JEDI Knights, the galactic order of warriors from the Star Wars films, were celebrating a small victory last night in their campaign to be recognised as an official religion.

The Office of National Statistics has published an official list of religions it will register in its computer analysis of the 2001 census.

Jedi Knight comes towards the end, after Catholicism, Druidism, Hare Krishna and Vodun, but before heathen, atheist or other.

Although the statistics office insisted that the inclusion of the brown-robed, sabre-wielding warrior caste was a statistician's quirk, it was seen as a victory for thousands of Star Wars fans and a potent sign of the power of email campaigning.

For the first time, this year's census asked people about their religion.

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Jedi Doctrine

The Jedi church has no official doctrine. The Jedi church recognizes that all people have an innate knowledge of what is right and wrong, and the Jedi Church celebrates this like no other religion. The basic concepts and ideals of the Jedi religion were introduced by the fictional Star Wars movies.

However, these concepts were quickly and readily recognized by many people throughout the world as being a religion that they could more readily ascribe to than traditional religions.
Basic concepts of the Jedi faith that we at the Jedi Church would like to promote are the following:

The Basic Concepts

There is one all powerful force that binds the entire universe together. It is "an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together". This is a concept that most religions of the world concur with. Some refer to it as their deity, some refer to it as a life force, but the one thing nearly all religions agree with, is that there exists a single unifying force.

There are 2 sides to the force, the dark side and the light side. "Beware of the dark side... The dark side leads to fear. Fear leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering". Good versus Evil is a common element through most religions. The issues of good versus evil, right versus wrong permeate through the doctrines of all religions. Most religions attempt to state what is right and wrong, to establish their moral code. Sometimes religions make codes that don't reach a great consensus. Outsiders, and sometime insiders, begin to judge their religious code by something more powerful, something more innate, an innate ability to know what is right and wrong. This is the Jedi's belief, that morality, good and evil, are all axioms of the force, and that we must listen to the force so that we will know the right thing to do.

Can good exist without evil? The Jedi believe that good and evil are only axioms of the all powerful and unifying force. The force contains all that is good and all that is bad. We all are free and sentient beings who have the capability to do good or evil. It is our choice of direction that determines if we do good or evil. The existence of good and evil is necessary for freewill.

Is the Jedi religion fiction? Many religions claim to be the one and only true religion, thus necessitating that all other religions are fictitious. In addition, although many religions claim to speak the word of God, but the truth is they are only the written word of prophets or followers of the religion.

There is no way to prove or deny that what was written was the word of God. Several other religions openly admit that their text is not the word of God, and that it is only a prescribed behavior or a philosophy of life (e.g. Buddhism, Scientology).

Most non fiction is a discussion of science and life, of things that can be observed, quantified and readily challenged for its truth and authenticity. But not religion. Any religion put to scrutiny is merely words on paper, with no ability to confirm its authenticity. The Jedi church makes no denial that its name and terminology originates from a fictitious past, but the concepts and ideals that are identified by Jedi followers are known for their innate truth.

The sun existed before it was given a name, and it could be revered as a God, however, when the sun finally had a human name, it could be written about and communicated with others. The Jedi religion is just like the Sun, it existed before a popular movie gave it a name, and now that it has a name, people all over the world can share their experiences of the Jedi religion, here in the Jedi Church.

I am a Jedi like my father! Come join me.

Ive done this thread before

I was just going to say... have you been talking to mirrormirror!

May the force be with you. Let us keep it strong!

Im joining the Jedi! Let the FORCE with with us all!

There are many Siths on our planet. We have alot to do!

Draco spys

We as 1 shall destroy the Empire! and defeat Jabba the Hut!

"Beware of the dark side... The dark side leads to fear. Fear leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering".

Who could we call Siths that move nations to fear if they don't obey to their rules?

"What are you doing waving your hand around like some kind of Jedi!? I'm a toydarion, Mindtricks don't work on me... only money!"

Yoda

Anger, fear, aggression... the dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.

Yoda: Jedi Master or Buddhist Ajahn?


“Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.”


