My Opinion. Jestor's Lie

Jestor wrote: ...L. Ron Hubbard's books...

Dude, there's already a religion for that. :whistle:

Lol, yea, I knew that...

He really is a pretty good author too... For fiction...

Thousands of followers can't be wrong, lol...

Jestor wrote: Thousands of followers can't be wrong, lol...

I so want to cite multiple references all through out history that prove the contrary!!! hahahhahahahhahha

But that is just the trouble maker in me. :pinch: hahahhahahha

Scientology isn't terrible in itself. And Hubbard's stuff isn't awful. Boring as all get out and extremely repetitive... not not terrible.
I have been studying it for over a year now. It has taken that long just because there is a certain level of... boring, I have a hard time getting past. hahhahahhahaha :woohoo:

steamboat28 wrote:

Naya wrote: Lol, Christianity has been around for well over 1000 years and they don't have a solid structure yet.

Actually, Christianity has a pretty solid belief structure (in that it's internally consistent), and if you take each sect independently (which is important here, because ostensibly TotJO is a sect of Jediism), they become even more consistent and "solid." So that's not really a good comparison, actually.

Sorry I'll have to disagree. I don't consider having multiple denominations that have different ideas about what it means to be a Christian "solid". If you're speaking of the core beliefs/values of Christians being the same, well couldn't the same be said of those who consider themselves to be Jedi?

steamboat28 wrote:

Naya wrote: If someone chooses to be a Jedi in their own way without committing to this temple then they have the sermons and other sites/books/whatever they can learn from in their own time and their own way.

...and that doesn't bother you in any way, that people who may not want the oaths or ranks just get left completely out in the cold to scavenge the remnants of a field the apprentices pick clean?

Left out in the cold of what? What exactly do you think you're being left out of? What magical secret knowledge of the universe do you think is being denied to you?

steamboat28 wrote:

Wescli Wardest wrote: Have you ever asked? :huh:

Or are we expecting to have it spoon fed to us?

And how many of them know to ask?

What I'm getting at is the basic teachings and belief structure of most any religion are common knowledge. If you want to reserve things for more dedicated individuals, that's fine, but the average "just member" (with no designs on knighthood) should still have ready access to enough material to fully and completely live the Jedi path within arm's reach at all times, and the general public should have access to those same basic teachings so that we achieve transparency that will get us respect and not just media recognition.

What's wrong with the library? The temple does have one.

Ve-Lo-Zi wrote: EDIT: For an example of what I mean, someone might be working in a hospital dedicating his life as a service to others. He may not have the time (or the intellectual capacity) to undergo the full training. But still, wouldn't he be someone truly being the way a Jedi Knight is expected to be? So, to say it again: I did not say, everyone should just "get" the Knighthood just like that. I was merely questioning if the training procedure should be the ONLY possible way to be recognised as Knight within TOTJO.....

I have to go to my daughter's school with her 5 days a week. She is autistic and can't handle catching the bus on her own, but she needs to be in school and we have no car. I leave the house at 7:10am and don't get home until almost 4:30pm. Then I have cleaning and cooking I need to do. I will be starting university courses soon. I have 4 courses this semester. So i have to commit time to that. I also have to set aside quality time with my family, and yet I am so dedicated to becoming a knight at TotJO that I can't even begin to imagine setting aside my apprentice assignments and using "real life" as an excuse. Becoming a knight at TotJO IS a part of my real life! It's that important to me.

If you want something bad enough. If you're willing to dedicate yourself to those things you want, you find the time for it.

I'd also like to add that I became involved in the concept of being a Jedi over 12 years ago. I believe this was before Jediism was even born. I became a member of the "faculty", which was essentially the teaching staff and council at the site I was a member of at the time. Even after that site closed down, I went on to study shamanism for about 5 years because to me learning shamanism was fundamental to being a Jedi. In all that time I have been learning and growing as much as I could to always strive toward being the Jedi I wanted to be.

Yet when I joined TotJO I didn't start crying, "but what about that knowledge and experience I already have!" I never even considered asking that "prior knowledge and experience" win me some points toward skipping the training here and just being given a title on merit alone. I never considered it because I only know how to be the Jedi "I" want to be, but that doesn't mean I know what it means to be a Jedi within the walls of this temple. Outside experience can't teach you that. Going through the training here can.

So I am putting in the time and effort to learn here. I'm working hard to earn the rank of knight here at TotJO. So for me to have someone come in here "off the street" and be given that title without doing the work would be minimalizing my dedication and effort.

I understand what you mean, Naya. I admire your dedication and I have to admit I didn't really think it through from that point of view. Well, I guess there's always two sides to everything...

The reason I joined the Order...

By religion, I am Greek Orthodox. Those who know the religion, will agree that it is one of the most complex religions in the world. By faith on the other hand, I am just a simple Christian who beleives that religion is the cause the world is such a horrible place!!

The Christians, Jews, Muslims, Atheists etc are at each others throats because each religion declares their faith to be better than the other.

I chose to be Jedi because I have the freedom to choose what the Force represents in my life. To me the Force is the Holy Spirit. Therefore I choose to do right by the Jedi Code knowing that at the end of the day I will do the best I can to be a good person without hurting anyone.

And if people out there think I am crazy for beleiving in something based on a movie, let them. At the end of the day how I choose to live my life is a choice nobody can make for me.

So to get to the point. For those who came here looking for answers, you will slowly find them as you begin to discover yourself. Being a Jedi is all about discovering yourself. That's my opinion.