This is weird for me to think about. It's like I loosely grasp the ideas in my mind and they make sense, but then I try to focus on any part to explain it the whole thing unravels.
My understanding is that the people on the island were not dead or in purgatory or the world of spirits, but in a part of the natural world where strange things happened. Though that seems to suggest that regular life isn't strange :P When someone died, whether on the island or off, they went to a spiritual world/afterlife. Anyone who left the island, including the people who left at the end (Lipidus, Miles, Sawyer, Kate, etc.) went on to live off the island in the real world. When they died the deep connections they had formed with their Lost-friends helped them find each other. Since time there is "different" (explained by Christian) it seemed as if they all arrived simultaneously, but their deaths occurred at very different times. Coming to the island didn't seal their fate or anything, but helped them create the bonds with each other that would last even beyond death. The flash side-ways then were more flashes into the afterlife.
But you're wondering more whether the spiritual world/afterlife bit is purgatory. I say it could be seen that way, but I think it's more likely that the producers are emphasizing that SOME afterlife exists rather than pinning down a specific religion. I think that's their whole point: life after death exists. There are so many signs pointing to this, like the statue on the island -- it's Taweret, the Egyptian goddess of birth and rebirth. Like I mentioned to you in the car driving home after the show, almost every religion teaches that there is life after death while unreligious people tend to think life ends when a person dies. That's why though the church looked very Christian (and Christian Shepherd was walking through...) the symbols represented religions from all over the world.
Okay, I don't know if this addressing much or makes sense, but my lunch break is over so I'm posting and will come back to reread/respond if needed.
I think what you wrote makes sense, but I don't think you got what I was saying in my original post.
I really was just asking what purgatory is and how it relates to the spiritual world, and then how what people are calling "purgatory" on Lost relates to both. I guess you kind of touched on what the Lost version of "purgatory" is.
I'm really interested in what the producers thought of it. I don't remember, but I think at one point you were talking about one of your theories and I thought you were saying that they were debunking different religious views... I think I rather see it as showing that all religions are valid. The more I think about it, the more I really liked that ending. I'm so pleased that all of them (no matter what their religion) got to go to heaven (aka move on).
Oh, I got that you were just curious about what purgatory is. The reasons I didn't discuss that are 1) I don't know anything about purgatory, and 2) I don't think the afterlife they're in fits with the religious beliefs of one specific church.
My point about Lost debunking religious views was simply that the show demonstrates how spirituality is not limited or guaranteed in traditional definitions of religion. It shows that spirituality can exist in unexpected places (Locke feels connected to the island, Desmond has dreams, Echo is a drug dealer but becomes a priest, etc.) and that even in its traditional form it's not always helpful (quotes from the Bible used for brainwashing, Mary statues hide heroine, a Bible is hollowed out to create a hiding place, etc.). I felt their point was that religious rituals and teachings are important, but apart from spiritual truths they're empty or even harmful.
I loved the part at the end showing symbols from various churches. I think you're right that it showed the validity of many faiths.
My understanding is that the people on the island were not dead or in purgatory or the world of spirits, but in a part of the natural world where strange things happened. Though that seems to suggest that regular life isn't strange :P When someone died, whether on the island or off, they went to a spiritual world/afterlife. Anyone who left the island, including the people who left at the end (Lipidus, Miles, Sawyer, Kate, etc.) went on to live off the island in the real world. When they died the deep connections they had formed with their Lost-friends helped them find each other. Since time there is "different" (explained by Christian) it seemed as if they all arrived simultaneously, but their deaths occurred at very different times. Coming to the island didn't seal their fate or anything, but helped them create the bonds with each other that would last even beyond death. The flash side-ways then were more flashes into the afterlife.
But you're wondering more whether the spiritual world/afterlife bit is purgatory. I say it could be seen that way, but I think it's more likely that the producers are emphasizing that SOME afterlife exists rather than pinning down a specific religion. I think that's their whole point: life after death exists. There are so many signs pointing to this, like the statue on the island -- it's Taweret, the Egyptian goddess of birth and rebirth. Like I mentioned to you in the car driving home after the show, almost every religion teaches that there is life after death while unreligious people tend to think life ends when a person dies. That's why though the church looked very Christian (and Christian Shepherd was walking through...) the symbols represented religions from all over the world.
Okay, I don't know if this addressing much or makes sense, but my lunch break is over so I'm posting and will come back to reread/respond if needed.
Hooray for Lost!
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I really was just asking what purgatory is and how it relates to the spiritual world, and then how what people are calling "purgatory" on Lost relates to both. I guess you kind of touched on what the Lost version of "purgatory" is.
I'm really interested in what the producers thought of it. I don't remember, but I think at one point you were talking about one of your theories and I thought you were saying that they were debunking different religious views... I think I rather see it as showing that all religions are valid. The more I think about it, the more I really liked that ending. I'm so pleased that all of them (no matter what their religion) got to go to heaven (aka move on).
Reply
My point about Lost debunking religious views was simply that the show demonstrates how spirituality is not limited or guaranteed in traditional definitions of religion. It shows that spirituality can exist in unexpected places (Locke feels connected to the island, Desmond has dreams, Echo is a drug dealer but becomes a priest, etc.) and that even in its traditional form it's not always helpful (quotes from the Bible used for brainwashing, Mary statues hide heroine, a Bible is hollowed out to create a hiding place, etc.). I felt their point was that religious rituals and teachings are important, but apart from spiritual truths they're empty or even harmful.
I loved the part at the end showing symbols from various churches. I think you're right that it showed the validity of many faiths.
Reply
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