's comment to Eko in "The
23rd Psalm": "For confession to mean something you must have a penitent
heart."
From the episode, "?":
In a flashback, Eko is dressed as a priest in a confessional:
Eko: How long has it been since your last confession?
Caldwell: Oh, good question. Too many years for me to even remember.
Eko: What do you wish to ask God's forgiveness for? What sins have you
committed?
Caldwell: Let's see. Well, I slept with another woman besides my wife.
Eko: Just once, or many times?
Caldwell: How many is many?
Eko: To receive God's forgiveness you must be penitent for your sins.
Caldwell: Oh, I also forged ID papers for a guy pretending to be a priest.
-
The Pearl.
(http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage.php?album=1064&pos=422) Nikki
Stafford writes in Finding Lost: The Unofficial Guide: "Pearls symbolize
purity, innocence, and honesty. In Eastern cultures, they are believed to
bring about spiritual transformation. The Japanese believe they bring good
luck. St. Augustine believed the pearl symbolized Jesus Christ, which may be
why Eko finds such serenity in the station. Heaven is often referred to as
having pearly gates, another reference Eko might find soothing. 'Pearls of
wisdom' is a popular phrase that fits here--the station's denizens watch the
other station and impart the knowledge they've gained." (p. 310)
*
Jesus said: "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for
fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold
everything he had and bought it." (Matthew 13:45-46)
In John's description of the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, he writes:"The
twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl."
(Revelation 21:21a)
-
in the orientation video for The Pearl:"At the end of your eight hour
shift proceed to the Pala Ferry which will take you back to the barracks".
The word "pala" has a variety of meanings including: nutmeg, spade, and the
broad part of an oar. Pala is the name of an island utopia in Aldous
Huxley's "Island" (1962).
The Pala Dynasty was the ruling dynasty in Bihar and Bengal India, from the
8th to the 12th century; the rulers' names ended in Pala, meaning
"protector". The founder of the empire, Gopala, reigned from 750-770, and
extended his control over all of Bengal. His successor, Dharmapala
(770-781), made the Palas a dominant power of northern India.
From: Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine (November, 2005)
(http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/emagazine/021.html):
"One of the words meaning to pray is Palal from the parent root PL which
literally means 'Speak to Authority'....Another word from the PL root is
pala. Added to this root is the letter aleph which in its original picture
form is an ox head meaning 'strength'. This word means 'perform' i.e. a
great work (performed) as an act of intercession (out of a judgement). It is
translated wonder, marvellous, and extraordinary. Pala is used primarily
with God as its subject, expressing actions that '... and in our eyes it is
amazing!' Psalm 118:23. Interestingly the first use of this word is in Gen
18:14 'Is any thing too hard (pala) for Adonai?' Yet, on the other hand God
does not require anything of us that is too difficult (pala). Deut 30:11."
seven.
From (http://vic.australis.com.au/hazz/number007.html): "In the Hebrew,
seven ([b'v, - Sheh'-bah) is from a root word meaning to be complete or
full."
Elizabeth--the sailboat Desmond uses for his race around the world. The
sailboat hailed from Newport Beach--a gift to Libby by her husband David,
now deceased.
According to Luke 1, Elizabeth [from the Hebrew "God's promise/ God is my
oath"] was the mother of John the Baptist and a relative of Mary, the mother
of Jesus. "Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then
returned home." (Luke 1:56)
"Our Mutual Friend" (1864–5), the last completed novel written by
Charles Dickens. In the words of critic J. Hillis Miller, the novel centers
on "money, money, money, and what money can make of life" (a quote from the
character Bella)
Caryn James writes in her 1999 review of Masterpiece Theater's version of
"Our Mutual Friend": "Love or money? A good heart or social status? The
characters in 'Our Mutual Friend' fluctuate wildly between these poles. In
this tale, trash becomes money, and money becomes prestige, as the foul dust
heap that created the Harmon fortune is turned into the coin of admittance
to society. But in Dickens's complex world, poverty does not automatically
equal goodness; goodness is a matter of what one does, and how one reacts,
to wealth."
The apostle Paul does not say "money is the root of all evil," but rather
"the love of money" (1 Timothy 6:10).
