Welcome to Tuesdays with Doctor G. where I am beginning a series entitled The Gospel According to Lost. It is an exploration of what it means to be truly human using the narrative lens of one of the greatest shows ever produced, Lost.
This is Episode One.
Episode 1: One Island, Two Brothers, and a Bet
This is the gospel according to Lost.
Many people are not aware that the subtext of Lost is a bet between two brothers, Jacob and the man in black. The brothers make a Job-like wager to answer the question: what are people like—at their core? In theology, the question becomes: what is human nature like? And over six seasons, in one of the greatest stories ever written for a television series, Lost dives into this question using the intersecting lives of its colorful characters.
And the brothers do not disappoint. They give us two answers, which turn out to be two radically different worldviews. I love the term that my friends use in Latin America: cosmovisión.
A vision for the cosmos.
It’s profound, don’t you think?
This already suggests an important implication. How you see people might determine how you see everything else. This was certainly true in my case. For two decades, every major decision I made, from attending seminary and getting a PhD, to embarking on the mission field with family and teaching the Bible, was based on how I viewed people outside my Christian tradition. I believed they needed saving, and I was God’s herald sent to impart a divine message.
But the impact of this concept extends far beyond my own story. Change the answer to the human question, and every existential inquiry further downstream also shifts: Why am I here? What is my purpose? What is the meaning of life? Even questions about Jesus, salvation, and hell come under renewed scrutiny.
But the most consequential result of this wager is what the answers reveal. As we’ll see, they contain a diagnosis for what ails modern human beings as well as a cure for this existential crisis. I know that’s a big promise, but I hope you will find these ideas worthy of consideration as the series unfolds.
That’s the setup.
One island, two brothers, and a bet—about everything that matters!
The man in black goes first.
Til Episode Two.
Gustavo
P.S. One final question for reflection. Every philosopher, theologian, and their grandmother has given us an answer to this question. So let it rip. tell us what you think. What are people like—at their core?
It could be a rant or your PhD thesis. No need to footnote it.
P.P.S. If you have never seen the show Lost, I would suggest you watch the two-part pilot. This will give you a sense for the mysterious island and its main characters. Plus it ranks as some of the most gripping hours of television I have ever experienced. (But be careful. You may end up watching all six seasons.)