The above are words of the character Master Yoda from the Star Wars series of movies. In Thai, he is known as Ajahn Yoda, just as the great forest monks are known as Ajahn Chah or Ajahn Sumedho, etc. (Ajahn means teacher or master.) The Star Wars movies have been my favourite films since I was a ten year old boy enthralled by Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in a cinema in London when I was ten years old. One of the many things that fascinated me about these movies was the Jedi Order of celibate knights who based their lives on such things as mindfulness, serenity, and the mysterious “Force”. (Not unlike the celibate forest monks of Thailand, if one replaces the “Force” with the Dhamma…)


“A Jedi’s strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight.”


Now, I’m no “Jedi”, nor do I believe in a kind of “Force” that seems to parallel some kind of supernatural power, albeit an impersonal one. Yet, as a Buddhist, I find wisdom in the words of Ajahn Yoda. He speaks of fear, anger, hate, aggression, and how they create suffering in our minds. Suffering is, of course, the crux of the matter for Buddhists. He also speaks of desire and craving, advising his apprentice Luke Skywalker that a Jedi does not crave power or excitement. Of Skywalker, he commented:


“This one a long time I have watched. All his life has he looked away…to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing.”


This has yet more parallels with Buddhism, as it encourages us to live in the present moment with mindfulness. Ajahn Yoda trains the young Skywalker to focus his mind on the here and now, enabling him to grow in wisdom. But, before this wisdom can take root, the Jedi Master instructs Luke Skywalker:


“You must unlearn what you have learned.”


How true is this? If our minds are so clouded with ideas and opinions, how will we ever be able to see the Dhamma, the way things are? Ajahn Yoda once told his apprentice:


“Nothing more will I teach you today. Clear your mind of questions.”


To let go of distracting thoughts and focus the mind on one’s meditation object is the heart of Buddhist meditation, and the Lord Buddha discouraged his followers from asking endless questions. Regarding meditation, and the conditioned nature of the mind, the following exchange takes place before Luke ventures into a mysterious cave to confront his own inner demons:


Luke Skywalker: “What’s in there?”

Ajahn Yoda: “Only what you take with you.”


There are two sides to the “Force” in Star Wars, the light side which a Jedi trains in, and the dark side that Darth Vader uses to crush his adversaries with an evil ruthlessness. Ajahn Yoda warns Luke of this “dark side”, saying:


“If once you start down the dark path, forever it will dominate your destiny.”


So a Jedi, just like a Buddhist, should avoid unwholesome actions, and only do what is beneficial to other living beings. (Of course, in the context of action movies, the Jedi Knights actually do a lot of fighting, disfiguring and killing many of their enemies. Worth noting however, is that at the end of the final film in the series, Star Wars Episode VI: the Return of the Jedi, Luke refuses to kill Darth Vader, tossing his weapon aside.) Perhaps this prevalence to use violence is because of what Ajahn Yoda says of the “dark side”:


“Hard to see the dark side is.”


All of us need to be mindful and alert if we are to avoid the “dark side” of human nature, and the way to see it clearly is to meditate, for when our minds are still, we can see things much more clearly:


Luke Skywalker: “But how am I to know the good side from the bad?”

Ajahn Yoda: You will know. When you are calm, at peace. Passive.”


Finally, in this brief tribute to the Buddhist qualities found in Ajahn Yoda’s wise words, it would be appropriate to finish with an instruction that can be applied to all our efforts to be one with the Dhamma (if not the “Force”!):


“Try not! Do, or do not. There is no try.”

so will the Jedi knights join "Forces" with the United Nation and the armies of the world when Jesus and the Angels attack Earth or will they join Jesus's attempt to control the mankind populas

we shall attack the dark side and all of its siths

so ..er... is that a yes? ...or can we aleast borrow some of those light sabers and some of yoda's "how to learn the force for dummies" on DVD

that is a yes for sure and the dvd is a great idea! Please work on one for me. You have all the equipment for it!

I actually had that as a topic once asking what if the god you worship is actually the god that wants to end human life. I was of course bashed and violently opposed to this question.

Here it is http://www.justsayhi.com/topic/show/136996

I was hopeing yoda already place them on light saber disc

I would have to get on my starfighter the next and fly to his planet and ask if he has something for you. I don't know when I will be back. Kind of far away.