*
Desmond is standing at a counter while the Master Sergeant takes items out
of an envelope:
Master Sergeant: Set of keys; one pocket watch, gold plated; one
photograph...One book, Our Mutual Friend. Why didn't you bring that inside?
Desmond: To avoid temptation, brother. I've read everything Mr. Charles
Dickens has ever written--every wonderful word. Every book, except this one.
I'm savin' it so it will be the last thing I ever read before I die.
Master Sergeant: Nice idea, as long as you know when you're gonna die. (he
stamps "DISHONORABLY DISCHARGED" on some papers)
*
Entertainment Weekly's Jeff Jensen writes: "In my view, Desmond/Penelope has
suddenly become the defining narrative thread of Lost. Everything else is a
subplot within that larger context. I know this is a peculiar argument to
make, since until now, Desmond has technically been a supporting character
in the larger Jack arc, and a mere footnote in the broader island mythology.
And who knows? Maybe he'll remain a marginal figure in terms of total screen
time."
"But Lost can be all about Desmond and Penelope even if it isn't literally
all about Desmond and Penelope. Just ask Desmond's favorite author, Charles
Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities is a great example of a cast-of-thousands opus
whose two main protagonists don't truly emerge until the second act of the
novel. Desmond's progress in the season finale from a cynical, self-pitying
drunken sot to an idealistic, self-sacrificing romantic hero reminded me of
Two Cities' Sydney Carton; and as Desmond turned the fail-safe key in the
final moments, I recalled Carton's famous final worlds: 'It is a far, far
better thing than I do than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest
that I go to than I have ever known.'"
(http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,1198842_3%7C%7C1045714%7C0_0
_,00.html)
Nikki Stafford writes in Finding Lost: The Unofficial Guide: "In the end,
the one character we cannot forget is Desmond. No matter what criteria the
Others use to determine if someone is good, Desmond is one of the good ones.
People have killed, fought, and maimed in the name of love on this island,
but no one has given up their life for it. After almost giving up, thinking
that he'll never reclaim his honor, Desmond suddenly realizes there _is_ a
way to get his honor back, and that is to sacrifice himself to save everyone
else. (It's not coincidence that Desmond looks like Christ in this episode.)
As he stares at the termination switch--the thing that will end everyone's
slavery to the godforsaken button, but will also probably end his life--he
thinks back to the one person who means anything to him."
Speaking of Christ, Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond) portrays Christ in "The
Gospel of John" (2003), directed by Philip Saville.
(http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/gospel_of_john.htm)
Penelope's letter to Desmond (as heard in Penelope's voice-over):
Dearest Des,
I am writing this letter to you as you leave for prison. And I've hidden it
in the one place you would turn to in a moment of great desperation. I know
you go away with the weight of what happened on your shoulders. And I know
the only person who can ever take it off is you. Please don't give up Des.
Because all we really need to survive is one person who truly loves us. And
you have her. I will wait for you always. I love you. Pen.
[Note: In a screen capture of the actual letter, an additional sentence can
be read after "...is you." The sentence: "Sorry to be so dramatic, but these
are dramatic times, are they not?"]
See: (http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage.php?album=1085&pos=1124)
-
Desmond David Hume.
Master Sergeant: Lance Corporal Desmond David Hume, your sentence is hereby
complete and you are now and forever dishonorably discharged from the Royal
Scots Regiment of Her Majesty's Armed Forces. Long live the Queen. Enjoy
your sodding book.
The Record's (www.northjersey.com/lost) Bill Ervolino writes in his May 29/06
column: "When Libby agrees to finance Scotsman Desmond Hume's adventure, she
mentions that her husband's name was David. Another David--David Hume, in
fact--was a Scottish philosopher (1711-1776) who was greatly influenced by
John Locke, and was friendly, at least for a time, with Jean-Jacques
Rousseau."
Another noted philosopher was René Descartes (1596-1650). Robert Burke
Richardson writes in his essay,"Doubt, Descartes, and Evil Geniuses" (from
Getting Lost, edited by Orson Scott Card):"I believe Lost can help explain
why Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy remains such an enduringly
popular work by helping us see that Descartes' meditational journey serves
as a model for how one can engage with--and ultimately come to terms
with--doubt."
