Jedi Reactions

I would like to give myself a chance to respond to the comments posted in response to my article. Thank you to those who agreed, and if not agreed at least appreciated and accepted my opinion. Thank you for being open to this religion, as we should be to all religions which are a guiding set of principles to a better path of life!

First of all, I would like to include some of the sources in which I found my information on Jediism and its backlash. The main websites in which I found information about Jediism & its following of the Force are:
http://www.thejediismway.org
http://templeofthejediorder.org
I read a couple of articles by the BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire/faith/jediism.shtml
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2757067.stm
I found my count of Jedi in the United Kingdom from this census:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/profiles/rank/jedi.asp
I also, of course, have watched all of the “Star Wars” movies countless times and would consider myself a fanatic.

In addition to the comments that I have received on this blog, there have been comments from my digg.com page, a Star Wars forum, and on a facebook group. I will try to explain myself and elaborate further on any questions, comments, and concerns that have been expressed.

User mbryant1, in a comment on digg, wondered how Jedi worship, if they congregate, and what they do together. On the website http://www.thejediismway.org, it states, “Jediism does not require prayer, worship, or other such actions as some other religions might. Instead of ceremonies, members of Jediism share common beliefs and ideals”. There are Christian Jedi, Muslim Jedi, Jewish Jedi, Buddhist Jedi, Hindu Jedi, Atheist Jedi, etc. A Jedi may or may not worship a deity/deities but does BELIEVE in the Force.

User jensen007 on blogspot pondered where the line could be drawn in creating a religion. I believe that there is no line to be drawn. He asked where the originality comes into play. Even though Jediism’s Force is very similar to other “higher powers”, I believe that it IS original. It is retracted from a completely different story than these other powers, and from a motion picture that hundreds of thousands of people can relate to.

User DeepJedi on blogspot obviously does not agree which practically anything I’ve written in my piece. His/her opinion is appreciated, but I think all should keep in mind that my article is an opinion piece, and that instead of tearing the author down my opinion should be appreciated, if not at least accepted that it IS an opinion and is valuable to some people. For the statement that not all Jedi believe in the Force, according to the numerous websites I researched, this is untrue. On http://www.thejediismway.org, it states, “Our fundamental belief in the Force is the overall common belief shared by all Jediism members”. On http://altreligion.about.com/od/alternativereligionsaz/a/jedi_religion.htm, it states, “Jedi believe in the Force, a specific energy that flows through all things and binds the universe together”. According to all of the websites on Jediism that I was able to find in my research, a Jedi believes in the Force, and that is the connecting principle of the religion. Just as you cannot be a Christian if you do not believe in God, according to these websites you cannot be a Jedi if you do not believe in the Force.

DeepJedi also claimed that films are not the most modern myth of storytelling, and that oral storytelling is just as modern. The point I would like to pose is that films have only been in existence since the late 19th century, while oral storytelling has been in existence for thousands, if not millions, of years. How can oral storytelling be more modern than film if it has been around thousands of years longer? “The Matrix”, “The Lord of the Rings”, and “Star Wars” are just a few movies which have been discussed as modern myths by anthropologists, psychologists, and historians alike.

It was also said that all serious religions today are taken from stories based in truth. DeepJedi claims that Jediism is taken out of a one-way, concrete, unchanging outlet: the film. It is claimed that these stories can only be taken away and converted, but then they become something else entirely. How is this not the exact same with the Bible? The Bible was composed thousands of years ago. To the modern world, it is concrete and unchanging. We cannot interact with the Bible. We can only convert and analyze it, and we cannot change it. The Bible is a compilation of written stories. “Star Wars” is a compilation of stories and metaphors presented through a different medium.

Both DeepJedi and jensen007 expressed their doubt in Jediism’s legitimacy because it is inspired purely from a business venture—a piece of entertainment whose creation’s only purpose was to earn money. The “Star Wars” saga was written and produced by George Lucas, who was inspired by anthropologist Joseph Campbell. Joseph Campbell, in his book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”, took the idea of archetypes (myths from all over the world are built from the same “elementary ideas” or “archetypes”, as seen by Carl Jung), and used them to map out common underlying structures behind religion and myth. Campbell realized that all myths and stories are expressions of the same pattern, the “Hero’s Journey” (which Neo follows in “The Matrix” and Luke follows in “Star Wars”). Campbell said, “All religions are true, but none are literal.” According to Campbell, all myths (Star Wars, the Bible, etc.) should not be taken literally, but as metaphors and following a hero in his/her journey, which always seem to be almost the same.

If you do not accept Jediism as a legitimate religion, that is your own truth. But please do not decide what is the truth for others. For a Jediism follower, the Force is the truth, and a Jedi should be allowed to choose what power or belief he or she believes in.