Christian Fundamentalist/Protestant/Hebrew Israelite Jedi

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8 years 8 months ago - 8 years 8 months ago #198010 by
I group these together because they pretty much have the same belief systems except one uses different names. They are all anti RCC. No images, no occultism, no paganism. So is anyone on here a Christian protestant Jedi? Anyone on here who doesn't believe in the force? I've started writing my journals but have yet to publish them on here because some things are bothering me concerning the force and there are christian apologetics ministries that are attacking the Jedi way. I don't see Jedi as a religion because there are no rituals, dogma, or belief in a deity or afterlife. I see it as a philosophical spiritual path. My journals at the moment are really long and I can ramble on and on for hours. If I choose to continue in the TOTJO when I am done, I can actually publish my journal as a dairy and motivational teaching tool because I can speak so much.
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8 years 8 months ago - 8 years 8 months ago #198016 by Edan
Perhaps it would help us to know what's bothering you about the Force. We don't have a complete definition for it, what I consider to be the Force may be different to another's.

You say we're not a religion, yet I would say the definition of religion suggests otherwise, I would put us under number 2 personally.

It's just a label though, it really doesn't matter whether you consider us a religion, philosophy, cult or way of life.
That said, I'm not religious and have issues with the idea of clergy, but it doesn't matter because totjo is more than that

Regarding the apologetics, does it matter to you what they think? Belief is personal.

1The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods: ideas about the relationship between science and
1.1 [count noun] A particular system of faith and worship: the world’s great religions
1.2 [count noun] A pursuit or interest followed with great devotion: consumerism is the new religion
More example sentences[\quote]


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Last edit: 8 years 8 months ago by Edan.
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8 years 8 months ago #198022 by Alethea Thompson
:/ Well I'm not trying to advertise my book- but it might actually help you in answering this question (plus all proceeds made by me from the book goes to a great cause- StandUp for Kids). But you can find the book on Amazon: Setanaoko's School for Jedi: The Uninitiated.

Gather at the River,
Setanaoko Oceana

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8 years 8 months ago #198023 by Edan

Alethea Thompson wrote: :/ Well I'm not trying to advertise my book- but it might actually help you in answering this question (plus all proceeds made by me from the book goes to a great cause- StandUp for Kids). But you can find the book on Amazon: Setanaoko's School for Jedi: The Uninitiated.


Could you explain perhaps how your book would help?

It won't let me have a blank signature ...
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8 years 8 months ago #198024 by
I am a Christian, though I'm a lot of things. I'm also a Taoist and a Zen practitioner.

As someone with many titles, I too am curious what it is about the Force that's bothering you. The Force, God, Tao, Void, or whatever you want to call It, are all One in the Same. I know a lot of people would disagree with that, who would rather separate everything into individual categories, but that's not how I see things. Everything, IMO, is One. All objects, all concepts, all divinity. Unity solves all problems. If you have a conflict in your mind about the Force or God—or any conflict for that matter—if you look at it from a perspective of Unity, the conflict will fall away. The Force, in other words, is greater than the words we use to describe It.

But before I continue, please let us know what is bothering you.

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8 years 8 months ago - 8 years 8 months ago #198033 by steamboat28

Pipotron V wrote: I group these together because they pretty much have the same belief systems except one uses different names.

I would disagree with that vehemently.

They are all anti RCC. No images, no occultism, no paganism.

I would also disagree with that vehemently.

So is anyone on here a Christian protestant Jedi?

There are many.

Anyone on here who doesn't believe in the force?

Honestly? Probably not. There are are at least as many definitions of "the Force" as there are Jedi in this Temple. And everyone I've met holds to at least one of them.

I've started writing my journals but have yet to publish them on here because some things are bothering me concerning the force and there are christian apologetics ministries that are attacking the Jedi way.

Take Yoda's conversation with Luke, replace every instance of "the Force" with "God" or "the power of Christ" or a mention of the third member of the trinity, and see how closely it mirrors Christian doctrine.

I don't see Jedi as a religion because there are no rituals, dogma, or belief in a deity or afterlife.

Belief in a deity does not make a religion a religion, and lack of a "deity" doesn't preclude it from being one. The belief in the Force (in the fiction) is either pantheistic or panentheistic, based on which individual Jedi from the fiction you ask. Those are both still types of religion. There is also dogma, just not in the way you're familiar to seeing it. There are many different individual beliefs on a Jedi afterlife, and we have scads of rituals, from past, present, and some to come in the future.

You're free to not treat Jediism as a religion. You can treat it as a philosophy if you want. That doesn't make it not a religion.
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8 years 8 months ago #198042 by Br. John
Many Christian Jedi maintain The Force is another name for The Holy Spirit. It does not matter what you hold Jediism to be. Way of Life, Philosophy, Religion or Code of Conduct - no problem.

Founder of The Order

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8 years 8 months ago - 8 years 8 months ago #198067 by
I can only tell my story with Christianity and Jedi Way. It is very personally biased.

I tried to convert into Orthodox Christianity recently, thought I could be Orthodox Christian Jedi. An acquaintance of mine, who is a representative of church, spoke with me. His position was that orthodox Christianity possesses all the right answers and all other people are either wrong or heretics.

In my experience, I had deep existential journey into the dark and I faced spiritual questions that Christianity did not give me answers for. And so, I solved this questions myself. At some point I have discovered a spiritual path before me and had to choose, what will it be. I looked deep into myself and searched for a sole image, sole spark of light to guide me. And the most powerful light thing that I found was an image of a Jedi, a spiritual journeyman and warrior, who feels the spiritual ocean directly via same vibes which communicate music and inspiration.

Since then, I've walked Jedi Path and have learned to respect other religious traditions as long as they do not assault my beliefs. I've seen Force as a notion which can be accepted by both eastern and western beliefs. Something that can be experienced. Something that can be explored.

My christian acquaintance tried to "save" me from what is my nature, what makes me feel good and help people and love and persevere darkness and pain.

I do not know, whether it was his narrowness or narrowness of christian belief system. I know that many orthodox Christians would react this way. I believe that any Christianity is ok with Jedi Way, but few are the Christians who are capable of this.

My acquaintance showed fear, when he tried to frighten me (with hell and suffering) into Christianity.
He showed insincerity, when he failed to recognize negative sides of orthodox christian church as it exists in Russia nowadays.
He showed narrowness, when he disrespected Buddhism with no knowledge of it, making naive mistakes.
He showed aggressiveness, when I have defied his efforts to turn me.

They say about martial arts: you can choose whatever you want, but don't expect that your martial art is going to fight instead of you. There are great spiritual traditions and there are people, who fail to match them.
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8 years 8 months ago #198078 by Kit
I grew up Christian. I don't adhere to it as my primary faith but I do appreciate it still. If you explained where you are seeing conflicts, perhaps I can help offer some different ways to view things.
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8 years 8 months ago #198080 by Alethea Thompson
The book is specifically aimed at helping one determine whether or not they even WANT to look further into the Jedi Philosophy. It's a series of articles, one in particular actually addresses the problems that other people have had when it comes to determining whether or not the Jedi Path conflicts with their personal relationship with a deity (for the record, I identify as a Christian Jedi). The are other that help you better understand the flexibility of discovering what "the Force" is to you. Some of it is from my personal point of view, others of it is from the neutral stand point of addressing concerns that others have brought to me and how they decided to either leave the path because of it, or stay on the path because they reconciled the concepts together.

Gather at the River,
Setanaoko Oceana
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