Well? The population of the belief has risen past cult status. So you can't define it as a cult any longer. . . in the social terms of how a religion is defined. . .
Those are very wise words from Master Yoda, young padawan. Hehehehe.
I have to agree with everyone here... yes it is a religion. There are people who live that life, having gotten so involved with the series. I am with one of your friends though.. if I were to choose the ways of the Jedi, I wanna real lightsabre!! :)
I just read what Khisanth just wrote and I have some thoughts about it. I think that the way of the Jedi is a monastic lifestyle by nature, though non-sectarian at its inception. I'm not sure if there are other nonsectarian religions out there. I do know that there are codified systems of living that act as a moral compass and that give structure to how to live life from day to day. Can there be religion without deities?
With the present day state of "religion", connecting the Jedi with such a word is blasphemy! The Jedi are light years ahead of that archaic, firebranded chain of slavery.
Ready for this? I'm rather passionate on the subject of religion. SO much so, that this might just generate some flames! Bar-B-que!
Jedi IS a religion - a fantasy one made up by George Lucas that has aspects of shamanic practice.
But you know what? Every religion, that is or ever was, was made up by someone. That's a hard truth. God/s do not a religion make. If they exist, they do whatever it is they want to do. We are just the ants that crawl around on the earth, doing whatever it is that we want to do. I don't believe the gods pay us any more mind than we do ants in a field.
I believe that religion is a subscription to dogma and doctrine that is designed to control how a human being thinks and feels. It preys upon our desire for hope and the need for divine love - that we are not alone out there and can be loved if we do what a bunch of ancient old men told us to do. When in truth I think we are just little programs running our agendas before we expire.
Religion destroys understanding and presents spoon fed values for those who cannot think for themselves. However, I believe spirituality, on the other hand, is the great quest to find the reflection of divinity in ourselves, and to continue our evolution as spiritual beings.
And I bet that was a WHOLE LOT MORE than what you wanted. ^__~
that article is hilarious. And I want a lightsaber too! Maybe I'd agree to interstellar day of tolerance, or whatever it was, if it included free lightsabers for all!
flawed in the extreme bro... popularity does not mean religion-potential... i'm pretty sure that Lenin and Alexander the Great would have agreed... how about putting forward Bart Simpson for Pope ?
I would say so, yeah. There's meditation, celibacy, rules on how to live one's life, structured hierarchy...I'd say that makes it more or less a religious order.
This is talking of the prequels Jedi, of course. The new Jedi order that Luke starts sounds (from the few tie-in novels that i read) to be a lot more practical and less mystic on the whole.
What is this "lifted"? It is Buddhism, for all practical purposes. I mean, I think Lucas made the lightsaber part up himself, but that seems to be the only original facet that he tacked on when he stole the Jedi Code from good ole' Gautama.
Wow. I'd never heard of this before tonight. Interesting. I have no idea if it's a religion or not. By sheer numbers and belief system, however, I guess it fits the profile. I could go on for days about religion v. spirituality...but I digress.
And for you and anyone as curious as me, these are comments on belief net at the end of what looks like a quiz:
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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True, but...
LMAO!
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in the social terms of how a religion is defined. . .
yes.
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Those are very wise words from Master Yoda, young padawan. Hehehehe.
I have to agree with everyone here... yes it is a religion. There are people who live that life, having gotten so involved with the series. I am with one of your friends though.. if I were to choose the ways of the Jedi, I wanna real lightsabre!! :)
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Excellent point!
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Jedi IS a religion - a fantasy one made up by George Lucas that has aspects of shamanic practice.
But you know what? Every religion, that is or ever was, was made up by someone. That's a hard truth. God/s do not a religion make. If they exist, they do whatever it is they want to do. We are just the ants that crawl around on the earth, doing whatever it is that we want to do. I don't believe the gods pay us any more mind than we do ants in a field.
I believe that religion is a subscription to dogma and doctrine that is designed to control how a human being thinks and feels. It preys upon our desire for hope and the need for divine love - that we are not alone out there and can be loved if we do what a bunch of ancient old men told us to do. When in truth I think we are just little programs running our agendas before we expire.
Religion destroys understanding and presents spoon fed values for those who cannot think for themselves. However, I believe spirituality, on the other hand, is the great quest to find the reflection of divinity in ourselves, and to continue our evolution as spiritual beings.
And I bet that was a WHOLE LOT MORE than what you wanted. ^__~
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Yes, spirituality Vs religion is a wonderful debate :D
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Religion is what someone tells you about God.
Spirituality is what God tells you about God.
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why dilute serious belief with common sci-fi nomenclature?
does darth vader influence mohammed. does luke sky walker change the belief of christians. will R2D2 change the pope's outlook?
is this is a serious post ot just intended as throw-away gossip?
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I can see it being classed as a religion because of size of the following, but I can't see it being more than a monastic way of life...
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If they believe, then to them, it IS a religion :)
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Islam says to respect other's beliefs **shrugs the teflon** And if they want to believe in a work of fiction, let 'em...
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*viscious grin*
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This is talking of the prequels Jedi, of course. The new Jedi order that Luke starts sounds (from the few tie-in novels that i read) to be a lot more practical and less mystic on the whole.
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Yes, even though a lot of it seems lifed from Buddhism...
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And for you and anyone as curious as me, these are comments on belief net at the end of what looks like a quiz:
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/105/story_10570_5.html#realist
And this is a BBC Article from 2002 about the Jedi Religion in Australia:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2218456.stm
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Well, to each their own :)