Talk:Religious Allusions

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[edit] Removed Info from the Main Wikipedia article about the 4400

The following text was removed from the 4400 article on the main Wikipedia because it could not be sourced, however the material here would be quite appropriate for this site. Since we don't have a sourcing policy (or any others for that matter), I'd like to see this info rearranged into this article.

The name of the show itself might be an allusion to the belief held by Jehovah's Witnesses that only 144,000 people will be allowed into Heaven. This is also a reference to biblical scripture in Revelation chapter 7 verse 4. The 4400 people who disappear do so in a rapture like fashion. The show's content has subtle Christian undertones, although not in a way that one would take it to be proselytizing. The baby Isabelle, believed by some to be a Christlike figure and the future savior of mankind, has also committed acts more consistent with an Antichrist. In the same vein, Jordan Collier (note his initials JC), whose intentions and methods are also grey, is killed by a sniper, and after his funeral, his body miraculously disappears. The disappearance is eerily (though not subtly) a reference to the Gospel account of Jesus' resurrection: the empty tomb (coffin) is discovered by a female disciple, who believes that "They have taken him"; in run two male disciples to observe the empty tomb. He is then reborn (albeit in a currently unknown fashion). One possibility, shown in "Gone, Part II," could be that he was taken back to the future right after his death (or before he was completely dead), healed by the future, then put back into the timeline at the end of the second season. However, this does not negate the possibility of him being a Christlike figure, for Satan told Jesus that if he were to fall his angels would come to save him. In this analogy, the angels are the people from the future.

   In the second seasons episodes there is another subtle hint towards at least three of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Trent Applebaum appears as Famine in episode nine, ‘Weight of the world’, where his bodily fluids increase the metabolism of anyone who ingests it in such a rate that they would eventually starve to death; no matter how much they eat.

   Jean DeLynn Baker appears as Pestilence in episode 13 ‘Carrier’, where blisters form on her hands when she gets agitated; whenever they burst everyone in range dies immediately.

   Lastly, T.J. Kim can be seen as War in episode 16 ‘Lockdown’ where she causes a sound that enrages all men that hear it, resulting in (deadly) fights. 

The 4400 Center run by Jordan Collier seems intended to resemble the real-world Church of Scientology. The 4400 Center promises supernatural abilities to those who follow its training through for-pay courses, much as the Church of Scientology promises. At least one 4400 Center attendee has had his psychological medication confiscated, much as the Church of Scientology is opposed to psychology and its medications. The 4400 Center includes technological devices strapped onto its members during courses, similar to Scientology's E-Meters. The 4400 Center targets celebrities for inclusion and promotes them through the program faster than non-celebrity members; the Church of Scientology draws celebrities with its "Celebrity Centers". One former member of the 4400 Center accused it of making him take endless for-pay classes until he was bankrupted, at which point he was ejected from the program; Scientology has had similar accusations pointed at it. Also, similar to Scientology's Thetan levels, the 4400 Center has different Key levels to achieve.

The Radio Star 22:24, 1 October 2006 (EDT)