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On a website called "Temple of the Jedi Force" I found a message about the "United Jedi Council." Having looked into it I think this could become something very good for many people and hopefully spread good word about the Jedi religion. At the moment most people think it's science fiction fans just dressing up in robes and playing with plastic swords, but it isn't.

As with almost every other religion, Jedi look and act just like normal people. We're just like everyone else, but our religion combines Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, and other philosophical groups with a theme inspired by them.

All you have to do is like this page to help the charity group grow.

Here is a copy of the original message...



Thank you in advance for any support. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I will try to answer them.

I am a Sith Lord! -zaps them all-

It's okay for it to be here. Thanks SCN for giving him heads up.

I get the feeling... they are like Scientology, the upper people know the reason secrets of the religion, while the rest are being told some crap out of the upper people's asses.

I don't think I know what you mean. There aren't really any "upper people" in Jediism.

I'd have to look into who the founders are, but most people attribute it to George Lucas for putting a name to what they already practiced. Most older Jedi were doing this before the movies were made. With some slight differences, of course, but the point is the same.

As for ranks, in a sense we're all equal. The opinion and perspective of everyone is valued. Right now I don't know about and haven't been to any churches that exist physically, most of this is online.

For the temple I'm signed up with all new members are simply members until they fill out some information and start their Apprentice Journal showing they are serious about wanting to learn (allot of members just sign up and sit there). Once a Knight or Master sends a message to a member offering to be their mentor the member has the choice of accepting and beginning Apprenticeship or denying and waiting for another master. After six months if the Apprentice has proven knowledgeable and ready he becomes a Knight himself and then helps train others. After six more months if the Knight proves even more knowledgeable and ready for another promotion he becomes a Master.

Beyond that there are three positions in charge of various website responsibilities. They are voted on by all members after a certain period of time, I forget how long. And at the "top" is the webmaster who, from what I understand, mostly only takes care of webmaster stuff. Based on what I've seen I believe the webmaster uses an alternate account to teach from since the webmaster account literally has "Webmaster" as his name.

I can not guess who the webmaster's alternate name might be because we all appear to be equal, from apprentice to master alike, but I have noticed one person that people seem to go to whenever they see a website problem. For all I know that could be the job of one of the people voted on and people who have been around long enough to become masters are simply trusted with the Webmaster password.

Being an apprentice myself who has only been on the site for a couple months, I must confess some ignorance on the topic of top leadership. Really no big life or site altering decisions are made by anyone so it hasn't been an important topic. We mostly govern ourselves in that community.

In other sites members are in charge of teaching themselves using the various threads and lessons provided then a test can be sent to the admin showing that the member has learned what they "teach." Still in others they don't use specific ranks at all and members can merely send a message to a mod or admin requesting desires titles from "Sith Lord" and "Jedi Knight" to "Philosopher" or "Think-Tank." I believe I saw a site once where a member's rank was "Chuck Norris."

Most Jedi practitioners are much more laid back about ranks, titles, and leadership than other groups I've seen. We all have the same goal, so once ground rules are laid (method of teaching, requirements for progression, etc) and a basic chain of command (people to teach, people to analyze progression, etc) that's it.

On the topic of origin all I found was this. It is from Wikipedia, not one of the most trusted sites, but I don't see any harm in providing it especially since it supports what I said earlier about George Lucas.

"George Lucas has cited history as his inspiration for creating the Force, saying in a Wired interview:

Similar phrases have been used extensively by many different people for the last 13,000 years to describe the "life force".[6]

He also stated during a 1999 interview with journalist Bill Moyers that while he hesitated to call the Force "God", that his aim was in fact to evoke a spiritual awakening in young people"

The Force in Jediism is also sometimes referred to as "universal life energy," an energy that flows through all living things.

There are some references to "Jedi Founders" if you look on google, but if you check more into them you'll see most are specifically founders of Jedi churches. This is much more common in Europe. Here in the United States we are mostly to scattered to have many churches or temples, but some have been made. I think the biggest one is in Texas.

I can think of three just off the top of my head, one of which is meant as a joke, that doesn't go in the same direction as 'most' religions. Most religions, at least most of the ones I know about, focus on moral improvement and spiritual growth. They encourage maintaining a healthy mind, body, and spirit in one way or another. They usually have their own methods and sometimes unique lessons, but the goal is what I meant by direction. The focus of improvement and growth is what I was referring to.

I think by your words you may have seen this quote already, but I thought I'd share it in case anyone else hasn't. It's one of my favorites.

"Each and every master, regardless of the era or place, heard the call and attained harmony with heaven and earth. There are many paths to Mount Fuji, but the goal is the same. There are many methods of reaching the top, and they all bring us to the heights. There is no need to battle with each other--we are all brothers and sisters who should walk the Path together, hand in hand. Keep to your Path, and nothing else will matter. When you lose your desire for things that do not matter, you will be free." -Ueshiba