Is everyone rejecting the purgatory theory? Because they seem to be pushing that pretty hard now, with heaven/hell. I mean they've been outright said it on The Brig. It does make sense in some ways, since they were found "dead", and Naomi "fell" out of the sky after her helicopter crash, Locke's dad mysteriously appeared on the island after his car crash and on his way to the ER. They could be in purgatory, where they get a chance to redeem their actions, some are "chosen" to go to heaven, the rest are stuck in between. The "Others" are above them and hold power, to decide who goes with them and who stays. Ben told John that he was not the person they thought he was when he couldn't kill his father - does that mean he literally can't let go of his issues with his father, something that has been a clear problem throughout his entire life and and destroyed his relationship with Helen, so before he can "kill" his father and leave that behind him, he cannot see clear enough to join them and be one of them, AKA get out of purgatory? Now I'm not trying to sound all-religious, but I think it's interesting - when his father was dead, he literally carries his father's body on his back to join the Others, which mirrors images of carrying the cross/bearing his burden - to John, his bundle of issues with his father was his burden, and now that he's dead he can finally shoulder his burden and "go on his own journey".

I mean, what does everyone else think of this?

It would be kind of hard to explain how it was that Penny sent Naomi to exact coordinates, and Naomi actually ended up in the same purgatory island that Desmond ended up on.  I really really doubt that it has anything to do with death or purgatory at all.   I do think it is something supernatural.

I guess if they were in purgatory if Desmond did go back to tell Penny where he was, he would have had to be dead. He would have been a ghost thinking that he was alive and Penny would have thought he was alive too otherwise she wouldn't waste her time trying to find him. Or if she knows hes dead than she is trying to bring him back. I don't think that it is purgatory anymore. I used to think that it was a great theory, one of the best out there until the producers debunked it, and now there is so much stuff that wouldn't make any sense if it were to be purgatory.