"Meditations on First Philosophy works not only as philosophy, but also as a
kind of story--the Lost of its day, a first-hand account of one man's
engagement with doubt and the road he takes out of it." (p. 92)
Bono sings on "Hawkmoon 269" (from the 1988 album "Rattle and Hum"):"Like
faith needs a doubt/Like a freeway out/I need your love"
Libby (Elizabeth). During the scene at the coffee bar, Libby wears a
small gold cross around her neck.
green. The closed captioning confirms that the "Hurley bird" said
"Hurley," as it flew towards the group and then away.
(http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/05/25/forensic-photography-with-the-big-green-l
ost-bird/)
Ecclesiastes 10:20 states, "a bird on the wing may carry your words, and a
bird on the wing may report what you say."
six toes. "In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was
a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each
foot--twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha. When he taunted
Israel, Jonathan son of Shimeah, David's brother, killed him." (2 Samuel
21:20-21)
-
September 22, 2004--the same date Lost's pilot episode premiered on ABC.
When Desmond checks the computer print-out, he notices the words "SYSTEM
FAILURE" beside the date/time 922044:16
922 = September 22; 04 = 2004; 4:16 = 4:16 p.m.
In "Live Together, Die Alone," Eko etches the number 922 into his stick,
next to "Revelations", so it reads "Revelations 922". Nikki Stafford
suggests in Finding Lost: The Unofficial Guide that Eko "is probably
indicating Revelations, chapters 9 to 22..."
The time of the crash [4:16 p.m.] appears to echo Hebrews 4:16: "Let us then
approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy
and find grace to help us in our time of need."
"A Tale of Three Kings: A Tale in Brokenness" by Gene Edwards (1992),
based on the biblical figures of David, Saul, and Absalom.
From the back cover: "This modern classic will bring light, clarity, and
comfort to the brokenhearted. Many Christians have experienced pain, loss,
and heartache at the hands of other believers. To those believers, this
compelling story offers comfort, healing and hope."
"challah", Peyser reports, "as in the Jewish bread that's full of
twists. They haven't even told the cast what's going to happen."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challah)
-
Damon Lindelof. His comment echoes the title of Viktor Frankl's famous
book, "Man's Search for Meaning" (1946), which chronicles his experiences
as a concentration camp inmate and describes his psychotherapeutic method of
finding a reason to live.
Two quotes from the book:
"We can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: (1) by doing
a deed; (2) by experiencing a value; and (3) by suffering."
"The crowning experience of all, ...is the wonderful feeling that, after all
he has suffered, there is nothing he need fear any more--except his God."
*
From "War of the Worlds" by Jeff Jensen (Entertainment Weekly, May 19/06):
"Lost's shepherds are also deep-thinking guys whose soulful concerns are
imprinted on the show. Lindelof, 33, and Cuse, 47, both speak of spiritual
awakenings during adulthood; they aspire to use Lost as a vehicle to tell
stories of redemption and, according to Cuse, explore the question of 'how
does one lead a life.' During the show's conception, Lindelof was grappling
with an array of internal debates prompted by the death of his father. At
the same time, he was falling in love with his future wife, and finding the
spiritual connection he was seeking through exposure to her Catholic
beliefs. 'For me,' he says, 'Lost is about meaning--and the search for
meaning.'" (http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1193284_3_0_,00.html)
The Garden of Eden hypothesis.
On July 20/06, Jensen wrote
(http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2006/07/lost_experience_1.html):
DOC JENSEN INSTA-THEORY: It's the Garden of Eden hypothesis. What does The
Bible tell us about what happened after Adam and Eve ate the apple? Death
entered the world, and life would become marked by hardship and chaos. Seems
to me that these two Hanso initiatives are means of finding scientific ways
of restoring mankind, and the world, back to its pre-fall condition. "Life
extension" is about cheating death; "mathematical forecasting" is about
eliminating disorder. If the island is a mythical wellspring of life--in
other words, Eden--then I wonder if Hanso thought he could fix the world by
introducing an antidote into its sin-poisoned waters. In other words: The
world is a computer that's been compromised by a vrius (original sin); The
Numbers is a fix, and it's being distributed around the world through
electromagnetic energy. [NOT CENSORED BY THE HANSO FOUNDATION, BECAUSE
THAT'S JUST HILARIOUSLY STUPID.]
