LOST, Pelagius, and Jacob Arminius

LOST and the history of the Church

Many epic tales over the years have dealt with an essential question that we all in one form or another grapple with – is man basically good, but capable of making bad decisions, or is man basically evil? The first that comes to mind is the highschool English class staple, The Lord of the Flies. In that story, the author William Golding makes the argument that man is basically evil and that society restrains his base inclinations. Another recent portrayal of this argument is found in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village, in which a group of people, frightened of the evil in the world, keep themselves huddled away from the world in a community where only their kind are allowed. They find eventually however, that the evil they feared from the outside has been inside the village as well.

The argument between these two sides isn’t a modern argument. In the 4^th century, a British theologian named Pelagius and a bishop from North Africa named Augustine had the same argument. Pelagius claimed that mankind, having been created in God’s image and likeness, is in essence good (though capable of making bad decisions). Augustine argued vehemently against that idea, referencing what has been termed “original sin” which has tainted mankind since is was committed by our first parents. Augustine sees Jesus then as the Saviour that we need because of our sins and shortfalls, while Pelagius sees Jesus as a good example of what we could be when, by mortal will, we choose good over evil. In church history, Augustine was vindicated and Pelagius was banished from Rome. However, that was far from the end of the debate. Pelagianism and its belief in the free will of man to choose good or evil has its roots deeper than the fourth century, and its influence is seen today, both inside and outside of the Church.

One of the more prominent progeny of Pelagianism is what we call Arminianism, which is the belief in the free will of man to choose or to deny Christ. Arminianists believe in the salvific work of God in Christ, they believe in original sin, but they also believe that man has the ability to decide to follow Christ, making his depravity, or sinfulness, less than complete. Orthodox Christianity, on the other hand, taught that because of “original sin”, mankind is incapable of making such a good moral choice as to follow Jesus, and that this is made only by the influence of Divine grace. Upon his confession of Jesus as God and Lord, Jesus told Peter “flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17), and so it is with any person who confesses Christ. In response to Arminianism, the followers of John Calvin named this doctrine “The Total Depravity of Man” – the idea that man cannot choose to make Jesus their God and Lord.

Now, let’s get back to LOST. Lost is a cultural phenomenon, in which much more is going on behind the scenes than what we see and experience. We know that there’s much more to Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, John, and the others and from the first season we catch glimpses of their lives before they crashed on the island. But as the series moves on season after season, we find that there’s more to the Island itself. And it was revealed most clearly in last week’s episode (season 6 episode 9) that the struggle they are experiencing on the island has to do with the experiment between two men, one named Jacob and the other who is not named, but who is depicted by certain people, most notably John Locke. It was revealed that the unnamed man (in black) believes that man is corrupt by nature, and Jacob disagrees, believing that man has in him the ability to choose good over evil. To make his point, Jacob brings people to the Island, giving them a fresh start – in essence, wiping away their sordid past, allowing them to choose good or evil for themselves. For each person who chooses Jacob over the man in black, Jacob deposits to the other man one white rock.

I am interested to see where this will go. There’s already so much symbolism to be unpacked here. For instance, Jacob’s name. Arminianists, the believers in the free will of man to choose or deny Christ’s salvation, take their name from a Dutch theologian named Jacob. Then there’s John Locke’s name. John Locke is most recently seen to be the “man in black”. Locke has always believed that he was destined for the Island. His last name depicts his character and position – he’s “locked” into his destiny. His first name is perhaps a homage to John Calvin. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.