Fuck, everyone else is doing it....

My household is amongst the 60,000 from the last census that put down jedi as our religion, no joke. We're out there, it's up to the government to acknowledge us.

Finally... a religion for the rest of us :okay:

"I feel the hate swelling in you now."

http://www.blueharvest.net/images/closeups/emperor.jpg

I heard about this "religion" three years ago when there were calls for 10 000 people to list as it their religion so it could be recognised.

What exactly do Jedi's believe in? I know for a start it's to do with Star Wars :)

Jedis believe in - and tap into - the Force, which according to Obi-wan in the first movie from 1977, is "an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together."

In the fourth film shot in 1999, George Lucas decided that was a bit too difficult for his audience and introduced the idea of "midichlorians", a Force-sensitive blood component (mystic haemoglobin). Anakin Skywalker had about 120g/litre I think.

I think the relationship between midichlorians and the force is that while the force still is the energy force created by all living beings, if you have midichlorians in your blood then you're more receptive to the energy of the force, kinda of like if you walk out in a lightning storm and hold onto an antenna.

Sounds similar to Zen Buddism?

I thought it was related to telekinesis and psionics also?

ROFL FABIAN! look what uve started! lol

Atleast it will take some of the attentioon off the original christian thread which would have turned to shit..

I remember reading about Zen once and that it had a lot of really weird stories that didn't make sense:

A monk told Joshu: `I have just entered the monastery. Please teach me.'
Joshu asked: `Have you eaten your rice porridge?'

The monk replied: `I have eaten.'

Joshu said: `Then you had better wash your bowl.'

At that moment the monk was enlightened.

Mumon's Comment: Joshu is the man who opens his mouth and shows his heart. I doubt if this monk really saw Joshu's heart. I hope he did not mistake the bell for a pitcher.


It is too clear and so it is hard to see.
A dunce once searched for fire with a lighted lantern.
Had he known what fire was,
He could have cooked his rice much sooner.

Looking up Zen on the net I found:

If you've wandered here wanting to know what Zen is, then more than likely you will come away disappointed. This is a question that is easily asked but not easily answered. A Hindu story tells of a fish who asked of another fish: "I have always heard about the sea, but what is it? Where is it?" The other fish replied: "You live, move and have your being in the sea. The sea is within you and without you, and you are made of sea, and you will end in sea. The sea surrounds you as your own being." The only true answer is the one that you find for youself.

So maybe it is kind of like Jediism

This is not the thread your looking for (waves hand in front of face)......


If you only new the power of a dark tower (Darth Sears)...

There is actually a website dedicated to "Jediism", and they see it as a true religion. The funny thing is, they say that although the concept may have been started by George Lucas, it is more than just the movies and books.

How do these people plan to stop george lucas from ruining their religion?

There is actually a website dedicated to "Jediism", and they see it as a true religion. The funny thing is, they say that although the concept may have been started by George Lucas, it is more than just the movies and books.
It's here:
http://www.jediism.org/

They've got a forum, too. :)

Bond is a soft jedi deist who believes in faith healings on tuesdays and thursdays. :)

How do these people plan to stop george lucas from ruining their religion?

Two words:

Great Schism!

The Force is dead. :)

Not next May!

It'll be even deader next May.

Best Movie Ever!

Anyone interested in the religious allusions in the Star Wars films check out this blog from starwars.com (http://blogs.starwars.com/TheForce/2)

http://blogs.starwars.com/static/img/image-selector/full/prequel-trilogy/episode-iii/29.jpg
The Defining Moment About The Force

To my mind - the defining moment within the Saga where we can truly understand the nature of the Force is in the brilliant Empire Strikes Back. Luke learns about the ways of the Force from Yoda. I refer to the scene where Yoda requests than Luke go down into the cave.

We all know that the Force consists of the light and dark side. In Taoist philosophy - the balance of the way of life (Tao) comes from the equilibrium between opposites. To my belief - Tao is akin to the Force if not the very same thing. What is so powerful about this scene is how we come to understand what the light and dark side are and how they relate.

When Luke asks, "What is down there?"
Yoda answers, "Only what you take with you."

What Luke feels is clear enough - fear and confusion -the very facets that Yoda describes as the ways of the dark side. And in his confrontation with the imagined Vader - Luke acts out aggressively and ends up beheading Vader only to see his own face in the cracked helmet.

The point is twofold. Yes - we understand that Vader is Luke's father and Luke is heading towards the same dark destiny yet Luke doesn't understand that at this point in the movie. But looking more closely, the second point is this. Fear, confusion and aggression are not an evil presence out in the world. It exists only within the person. Luke only takes into the cave what he brought with him.

To put it another way - the dark side is in everybody in equal proportions. It is a presence residing within that can be acted upon if a person fears and is confused. What Luke faces in the cave is his own fear and only that. Fear is based on the preoccupation of ego and self. When Luke concentrated on his self and own life too much and not on the present moment, he moves towards fear and attachment to outcomes in the life he was leading. The dark side is purely about self.

Just look at the Sith and the kind of psychotic, self centred, emotional and aggressive relationships that take place between Master and learner. See how all the main Sith characters and even clonetroopers/ storm troopers are locked with in the armor - a metaphor for tormented selves locked within their own fear and aggression. Trapped within, they live sick lives twisted by their self preoccupation.

In contrast, the light side is concerned not with self but with selflessness. Yoda trains Luke to become one with his environment and to feel the Force. Only by following what Taoist's refer to as inaction - to act naturally with accordance with one's environment and to feel the connectedness of all things - can Luke develop his skills to move rocks and remove his X Wing from the swamp.

The light side - is concerned with the living presence of all things in a connected whole. What Obi Wan refers to as the "symbiotic circle." In reducing him self to a zero and focusing on the presence of the Force around him in the trees, air and rocks, can Luke overcome his own fear - his own dark side. Learning to let go of his self and to follow the Force externally around him he becomes one with his surroundings and learns to be a part of his environment.

This part of the movie is a masterpiece. We learn the nature of both the dark side and light side. In Tao thought - both are necessary for the middle ground is the way of the enlightened. This explains why Anakin, who is both an exponent of first the light side and later the dark side, is the chosen one. He is the one to bring the balance....

Jedi Hervie

Wooo yeah...Jediism! Yeah, woo! :P