FF:VIC 70,000 Jedi in Australia

Nice article!

But what you must also take into account is that Lucas based much of his jedi religion upon Buddhism, Yoda is a dead set look alike for the Dalai Lama and many of the techniques used conform nicely to buddhism, so it should be considered a religion based on this alone!

 

RP a work of fiction based losely on a religion and a warrior way spread across many different oriental faiths does not mean you can officially call it a religion.
If it is a religion and your way of life then i want to see your sabre skills, lack of want of belongings and sobriety! (LOL)
Also I want to see places of worship and congregation.

 

It was published in "The Ballarat Courier" in the section known as "The Vibe".

 

A religion is by definition, a set of beliefs.

A Christian can be called a Christian simply by believing the dictates of the Bible and believing that the example of Jesus Christ is a worthy one to aspire to.
It's not as if - at least in a modern sense - as soon as you 'sin' or go err in your adherence to these beliefs you are shown the door, goodbye, sorry, no more eternal delight in heaven for you.

Some Christians never even go to Church. Are they therefore, not Christians? No, they are simply non-practicing Christians, who still have a faith.


The Jedi was is the same. Some believe that on the superficial level, that to defend the virtues of Peace, harmony and constructive defense of freedom are worthy to pursue. Some people take it deeper, striving like the Jedi, to become an intimate part of the ebb and flow of Life. (or the Force, for as Yoda and Obi-Wan say, they are one and the same. "The Force surrounds us, it penetrates us, it...binds the galaxy together.""In that rock, in this tree...it is not this, crude matter (pinches luke's bicep) it is luminious!..")

As J_P so rightly pointed out in her excellent article (well done on getting it published btw) Meditation, a philosophy of seeking out understanding and empathy before conflict etc, is not something to be denied and scorned, simply because it is derived from a set of fiction. Some may say, that the Bible is a net little box set of fiction, and this may be so. Does it make the teachings of Jesus Christ and the gospel any less worthy of acclaim and worship? Of course not, the concepts and words should be judged on their merits, and on their worth to both humanity and to the individual.

In fact, we only have to look at the proverbs that encapsulate the Jedi code, to see this point illustrated.

There is no ignorance; there is knowledge,
There is no passion; there is serenity,
There is no anger; only peace,
There is no death; only the Force.

These are the commandments of a new religion, the laws that we who put 'Jedi' on the census may not always follow to a tee, but would all agree that they are worthy of both worship, and a worthy goal for us all to pursue. If this does not make the Jedi Way worthy of being a religion, then perhaps we need to take a good hard look at when religion stopped being about a structured spirituality, and became a set of criteria on some paper-pushers desk in Canberra.


Flourish, Exuent.

 

A little busy right now , but
JP are you from Ballarat. I actually read the VIBE sometimes when I can find it.
To all others I have one thing to say.
Either you live by it or you don't.
If you don't then don't imagine it or fake it.