"Those five hieroglyphics together are the symbol for 'underworld', in
Egyptian."
(http://lost.cubit.net/pics/2x14/glyphs.jpg)
(http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e183/Alyson3783/hieroglyphs.jpg)
Jesus says in Matthew 12:40: "For as Jonah was three days and three nights
in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three
nights in the heart of the earth."
L. Scott Caldwell "I'd like to see more faith and hope. One of the things they wanted to build
on is that there is this battle between good and evil on the island. I
represent this character of great faith act as a spearhead in fighting this
other element. I'd like to be the person on the island filled with so much
love and faith who saves the day." (Lost: The Official Magazine, July/Aug
2006)
In Lost: The Official Magazine (Sept/Oct 2006) she said: "Well, I got
married in Hawaii and then my husband died within that year so I got to take
his ashes back to the place we got married. Closing that chapter in my life
was important. It is sad, but the fact that I got married there because I
was doing Lost--we were just going to go to Las Vegas and then Lost came
up--meant we were able to get married in this incredible place. Then when he
died, I was back on Lost so I was able to carry his ashes back and complete
that step. There's a sadness to it as an event, but on a spiritual level, it
was a completion. So that was beautiful."
The lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7), lost coin (15:8-10) and lost son
(15:11-32). "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Luke 19:10)

Scoring:
50-59 Satisfactory
60-69 Very Satisfactory
70-79 Good
80-89 Very Good
90-100 Excellent
101 As wise as Solomon.
Links:
http://humpys.net
http://andfound.com
http://lost.about.com
http://4815162342.com
http://lost.cubit.net/pics
http://www.lostblog.net
http://www.lostlinks.net
http://www.lostcasts.com
http://www.lostpedia.com
http://www.lost-media.com
http://www.loststudies.com
http://www.thefuselage.com
http://www.crapholeisland.com
http://lostbutfound.typepad.com
http://www.oceanicflight815.com
http://members.aol.com/lostdogon
http://thelostnumbers.blogspot.com
http://www.ravenscraft.org/podcast
http://www.geocities.com/alt_tv_lost
http://www.tvsquad.com/category/lost
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.tv.lost
http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/show.html
http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/lost_tv.htm
http://www.lost-theseries.com/screencaps.php
http://lost.cubit.net/pics/2x17/blastDoorMapOverlay.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_(2004_television_series)
http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/L/lost
http://www.damaris.org/content/content.php?type=1&id=282
http://www.ew.com/ew/package/0,12938,1045714_3_0_,00.html
http://bigbloosky.blogspot.com/2006/04/bullpucky-lost-report_13.html
http://img141.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lostwallenhanced33bo.jpg
http://www.ew.com/ew/allabout/0,9930,102880_11||471611_0_,00.html
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-04-03-lost-clues-ipr_x.htm
http://www.oregonlive.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/living/1148421326194800.xml&coll=7
http://www.oregonlive.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/living/1148437516213010.xml&coll=7&thispage=2
Reference:
Lost: The Complete First Season
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=17420
Lost: The Complete Second Season
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=23504
*
"Finding Lost: The Unofficial Guide" by Nikki Stafford (ECW Press, 2006).
(http://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/)
"Getting Lost: Survival, Baggage, and Starting Over in J. J. Abrams' Lost",
edited by Orson Scott Card, (Benbella Books, 2006).
"Lost: A Search for Meaning" by Christian Piatt (Chalice Press, 2006).
"The Lost Chronicles: The Official Companion Book" by Mark Cotta Vaz
(Hyperion Books, 2005).
"Unlocking the Meaning of Lost: An Unauthorized Guide" by Lynnette Porter &
David Lavery (Sourcebooks, Inc., 2006). (http://www.unlockinglost.com)
Copyright 2006 by David Buckna. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Buckna is
the author of "The Pop Gospel," a quiz feature that has appeared in
publications including The Calgary Herald, ChristianWeek and Baptist Press.
Buckna reads email at (solomann@look.ca)
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