The Force Is With...Everyone

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Jedi Realists

I am a Jedi (not in the 'got a light saber' kind of way). I just follow the teachings of the Jedi masters. Now I know Yoda is not real but he is as real to me as Jesus, Yoda just lived and died long before the earth cooled. (LOL) Seriously, the base of the Jedi religion is FEAR. Understand the Jedi are not all good there is the Darth, they use fear for personal gain, the Jedi remove fear for clarity. I have not found one religion that can argue the simple teachings of the Jedi! Two main things that help me answer all of life's questions: 'Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to sorrow. Try not! Do, or do not. There is no try!'
--partisan

I had a college friend in 1993 who practiced Jedi. Of course, from everything he explained to me about his beliefs, it sounded more like a Star Wars-ish form of Taoism than a separate belief system, but it ...really seemed to center my friend and give him strength, so I said, more power to him.
--Ladilee

Many religions started with a scripture. Jedi's was written on a strip of celluloid. It's just as well, I suppose - like all religions, we should be judging it on its merit and relevance to our own lives, not by the medium on which it's conveyed.
--SwissCelt

When you consider it not as a movie creation but as a method of living your life and interacting with the world it is in and of itself not a bad religion. It answers the great questions and also comes with its own prebuilt myths.
--Dur

Jedism is now a religion? I am saddened and horrified as it means another really good philosophy has been dragged down to the level of a (yuk!) RELIGION. It is now only a matter of time until "they" show up... the pontificating pompous asses who will feel compelled to tell us dummies just what the REAL TRUTH of Jedism is. Then there will come the disciples, then the rules,and of course rounding it out, pages and pages of arguments.
--uwonder

Do you suppose that before long they'll have denominations of Jedi as well? :P
--Jenavira_02

It is a film, you can't create gods! That is stupid. Religion is trying to find what is true, the ultimate search for truth and the divine power. Copying a religion of a film (which is obviously made up) is stupid and wrong. I have never watched Star Wars, so I don't know anything about this Jedi Religion. I just think that some people should see the difference between what is real, and what is fantasy.
--FalconWing

I want one of those cool flying orbs that Luke the Prophet (pbuh) practiced against in the swamp. You know--the one that shot little laser blasts at him. That would beat the crap out of solitaire!
--jerlwayne

Star Wars and My Spiritual Path

In the 10th grade when I reached the peak of my frustrations with Christianity I turned to the Star Wars mythos that George Lucas created. Which led me to Joseph Campbell, then to Taoism, then to Buddhism Zen and Mayhana, and last to Gnostic Gospels. This combination makes up my own personal philosophy... "The Force is created by all living things"and " Its energy field surrounds us, binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter." Also, the Force can be described as an interacting "God". When people say "May the Force be with you." or "It was the will of the Force".
--obiwan_kenobi

Star Wars was quite influential on my spirituality as a child - simply because it offered an option when I had been lead to believe that there were no options...
--Calico

The Force is really what got me started along my spiritual path. I had never considered such concepts before I became a huge Star Wars fan. From there I went to Taoism, Zen, and an interest in philsophy ... even though the Force was a concept derived for a movie, it is very much a real thing for a lot of people, having provided them a kind of inspiration (a starting point) that nothing else could.
--Streen

Celibacy for Jedi Knights?

Making priestly celibacy optional in the Catholic Church has been going around for years now,and it is interesting that in many sci fi/fantasy books there are heroes who appear celibate.In "Attack of the Clones",Anakin Skywalker will be forced to choose between following the Jedi code of celibacy or loving Queen Amidala.
--Ann123

"Attack of the Killer Clones from Outer Space" has a heretofore unknown Jedi code of celibacy, which apparently Obi Wan and Yoda forgot to mention to Luke and Leia (did they learn from their mistakes?) and which apparently didn't exist in the hundreds and thousands of years prior to them in the Star Wars comics.
--sorrowful_mysteries

Since when do Jedi have to be celibate? First we get this medichlorian nonsense, then suddenly we are supposed to "balance" the Force rather than adhere to the Light side and shun the Dark side, then there's the stupid Immaculate Conception of Anakin, and now Jedi have to celibate!
--sonofthunder

I think the Force is a combination of many different religions. It has all the makings of Taoism, but then in the prequel, Anakin is sort of a weird quasi- Jesus. Also, later he sort of symbolizes the prodigal son. I saw Lucas on TV once saying that the Force is really just a combination, he said that he took some aspects of mythology and some aspects of Christian doctrines, and some other religions and made the Force.
--desi-sky

I think that Lucas was just following his own inner Zen when he created the idea of the Force, and that this will thus resonate with many truths. I too am, as you might tell by my name and profile, very into Taoism and Jedi. I think it would be more interesting to contemplate the Jedi as nondenominational, and then posit specific Jedi. Like how would a Buddhist Jedi differ from a Taoist one?
--SatoriJedi

The FORCE is present in nearly all successful religions under different names:

JEDI: the FORCE
TAOISM: the Tao
HINDU: the Shabda
ISLAM: Kalam
ECKANKAR: the ECK
CHRISTIANITY: the Holy Spirit

Any religion that teaches one how to connect with the incredible source of truth - the FORCE - is certainly going in the right direction.
--shabda

"Star Wars" has become the great mythical tale for the modern era. Jedi Knights, The "Force", the Evil Empire, Anikan Skywalker's fall from grace to become Darth Vader and his redemption. What a grand example of a myth!
--redhawk88

What is it that the Force represents to which people are responding? I think that the Tao represents one aspect of this reality. But I think that a lot of people are looking for a faith that reflects the whole of the human experience. This would reflect all of the religious varieties: indigenous faith, Taoism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, etc., as well as the new earth-based religions. It must also reflect the human story in general, whether it comes out in a world religion, an ancient myth, folklore, science fiction literature, classic literature, historic narrative, etc.
--awanderer

The Force is synonymous with The God Force: the energy that people unite with when they leave the flesh, e.g., the "white light at the end of the tunnel" that many near death experiencers have reported. This being the same energy spectrum that Christian faith healers and Reiki practitioners utilize for healing.
--Arch1Mystic

The Force is representative of the Source or Foundation of the Universe. All of the Words spoken by the ObiWan and Yoda are in adherent Lao Tzu, Christ (not the religions who say they believe but do not follow), and Buddha. All 3 Spiritual Masters seem to have gotten their words from the Same source (Force).
--MatthewQK

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