Jediism Among Other Religions: The Height of Absurdity

There is apparently a new religion in England about being a Jedi, the hailed light-saber-wielding warrior-monks from Star Wars, called Jediism. It appears to be a group of uber-nerds who have for some reason formed a church based on the teachings of the fictional Jedi character from the George Lucas movies. They have religiously embodied the philosophical theme put forth in the movies called “The Force”, and have sought to abide by it, learning how to channel the Force to do good (as is part of the Jedi code). (This can be seen in the movie as Luke moving something with his mind i.e. using the Force.)

On the whole, in my opinion, this is one of the stupidest and most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard of, and reflects partly the decay of Western thinking and our world’s religiously secular futility of relativism. It appears to be the religion mostly of white guys that can’t get dates and spend their days and nights watching Star Wars and playing video games in their parents’ basements, instead of growing up, getting a job, and realizing that Star Wars is a story written by another nerd in the 20^th Century and there is completely no value in allowing it to affect your life in the way it has for these geeks since no one cared in the 10,000 years before now, and no one will care in 50 years or less.

I can think of few things more absurd than what I’ve just briefly looked at about this Jedi religion. I can’t believe people have taken a movie and created a religion from it. I didn’t think idolatry was possible in the vivid way it is in “primitive” cultures, such as in ancient Babylon or in India where gods are formed from wood and metal. But I think this qualifies as a sort of modern-day idolatry of art, in this case a film. The funny thing is, if you read their little “Jedi Code” of what they believe, it’s exactly the same as the spirit of this age. They teach human rights, dignity, equality, tolerance, secularism (separation of church and state), democracy, and—most definitively—relativism. Go here to read their “code” of what Jedis believe. Also, I think one of the main “teachers” is this guy, who is not super inspiring but I think would be a good candidate for mega nerd of the century. I wish it weren’t the right thing to do to mock them, but I see no other choice when something this ridiculous arises.

But if you think about it, any old religion can be seen in this way. If you break Jediism down, it’s basically just rehashed eastern philosophy presented as something “new”. If you look at any man-centered religion, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Voodoo, or any other religion from the grab-bag, it will inevitably involve some sort of speculation created by someone or some culture that offers ideas about what reality is like, exactly in the same way that Jediism does with the Force. The thing that is in common with all these is that none of them really offers anything in the end. They are all just products of the Zeitgeist, or the “wisdom of the age,” as Scripture calls it (1 Cor. 2:6), and are “doomed to pass away”. All of these religions, with perhaps the exception of radical Islam¹, promise precisely nothing if they are taken to their logical conclusions. The best they can do is offer some sort of moral code that may help you feel better as a person, all the while ignoring that there really is no standard that we are expected to uphold and we still stand condemned at the end of the day since there is no real and tangible eternality to them. Or they may offer some sort of “enlightenment” when we die, where we empty our minds and become one with nothing (literally). None of these offers a shred of hope. But Christ offers the “wisdom” and “power” of God (1 Cor. 2), which is the gospel that Jesus has done what no man can do: overcome death and sin and given us life in him.

I wonder how the Jedis (or any religious people) would respond to me inventing a religion that's main tenet is that specifically their religion is wrong. I wonder if they would be tolerant…

Note 1: I think fundamental Islam would teach a salvation acquired by radical sacrifice involving the killing of the “infidel.” This is, in a contrasting way to most religions, a different sort of thing. This sort of Islam promises the fulfillment of all sorts of base human pleasures and desire, since I hear they get a bunch of virgins in heaven to do with what they please. In the end then, this religion teaches that a bunch of murderers and perverts will inherit the kingdom of heaven. This doesn’t seem like the best path to go with either.