Jedi is now one of the fastest growing religions in Australia. We also see Jedi temples popping up in Western Europe and North America. Is Jedi an actual religion? Certainly, they do refer to the Jedi and the Force as a religion in Star Wars: A New Hope. The Jedi do have temples and even ancient scrolls. They meditate or, in a sense, pray. They follow a celibacy rule similar to a Catholic priest (of course, George Lucas has recently debunked that idea). Many of the Jedi belief tenets even sound a lot like Christian ones. Self-sacrifice, believers in peace, the dangers of attachment, serving others, and/or avoiding fear. And maybe the biggest one of all, a lot of the Jedi look an awful lot like Jesus, or at the least, his apostles.
But, do the Jedi worship the Force? It doesn’t appear so. And is the Force, God? Not really. Yoda, in The Empire Strikes Back, says the Force is created by life. But, then he also throws in a bit of spirituality by saying we are luminous being and not just matter. We know the Force enables Jedi to move objects and manipulate minds. It can help us move really fast and jump longer distances. By the prequel trilogy, we learn it is more based on something in your blood. You are born with some kind of sensitivity for it. Does that mean, not everyone can be a Jedi? By the Disney trilogy, the Force heals people. And when a Jedi dies, they do go into the Force and can still communicate with the living and be seen by them. There is a Chosen One. And most shocking of all, the Force does have a dark, evil side to it. So is the Force, well, God?
Looks aside, Jesus was not a Jedi, even though there probably were many 1st century Jews who wished that he was. And while the Force certainly does carry some similarities to God, there are also some pretty big differences. Here’s just a few of them. The Force is created by life, God isn’t. God is actually the Creator of life. As we see in the Book of Genesis, He existed prior to it. And to piggyback on that concept, God is the one who makes life grow, not vice versa. The Force also has no intelligence, it is not a being. It has no plan, no purpose. It does not love, nor does it hate. The Force serves the ends of the user. God is much bigger than that. How much bigger? To paraphrase Thomas Aquinas, God is both a being and the very act of being itself. God not only loves, He is love. Unlike the Jedi, the Christian does not seek balance with God, we seek communion with Him. And that communion can only be accomplished through the blood of Jesus Christ. He is the Chosen One, because He is the sacrifice for everyone. Salvation is open to all, not just a select few who were born with certain blood cells.
I love Star Wars, but the Christian story, God’s Divine story, is so much greater and awesome. What do you think? What similarities do you see with the Star Wars story/movies and the Christian one?
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