FAITH WITHOUT RELIGION

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Wishing is not enough; we must do. — Johann Von Goethe

One of the main plot themes was the apparent conflict between faith and science. However, science was never explained and faith had no true religious context.

Locke was a drawn as a man of faith, but he did not practice any organized religion. He wanted or desired to be a different person. As a boy he did not want to be a student scientist but a jock. It was not his faith in any particular thing that moved along his life. It was more fate, a predetermined pathway which one has no control over. Destiny is a meaningful end to a journey involving fate, but Locke's end was not heroic or meaningful. As in life, as in his death at the hands of Ben, he was a pawn, a follower, an anti-hero.

Even those who expressed beliefs were not true believers. Eko was posing a priest because it was a means to save his own hide from the authorities. He may have been despondent that his criminal actions caused his brother's death, but he did not have a conversion to a religious man to make amends for his sins. It was a cover that could not contain his anger.  He had no qualms about killing the Others who attacked the Tailies camp. 

If there is a lesson, it is that people really do not change. Sayid may have said his morning prayers but he did not bow to commandments of his religion. He used the aspects of his religion not for faith but as a means to try to keep his own Iranian identity that had been taken away after the war. His desire to be an independent person was lost when the U.S. military turned him into a spy. He was not independent on the island either; he turned into Ben's henchman, then later when darkness consumed him, a follower of MIB/Flocke.

After the crash, Rose knew things would be okay. Some would think it was faith, a wish, a hope. Others would think that she knew because she knew herself - - - when the pains of her cancer left her body, she knew she did too. It was not a religious revelation, but an acknowledgement or realization that she had passed on.

This may be the context of character beliefs in the series.

Instead of the back stories (the flashbacks) being about each character's past, they may have been actual flash forwards of what each person's life "could have been" if they had not died at a young age. The unbelievable coincidence that the main characters would wind up all together in Sydney is more palatable if they were being sorted into groups at some cosmic soul factory.

We have discussed previously the idea that the main characters were dead souls making a harsh journey through the afterlife. We also have discussed previously the concept that the main characters "died" before Flight 815 took off. For example, when Jack was severely beaten by the school yard bully and hit his head, at that moment, Jack could have died (there have been numerous examples of punching deaths in Chicago area in the last few years). Or, when premature Locke was born at a rural hospital in 1950s, he was not a "miracle" baby but actually died because medical science could not save his life. Kate could have been hit by a car when she was fleeing the dime store with the stolen lunchbox (or even blown up in the house explosion). Sawyer's father could have killed his entire family (which is also a current trend in even quiet suburban homes today). And Hurley could have been one of the two people who died in the porch collapse.

What happens when a person's life is cut short?  Maybe certain souls get a chance to "live" a fantasy life before crossing over. For example, Hurley dies in the porch collapse. His life is cut short with serious issues left unresolved, including the abandonment by his father. As a result, his one true wish to have his family back together again can only been done if he magically "wins" the lottery. In his fantasy back story, he wins the lottery but such joy is tempered by unintended consequences (probably brought on by his deep emotional childhood issues). Even with money, his father's return, Hurley's second life is not fulfilling because he is still shy, naive and without self confidence. At this point, the cosmic sorting machine brings together other lost souls with unresolved issues and places them together in the final act of the second lives, the island world.

So what happens when these lost young souls come to the island as the final leg of their underworld journey? Some find their own answers, like Hurley, who experiences love with Libby. Some need some form of reformation or acknowledgement like Jack by his father. Others, like Michael, are not ready to move on because they have compounded their spiritual issues or in some ways want or need to be further punished (Michael being imprisoned on the island for killing Anna Lucia and Libby) in their own mind. In this way, there is no religious context to any character's journey. It is one of self discovery and self-fulfillment. In Michael's case, he wanted, desired and demanded that he be punished for his actions. In Sawyer's case, he wanted, desired and worked to change his con artist ways into a normal family situation with Juliet. The island gave them the means to put their desires into action so they could learn what it takes to become who they wanted to be in their lost real lives.

So what about Locke? His resolution in the church was a lonely one. He had no one to cross over with - - - except if one looks at what was missing from Locke's death at an early age, he had it in the church: friends. Locke had found friends, some as close as siblings, so in the end he had what was missing in his life: a family. 

In one respect, everyone in the sideways church embodied the concept of family. An extended family created by the extended second life in the spirit world for lost souls who died early, without the opportunity to experience the ups and downs of being a part of a family unit.