Was Serial Experiments Lain supposed to be a modern retelling of the New Testament? Lain would obviously be Christ, Eiri would be Satan and Lain's dad would be God.
Eiri, just like Satan, rebels against the natural order by removing himself from reality and killing himself (which is a sin in Abrahamic religions because it is the destruction of a creation of God). He wishes for humans to evolve into god-like beings just like him, which is similar to how Satan tempts Adam to eat the apple of the trees in Eden to attain immortality and wisdom.
The scene in which Lain and Eiri meet, which I embedded, seems like a parallel to the story of Satan trying to tempt Jesus when he is in the desert. The street in which they are seems to be isolated and hot, as if it was a wasteland no longer inhabited by people. Eiri claims to be God, which later turns out to be lie as Lain's dad is revealed to be the true God.
The most obvious parallel in the series is of course the reset that happens at the end. Lain destroys herself and resets the world to a state in which the Wired does not exist, like Christ destroyed himself in order to create a world in which people could be free of sin.
Then finally, there is the last scene in which Lain and her dad sit side by side in heaven wherein Lain states that she loves all people. Lain's father was the one who was warning and advising her throughout the series but in the end, had to leave her alone and make her suffer to make sure what had been planned would succeed.
