Spiritual Concepts

Damon Lindelof, writer and producer of Lost, on the spiritual concepts that inspire his TV projects [bold added]:

The idea that was so pervasive and strong in The Leftovers [Tom Perrotta's tale about the 98% who are left behind after the Rapture] for me was exploring the wake of what one would call a spiritual event, or some higher power essentially saying, "I declare that I exist, but I offer no explanation or instructions beyond this."

I liken it to one of my favorite shows as a kid. It was called The Greatest American Hero, and the crux was he's a high school teacher and he finds this suit, this uniform with a cape, and he puts it on, and it gives him strength and he can fly around, except the instruction manual is gone. So he doesn't fly particularly well, and he doesn't know how to use the suit.

I'm sort of like, "Is there any better metaphor for religion, which is like, 'I'm just going to leave you this book, but I'm not going to make myself available to answer any follow-up questions that you may have about the wild inconsistencies in this book nor will I allow you to amend it.'"

Something inexplicable happens, then human beings have to figure out what to do about it. One such event, commemorated by Christians today, is the Feast of Pentecost , when the Holy Spirit descended like "tongues of fire" upon Jesus' disciples. The people asked,

“Brothers, what shall we do?”

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. [Acts 2: 37-47]

Damon Lindelof laments the lack of an instruction manual. Another explanation is that the manual does exist, but no one wants to follow its instructions.

During Pentecost the altar is draped in red.