Sunday Sermon: Jedi

Another idea I had was to do a weekly religious article.  Published, naturally, on Sundays.  I wanted to start with something a bit light, but still (in my opinion) meaningful.  So naturally, I chose the Jedi religion.

            If you’ve met me, you probably recall my standard introduction: “Hi, I’m Andrew Reeves, nice to meet you.  I really love Star Wars.  Like, it’s ridiculous.”  Or words to that effect.  Sometimes I say it in the other order because really, the second one is more important.  And where many stereotypes have a Jesus or Buddha bobble-head on their dashboard, I chose a different spiritual leader.  That’s right, there is actually a Yoda bobble-head on my dashboard.  The lightsaber doesn’t glow in the dark, but that would be TOTALLY AWESOME!

            So what sort of spiritual guidance can be gleaned from the Jedi?  Either due to this being a different galaxy or a long time in the future, we seem unable to tap the Force.  But we can still learn from the guardians of the Republic.  I will start with a recitation of the Jedi Code:

There is no emotion; there is peace.

There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.

There is no passion; there is serenity.

There is no chaos; there is harmony.*

There is no death; there is the Force.

*line four not found in all Jedi texts.

            There is a lot contained there, and we would do well to read carefully.  These are not to say that the first parts of the pairs do not exist, but rather that they are overcome by the second part.

A Jedi does not allow emotion or passion to rule him, but rather serenely and peacefully assesses a situation and bases decisions on logic and reason.  Acting unthinkingly out of passion clouds judgment and leads to the dark side.  By carefully examining available options, a Jedi can make a decision that brings about the greatest resolution, not merely the quickest.

            Ignorance is overcome by knowledge.  That seems obvious.  A Jedi learns all he can to become stronger, to make better decisions.  But also in that tenet is a reminder that knowledge can come from any source, even one that seems ignorant.  And from mistakes borne of ignorance can come greater knowledge.

            That leads directly into the fourth tenet.  The galaxy is a chaotic place.  Wars, (lots and lots of wars in Star Wars, let me tell you) religious schisms, heartbreaks, family disagreements, etc.  But from these unpredictable and often tragic events, a greater harmony can arise.  A Jedi recognizes the interconnectedness of life and events and uses even tragedies to bring about good.

            Once again, we do not seem to be able to touch the Force in our time and galaxy.  But there is still truth to the last tenet.  Look at the Force not as an energy field created by all living things, but as all living things themselves.  When an individual dies, they do not disappear as though they never were.  Their body persists and becomes a new generation of life.  Their spirit lives on in the lives they have touched.  Death is a natural part of life.

            It feels like there is more I want to say, but I’m not exactly sure how to.  If you want any clarification or elaboration, feel free to comment below or email me at lovedeathtrees@gmail.com.  The same applies to any thoughts on future discussions.  Any particular religion or religious topic you’d like to see my take on?

Thor, and the comic book/mythology nerds who love him

Movie review time!  I recently watched the film Thor, and it was pretty awesome.  First of all, it was really good to see Natalie Portman not in a mental institution- er, a ballet, with hair, and nowhere near Hayden Christensen.  And I, at least, find the smart girl appealing.

Marvel knows how to make us nerds happy.  Cute girls, check.  But also important to us is a smug sense of the value of our nerdy knowledge.  So when the professor mentions his friend who was investigating gamma rays, we all go "Oooh!" because we know he's talking about Bruce Banner.  And when the government spook asks about Tony Stark, we all go "Oooh!" because, hey, we saw Iron Man.  And when Samuel L. Jackson shows up at the end, we all go "Oooh!" because it's Samuel L. Jackson, then "Oooh!" again because we know he's Nick Fury and Nick Fury is the head of Shield and Shield has to do with lots of super heroes because they're bringing them all together in the Avengers which they're making and oh my gosh they're making Avengers and it's going to be amazing!  Yeah, we nerds get excited about stuff like this.  Very excited.

I'm not as buff on my Norse mythology as I am on my Greek, but I know a little.  I played Midgard in Dark Age of Camelot, so the names are familiar.  Mjolnir?  Oh yeah, I was a Thane; I called Mjolnir all the time to crush my enemies and see them driven before me.*  From what I've gathered, the Norse gods were all about battle and f-ing people up with their comically oversized weapons.  Or something like that.  So when the professor picked up the Norse mythology book, I half expected him to conclude that this guy definitely wasn't Thor, because he's much to nice and... not smashing everyone's face in.  I have this idea that the real Thor, trapped in a mortal's body, starts training like crazy and eventually becomes a Z-fighter shooting kamehameha waves at everyone.  But, to confine his options to the Marvel universe, he'd probably inject himself with super-soldier serum, or build a super-suit, or don a black suit, or gamma-irradiate himself, or do any of the other thousand things people have done in Marvel to become super-heroes.  That'd be cool: Hulk-Thor!  Make that next, Marvel.  We nerds would love it.

*speaking of which, they're remaking Conan the Barbarian.  Expect another review after that comes out.

So how did you like Thor?  Or any other Marvel movie?  Got a movie review you'd like to see?  Never heard of Dark Age of Camelot?  Comment away, or email me at lovedeathtrees@gmail.com.